From buckets to balls, beach toys offer creative ways for kids to discover fun at the beach with digging, building, pouring, stacking, molding and more. We know that kids learn best through play, and playing at the beach and the pool offers plenty of opportunity for imaginative, open-ended play that inspires creativity and free-thinking.
From designing sand castles to making road paths for toy cars, kids can invent new ways to have fun in the sand, on the pool deck and in the water. But you don’t always need the biggest or most expensive toys to have fun while learning through play. Some of the best educational beach and pool toys are the simplest.
Take a look at our (beach) bucket list for educational toys for beach- or pool-bound little ones:
Color a Tote Bag: A fun combination of coloring book meets beach tote. Let your little one have fun coloring their own design on a bag they get to show off later on the beach or at the pool.
Metal Detector: Add a little STEM education to your summer adventure. Encourage kids to find buried treasure beneath the sand at the beach while learning the science behind metal detection with a lightweight, specially sized metal detector for kids.
Paint brush and a bucket of water: Pick out some simple paint brushes at your local hardware store (a set of three could be under $6!) and let your little one practice writing his or her name on the cement in water at the pool. They could also draw a self-portrait or let their imagination run wild with their own art!
Sun shade pop-up pool: With really little ones, even jumping into the kiddie area at the community pool might be overwhelming, not to mention braving the waves of the ocean. A pop-up, take-along pool can offer some safety from big-water play, while still giving babies access to the fun of water and sensory play in a way that is less intimidating. You can take a pop-up pool to both the beach or your community pool and set it up for a baby between 6-12 months old still learning to like the water.
Cuppi Kids’ Beach Toy: This beach toy is really the swiss-army-knife of all beach toys, and we love it because it makes kids think outside the box and get creative. It’s a shovel, sieve and ball, all in one toy. Kids can have fun scooping out tracks in the sand for the rolling ball. It’s the same concept as a marble track, but in the sand. They can also use the Cuppi to write or draw messages in the sand.
Indestructibles: Finally, someone made a book you can take into the water! These waterproof, wash-proof books were built for the way babies read on an amazing paper-like material that also can’t be ripped, torn or punctured. Cart an Indestructible along to the pool or the beach and don’t worry about getting the pages wet while your little one works on their summer reading.
Disposable Underwater Camera: At about $10 per camera, kids can carry it along by a hand strap and take it under water to get more than 25 photos. Get the film developed and let your little ones have some lasting memories of their summer pool and beach adventures!
