Enjoying quality pool time with your children can create memories that last a lifetime! Pool games are also a great way to get in some exercise. Here are a few ideas to make pool time more of a “summer splash” for everyone!
- Beach Ball Race: Using large beach balls, see who can push theirs to the other side of the pool first. If they are older children, buy a couple of watermelons to use and then enjoy the melons after the game!
- Ping-Pong Madness: Throw several ping-pong balls into the pool and have the kids collect them, whoever collects the most = winner!
- Marco Polo: What’s a pool game without Marco Polo? But switch it up by using animals – such as have the kids yell “Dolphin, Horse, Pig, etc., and the rest answering back with their best impression!
- Shark & Minnows: One child is the shark and stands in the middle of the pool. The rest of the kids are the minnows. When the shark says “Go” the minnows jump in the pool and try to get past the shark without getting tagged. The children that get tagged are out until eventually you only have one child versus the shark.
- Chicken Fight: This works best with older children who can hold another child’s body weight on their shoulders (or have an adult holding the child on their shoulders).
- Coins on the Bottom: Toss a bunch of change into the pool and the children collect the coins from the bottom of the pool – like diving for treasure!
- Floatie Race: Similar to the Beach Ball Race, this one involves any pool toy you can get your hands on – tubes, loungers, pool noodles, inflatable ducks or dolphins, etc., the more ridiculous the better! The fun is seeing who can get across the pool with their ridiculous toy first!
- Air Ball: The goal of Air Ball is to keep a beach ball in the air and not let it touch the water.
- Quick Jump Quiz: One person is the Quiz Master and the rest of the kids line up at the end of the pool. One by one, the kids will take a few steps and then jump into the pool. As they are jumping, they answer the question. This can be math/spelling/school work questions or any silly questions you want to ask.
- What Time is it, Mr. Fox: One person is Mr. Fox and stands at the end of the pool. The other kids stand at the other end of the pool and yell together “What time is it, Mr. Fox” Mr. Fox picks a time and the other kids need to move forward that number of steps (5:00 is 5 steps, etc).
As always, practice pool safety and if the children are not tall enough to use the deep end of the pool make any modifications to the games!
Source: https://www.activekids.com/parenting-and-family/articles/10-fun-pool-games-for-kids