It’s late in the summer but still hot outside, so it didn’t feel too late to invest in a baby wading pool. Here are three ways Veronika has loved to play in it so far!

First up was a classic toddler fishing game. I had a pack of fish-shaped sponges that were perfect for this, although you can cut normal sponges into fish shapes if you’re feeling crafty.

Attach a paper clip to each fish so it will be magnetic, then tie or glue a kitchen magnet onto a string and attach the string to a stick or dowel. I showed Veronika how to go angling for the little fishies!

It turned out that the sponges were hard to lift once saturated with water, so next time we might play this while the pool is dry.

After the fishing fun, it was time to make a splash! Simple grab a bouncy ball and toss it into a baby pool filled with a little water. This was fun from outside the pool…

…or inside it! And it was equally fun whether with a small bouncy ball or larger beach ball.

“Splash!” Veronika cried out happily each time.

For extra ball fun, we didn’t just use one ball; I poured in our whole bag of soft play balls.

This made for lots of extra splashing, sitting on, tossing, and otherwise playing with the balls in the pool.

One thing is for sure: this girl is keeping cool in the pool!