Balloon Sprinkler

Here in Australia, Summer has arrived and the days are getting longer as the sun is getting hotter. But parents these days need to be much more conscious of our precious but lacking resource, water, when it comes to ways to play outdoors.

Every one who lives in a warm climate area has fond memories of running under the sprinkler as a kid. I know I do! My brother and I would play endlessly under, on & around the sprinkler; Jumping over, racing around, sitting on or trying to stop the water is all great fun as a kid.

Here is a water conscious home made sprinkler idea that can provide water play & sprinkler fun, (without hooking up to the tap & leaving it run the entire day).

You will need a sharp pin & several balloons, some string or ribbon and a place to hang your balloon sprinklers.

While the balloons are new & unstretched prick some holes in them with the pin. You must be careful not to do them all in the centre or it will burst with water, like wise if you do too many all over the water pressure will make it burst, so your best to lay your balloon flat & prick the holes closer to the bottom of the balloon where the rubber is thicker.

Fill the Balloon up at the tap, making sure you don't over fill them. Hold them as you do it so you can feel the weight.  They will be hung & bopped around so they need to hold their own weight with out bursting. Tie the tops & then tie on your string. Take them to you hanging spot & tie them up high enough that your little one can go under them, reach them & play with them but so they are not going to swing onto any rough or sharp near by surface & pop.  We did ours on the clothes line!

If you look closer at the balloons water is squirting out in all different directions. We had games of catching it in a bucket, trying to manoeuvre the balloon squirts around to squirt each other & dancing in the "rain".

There you have it. As the water comes out it squirts in all directions, they can drink out of it, have fun bopping them around, spin them around or stand under the drips. 
They're still getting wet, cooling down, having fun, but your not letting a continuous stream of water pour unto the ground for hours...