DIY Sponge Balls and Lemon Squirters: easy ideas for kids DIY water toys and full tutorial to make your own sponge balls.
These DIY Sponge Balls are easy and inexpensive to make. They're perfect for a hot day to enjoy a water fight. They're a great alternative to a water balloon fight. There's no awkward water balloon filling, and no mess of tiny pieces of broken balloons afterward to clean up. And you can use these reusable sponge balls over and over. They're perfect for endless hours of fun on a hot summer day. They're made from simple supplies from the dollar store and they're very easy to make.
We also made these adorable kemon squirters make really fun DIY water toys for kids. Get ready for a fun backyard water play day.
We hosted a lemonade themed birthday party, that I shared all the decor and food for here. Today I want to share how we made the DIY sponge balls. The kids enjoyed some water play in the backyard with these sponge bombs. They had so much fun with a bucket of water and these fun DIY water toys. These are a great way to make an inexpensive and fun activity that your kids will love on a summer day.
Choosing Your Supplies
To make the sponge balls you'll need 2 sponges from the dollar store, a small hair elastic, and scissors. The inexpensive and brightly coloured sponges work really well for this project. Hair elastics work perfectly for this project. They're smaller than a rubber band, so they disappear into the center of the sponge ball. You don't want to use something like cable ties or zip ties for this project, because they're too hard, and might not be comfortable if little kids are throwing them.
Equipment
- scissors
Materials
- 2 sponges
- 1 hair tie in a coordinating color
Instructions
- To make the sponge balls, begin by snipping the sponges almost to the middle on both sides, into 8 squares on each side -see the picture. Some people like to cut the sponge into sponge strips, but we left ours connected in the middle to give the sponge ball more stability and strength. You're basically dividing the sponge into 8 pieces, but leaving them connected in the middle, so cutting the sponge almost in half crosswise, and then 4 more snips to divide those into 8. Do the exact same on the other side.
- Once the sponge pieces are all snipped, stack them and hold them together with a hair elastic.
- Then, just tighten the elastic until the sponges form a ball shape. That's it, so easy.
I used one pink sponge and one yellow for my sponges, but you could make these any bright colors you like. Choose two matching, or mix the colors like I did.
We used our sponges in our little pool, and also to do a water relay with some buckets of water. These are perfect for summer fun with a DIY backyard water day or field day.
We also set up the slip n' slide, and had the best water-filled fun day with it, our simple sponge balls, and our homemade lemon squirters.
Lemon Spriters
The other fun little DIY water toy that I came up with was to make lemon squirters.
I found lemon juice in these little plastic lemon containers at the grocery store. I emptied out the lemon juice, and then we filled them with water to make the cutest lemon squirters! These are a great idea as an alternative to a water gun, and such a fun way to upcycle and add to your fun summer activities.
The girls had a great time enjoying the water, making up fun activities like relay games, squirting, sliding, and running around the backyard. Kids of all ages would love playing water war with the sponge water balls. And after they're done, just ring out the excess water and let them dry out in the sun and your DIY sponge water bombs are ready for next time.
With DIY sponge balls and lemon squirters, life really is a party.
More Inspiration
If you're planning your own lemonade themed party, make sure to check out the Lemonade Party Decor and Food here.
You might also like our Fairy Gardens for Kids here.
Also check out our DIY Felt Chocolate Chip Cookies here.
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