Water balloons are a great way to cool off on a hot summer day. These three games are favorites with groups of kids at Camp Possibilities in western New York. All you'll need are some kids, a field, some water balloons and some adults to supervise.
Water Balloon Toss
A traditional favorite. Simply blow up one small water balloon for every two kids (have some spares on hand, too). Water balloons should not be much larger than a baseball. Have the kids pair off, then have them form two lines, facing their partners. Partners should be about four to five feet from one another. Give a water balloon to one of the two partners.
When the leader of the game says so, the one with the balloon throws it gently to his/her partner, who tries to catch it. If the balloon breaks, both partners are out of the game and must leave the line.
Once those whose balloon broke are gone, one line takes a big step back and the balloon is thrown back to the original partner. Repeat the process: after every round, teams with broken balloons exit, while those whose balloon is intact continue. Keep playing until you have a pair of winners!
TIP: Kids love this game and are usually good for two or three rounds of it. It’s good for kids aged six or so on up.
Water Balloon Launch
For this one, you’ll need a water balloon launcher. You can often buy them in toy stores, where they are sometimes packaged with water balloons. If you can’t buy one, you can make your own with surgical tubing, available at medical supply stores.
Blow up a number of small, baseball-sized water balloons. Pick a target: it can be a wall, a building, a tree or any other large, stationary, invulnerable object.
Set up about 40 feet away. You’ll need two staff or adults to hold the handles on the launcher. They should stand about four feet apart. The kid takes a balloon and launches it at the target. Assign points for hitting the target, going over it, or hitting close enough to splash it!
TIPS: You can even use a car as a target, if you’re brave. Water balloons generally don’t dent a car unless they’re shot straight at it from close range or arc down on it from a great height. Kids LOVE shooting at cars. Make sure to have three balloons per kid or so: after their first shot, they’ll really want another to perfect their technique. Kids rarely hit any target the first couple of times, but their aim improves quickly. If you get sick of blowing up balloons, you can have the kids do their own, as they enjoy playing so much they’ll be happy to do so.
Dinosaur Egg Toss
For this one, blow up party-sized balloons with water: they should be about the size of a small cantaloupe. Gather the kids in a circle, close enough to be able to touch elbows. Send the “dino egg” around the circle, carefully handing it from one kid to the next.
Once it goes around once, everyone steps back. Send it around again: kids should have to lightly toss it. If it makes it around again, take another step back. Soon, the dino egg will be flying a few feet! Sooner or later, the egg will “hatch” and someone will get soaked. Grab another dino egg and start over!
TIPS: Once the kids get good at passing it, send two eggs in opposite directions around the circle. At some point, they’ll meet: and two kids will have to toss eggs that cross in midair!
For all of these games, remember that safety comes first. Don't let kids walk in front of a water balloon launcher and don't let them throw too hard during the two "toss" games. Everyone has more fun when no one gets hurt! Also, remember to buy biodegradable balloons or pick up the pieces after these games.
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