Now that summer is officially here, let's talk about water activities that can be used to progress a child's motor skills. Here are 5 favorites:

1. The beach. The beach is a great place for working on balance. All you need to do is get in the waves. Start by getting in ankle deep and trying to stand still as the waves wash away different amounts of sand under your feet. If that's too easy, go in a little deeper to your knees and try walking along the coastline.
2. The pool. Aside from practicing stairs and ladders, using the buoyancy of water to help grade the task, you can practice jumping off and jumping forward into the water to an adult in a deep enough pool or walking in water to create resistance for strengthening or provide more time for a child to step to catch their balance by finding a pool about waist deep.
3. Water balloons. Water balloons are a great activity for practicing throwing over hand and underhand, but don't forget to practice squatting to pick them up or trying to balance them on a spoon or move them between bowls by grasping the ties with thongs.
4. Sponges. Cut them up into about 1 inch cubes to work on finger strengthening and finger opposition to squeeze the water out then practice letters on a chalk board and use damp sponge to erase the board when done.
5. Water tables. For your new standers and cruisers, this is a great summer activity for playing in standing. If standing and walking is easy, don't forget to practice pouring and carrying the water without spilling.

Note: For safety, all water activities should be completed with adult supervision and assistance based on the child's needs. Please talk to you child's therapists for how you could adapt these activities to a specific child's needs.