• Summer means being outside and playing in the glorious water. My kids, much like me, love to play in the water. And they really love water balloons. Their love of water balloons, and my love of keeping them active and engaged led to us frequently playing water balloon yo-yos.

    They are easy to make. All you need are water balloons and rubber bands.

    Fill your water balloons as you normally would. Remembering of course, the fuller the balloon the easier they pop!

    Next take a rubber band and cut it so that it no longer a circle, but instead a long piece of rubber. Tie one end to the balloon. Tie the other end to another rubber band that has not been cut. This rubber band acts as the handle.

    There you have a water balloon yo-yo.

    Obviously this is water play so it is to be done outdoors.

    You can just let your kids go crazy and free play, or turn it into a game. The two games we play go something like this. First, everyone has a yo-yo and the first person to have their yo-yo break loses.

    The second game is more like a hot potato version. We pass the yo-yo around the circle. Whoever is holding it when it finally pops is out.

    Make sure to keep an eye on your kids, and make sure they aren’t standing too close to each other. I imagine kids using them like sling shots. Of course it’s just a water balloon, something intended to be thrown at you anyway, but some supervision never hurts.