When it comes to homemade building blocks, these are as easy as they come! Just buy large sponges in bulk (aim to have about 8 to 12 total), and you’re ready for play.

I hadn’t even finished cutting the sponges into shapes (rectangles, squares, and triangles) before Travis noticed them piling up on the counter and demanded we start playing with them.

The building commenced right away.

Once the initial novelty of the shapes and texture wore off, it was time to be more imaginative. The sponges soon turned into food.

Which needed to be grilled of course.

To take a break from the imaginative play, encourage your toddler or preschooler to make letters with the sponges, or simple patterns by color or shape.

As the grand finale, we took the sponges outside. They were exceedingly fun to dip into a bucket of water and throw onto the ground.

We also tested out how much water the sponges could hold, by squeezing them over a cup.

And you thought sponges were dull as dish water!