The fastest sponge, 2-6 years of age ?
The clue is in the name of the game. You will need a sponge, two bowls and a towel. If you have two kids, you will need an extra bowl and an extra sponge. Find somewhere in the house with enough room, lay the towel on the floor and put the empty basin in front of your kid. Now fill the other basin with cold water and put it beside them. The aim of the game? In two to three minutes (you choose the time) the kid must take the sponge, dip it in the basin with the water and wring it out over the empty one.
But how do you decide who the winner is or what the record should be if one kid is playing alone? Take the bowl filled with the water from the squeezed sponge and weigh it. The heaviest one wins and you can repeat the game again and again without wasting any water. If your kid is playing alone, let her/him have several goes so that a record can be set.
Want to try this game with older kids? Have them play blindfolded and every now and then move the bowls… the laughs are guaranteed! Et voilà: a super cool water game with no splashing!
How many cups can you hit? 7-10 years of age ?
Easy peasy: you’ll need a water gun and some disposable paper cups. Build a pyramid with the cups in front of a wall and fill the gun with water. Then, place two towels on the floor: as well as drying the drips they will also mark the line behind which the kids have to stand when they aim, shoot and try to topple as many cups as they can in one minute. Give them one turn each or several turns if playing alone and set records to beat!
P.S.: whichever game you play indoors, remember that water can be wiped up and on really hot summer days it even evaporates, so don’t worry too much if things get a bit wet.