Summer Sensory Play for Hot Australian Days

Low-effort, cooling play for long, sunny afternoons

Australian summers ask us to slow down.The days are long, the heat can be heavy, and energy often comes in short bursts between rest, snacks, and icy poles.

Sensory play in summer doesn’t need to be big, messy, or complicated. Some of the most regulating, joy-filled play comes from water, ice, shade, and a gentle connection to nature.

Here are a few low-effort, cooling sensory play ideas that work beautifully on hot days — whether you have 10 minutes or a quiet afternoon to fill.

💦 Water Play (Simple + Soothing)

If I had to choose one summer activity to do on repeat, it would be water play.

Not pools. Not sprinklers. Just simple, contained water play.

Some favourites:

• A shallow tub with cups, jugs, scoops, and old measuring cups

• Bowls of water with petals, gum leaves, or herbs to stir and scoop

• Little buckets for “collecting” water from one tub to another

• Paintbrushes and a bucket of water for painting fences, pavers, or rocks

• If you do need a pool and dont have the space for a blow up pool, fill an underbed storage container with water as a mini pool and add in some orange slices. Perfect snacktivity to keep cool (supervise little ones around water at all times)

It’s calming, regulating, and surprisingly absorbing — especially when it’s set up in the shade.

🧊 Ice Play (Cool + Curious)

Ice is one of the easiest summer sensory tools — and kids are endlessly fascinated by it.

What I love about it is how naturally it slows children down.

Try:

• Freezing flowers, leaves, citrus slices, or small toys into ice cubes

• Offering droppers, spoons, or pipettes with water

• Sprinkling salt and watching what happens

• Letting kids slide ice around trays or bowls and feel the temperature change

• Giving them a wooden/ rubber hammer (something kid safe!) and letting them whack the ice until it's all broken apart.

• Doing this outside, so the mess doesn’t matter

• If you're short on time and haven't pre-planned anything, head to your local servo and buy a bag of ice. Simple, cheap and instantly ready to go!

  
  

It’s one of those activities where children often go quiet — deeply focused, hands busy, minds curious.

🌿 Nature Based Play (Grounding without the effort)

When it’s too hot for movement-heavy play, I lean into nature invitations.

Some simple setups:

• Bowls of stones, shells, seed pods, bark, or leaves

• A “nature soup” made with water and whatever’s been collected

• Sorting and transferring natural loose parts between containers

• Barefoot play on a picnic rug under a tree

• Sitting together and talking about textures, colours, smells

This kind of play feels grounding — for kids and adults — especially on overstimulating summer days.

🫧 Messy Play (Keep It Simple)

When it’s really hot, I keep messy play as simple and cooling as possible. These are the bases I reach for again and again because they feel good on warm little bodies and don’t require much setup.

Oobleck (cornflour + water)

Cool, silky, and endlessly fascinating. It’s one of those activities that looks messy but actually encourages slow, focused play — squeezing, dripping, watching it change in their hands.

Jelly or Gelatine Play

Wobbly, cold, and perfect for hot days. I love this as a snacktivity — safe to taste, fun to poke, and easy to contain in a shallow tray. Add spoons, small bowls, or let hands do the exploring.

Sand and Water

A summer classic for a reason. Scooping, pouring, building, collapsing — it never really gets old. Keeping the sand wet helps it stay cool and dust-free, especially on dry days.

Mud-Style Play (Just Dirt + Water)

No fancy ingredients needed. A bit of earth, some water, a bowl or two, and you’re done. Grounding, sensory, and surprisingly calming.

All of these work best outside and in the shade (and they're super easy to clean - turn the hose on and wash it all away!)

These kinds of sensory bases are the ones I return to year after year — the simple, regulating activities that help children cool down and stay engaged without being overstimulated.

If you’ve been to my sessions, you’ll know these are the foundations I build from. And if you like having a few go-to recipes up your sleeve for moments like this, they’re the same style of play I share more deeply in my sensory recipe ebook — practical, repeatable, and designed for real family life.

☀️ Shade, Slowness & Letting it Be Enough

Some days, it’s simply too hot to be outside — and that’s okay.On those really hot days, air conditioning can be our best friend.

All of these activities can easily be brought inside to the cool:

• Set them up at the kitchen table

• In the bath or on the bathroom floor

• Or on tiled floors with a big towel underneath

Everything is washable, and the main goal isn’t perfection — it’s keeping little bodies cool, engaged, and comfortable through the heat.

And some days, sensory play isn’t about setting anything up at all.

It looks like:

• Feet in a bucket of cool water

• Lying on a picnic rug watching clouds

• A late afternoon walk to get outside time once the heat eases

• Snacks, rest, play… then more rest

• Moving in and out of play without forcing it

Summer has its own rhythm.And when we stop fighting it, things feel easier.

🌼 A Gentle Reminder

Summer doesn’t need schedules, expectations, or perfectly curated activities.

If your child is cool, curious, and content — you’re doing it right.

Slow play. Bare feet. Water, ice, shade, and nature.

That’s the magic of summer sensory play 🤍

Until next time.

Jessie x