As summer creeps closer and closer, parents everywhere are thinking about how they can best keep their children entertained during those long, hot days. This challenge will likely be made even more difficult by the COVID-19 outbreak, as families may need to keep practicing social distancing measures for longer than expected. If you have a pool in your backyard, then you have an excellent tool for keeping the kids active without having to leave the house.
Pools offer hours of endless fun for kids and adults of any age. As swimming is the fourth most popular recreational activity in the United States, practically everyone can find something they like to do in the pool. For kids, creative pool games offer the most entertainment. Let’s take a look at a few pool games that your little ones can try out in your pool this summer.
Air Ninja
This game is perfect for encouraging your children’s creativity while also giving them a good workout. Have your child stand at the edge of the pool’s deep end in a jump-ready position. Then, count to three and yell out any animate or inanimate object. As your child jumps in the air over the pool, they’ll strike a pose imitating the object you called out just before they hit the water. When they come up for air, you can almost guarantee they’ll be giggling and asking to do it again.
You could call out simpler things like tigers, elephants, and trees or get creative with random objects like pencils, cups, and clocks. The more creative you get, the more fun your kids will have trying to imitate the objects. Another fun element of this game is that it offers the perfect photo opportunity. Snap a picture each time they strike a pose over the water. Your kids will love being able to look at the pictures and see what their poses looked like.
F.I.S.H
This game is just like P.I.G in basketball, but instead it takes place in the pool. The first player in F.I.S.H is dubbed the leader and all of the other players must follow exactly what the leader does. This can involve a variety of moves, such as jumping off of the side of the pool, performing a certain swimming technique, or doing a specific dive. No matter what the task is, all of the players must follow it or else get a letter from F.I.S.H. The first player who spells F.I.S.H loses the game.
As this game can quickly turn into kids crying that others aren’t playing fairly, be sure to set down some ground rules. For instance, you can make a rule that the leader can only choose a certain task once so that they don’t keep repeating moves that others can’t do. You may also want to have an objective judge for the game to verify whether a player’s performance of a task earns them a letter.
Remixed Marco Polo
As one of the most iconic pool games, almost every adult has memories of playing Marco Polo in the pool. If this game wasn’t in your childhood repertoire of entertainment, it is essentially a game of blind tag. One person is “it” and closes their eyes while they call out “Marco” and wait for the other players to reply “Polo.” The person who is “it” must then follow the voices of the other players to try and tag one of them.
A fun way to spice up this classic game is to have the players make animal noises. For instance, the person who is “it” will yell out “Dolphin” and all of the other players must then respond with their best porpoise impressions. Not only is this a much more interesting call and response, but it also forces kids to be creative and think on their toes to make sure they respond with the right animal noises.
Introducing your kids to new pool games is the perfect way to keep them entertained and make wonderful memories. As your family enjoys your pool this summer, remember to keep up with its maintenance so that the fun doesn’t have to be put on pause. Be sure to maintain a pH balance between 7.4 and 7.6 in your pool and schedule regular pool cleanings. By doing your part to maintain your pool, your kids can enjoy these games and many more all summer long.
