Hot Day, Cool Play: Simple Summer Activities That Support Therapy Goals
When the summer heat is at its peak, it’s not always easy to find ways to keep kids moving, engaged, and cool, especially when you’re also trying to support therapy goals at home. The good news is, you don’t need fancy equipment or a structured plan. A few simple materials and some creative thinking can go a long way.
Whether your child is working on motor skills, speech and language, or sensory processing, here are a few of our favorite warm-weather activities that are fun, flexible, and functional.
Water Bin Play
Fill a shallow container with cool water. A large mixing bowl or a storage bin works well. Add in sponges, cups, plastic animals, scoops, or even ice cubes. Let your child explore freely or guide the activity with small challenges like “Can you fill this cup?” or “Find the animal that floats.”
How it helps
- Strengthens hand muscles and coordination through scooping, squeezing, and pouring
- Supports sensory regulation by introducing temperature and texture in a low-pressure way
- Creates opportunities to build receptive and expressive language such as labeling objects, describing actions, and following directions
You can also turn this into pretend play by washing animals, cooking with cups, or making potions.
Ice Cube Rescue
Freeze small toys such as plastic animals, buttons, or Legos in ice cube trays or muffin tins filled with water. Once frozen, give your child tools to rescue the items. Spray bottles, spoons, or warm water in a squeeze bottle all work well.
How it helps
- Boosts hand strength, fine motor coordination, and use of both hands together
- Encourages early science and problem-solving skills as they figure out how to melt the ice
- Provides language opportunities through narration and vocabulary building with words like cold, trapped, melt, and free
This activity doubles as sensory play and a mini science experiment. Kids love the sense of accomplishment when they free the toys.
Indoor Obstacle Course
Bring movement indoors with a DIY obstacle course using couch cushions, masking tape, pillows, or tunnels made from blankets and chairs. Add simple tasks at each station such as crawling under, walking a taped line, or hopping over a pillow.
How it helps
- Develops core strength, balance, and coordination
- Strengthens motor planning and body awareness
- Supports attention, sequencing, and direction-following
Obstacle courses are easy to adapt. Adjust the number of steps, level of difficulty, or types of movement based on your child’s needs.
Toy Wash Station
Gather toys that can get wet, such as plastic animals, cars, or blocks, and set up a wash station with warm water, soap, brushes, or sponges. You can freeze the toys ahead of time for added sensory play or keep it simple with bubbles and warm water.
How it helps
- Encourages tactile sensory play in a safe and structured way
- Builds fine motor skills and grasp strength through scrubbing, squeezing, and pouring
- Supports pretend play and descriptive language like “dirty,” “clean,” or “scrub it again”
This can be set up outside for messy play or in the bathtub for easier cleanup.
Ice Cube Painting
Freeze colored water in ice cube trays with popsicle sticks or small spoons for handles. Let your child paint on paper, cardboard, or even foil as the cubes melt.
How it helps
- Promotes fine motor control and early writing skills through grasping and movement
- Strengthens visual attention and creativity
- Encourages language development through color identification, descriptive words, and storytelling
Painting on vertical surfaces like a wall or easel can also help build upper body strength and posture control.
Fruit Tasting and Snack Sorting
Prepare a tray with a variety of cold fruits such as raspberries, banana slices, blueberries, grapes, and watermelon. Invite your child to sort them by color, size, or texture, or simply explore and taste each one.
How it helps
- Encourages sensory exploration through taste, texture, and smell
- Supports expressive language with descriptive phrases like “This one is red” or “This one is sweet”
- Builds fine motor skills by using fingers, tongs, or forks to pick up and sort pieces
- Offers a natural opportunity to work on requesting, commenting, and sequencing
This is especially helpful for children working on feeding goals, becoming more comfortable with new foods, and speech goals!
Stay Cool This Summer!
These activities may look simple, but each one supports a wide range of developmental skills in a way that feels playful and low-pressure. The goal is not to get it perfect but to keep kids engaged and growing through connection and creativity.
You can modify any of these ideas to match your child’s needs, interests, or age. And if you ever want suggestions that are more specific to your child’s goals, the team at CFZ is always here to help!
Stay cool and have fun this summer!
