Friday, March 29, 2024

Swimming Pool Games that are Fun for the Kids

June 17, 2011 by  
Filed under Games

Here you will find some of my favorite Swimming Pool Games that help the kids stay entertained while keeping Cool in the Pool.

Who does not love to cool off in the pool come Summertime? I know once school is over my kids and their friends live in our pool, but after awhile they do get bored. So that means it is time to introduce some fun Pool Games to keep them entertained and give them some extra fun while they keep cool from the summer heat.

Theses are not only fun for the kids, but adults can get into some of the Pool Game action too.

These Swimming Pool Games are also great if you are having a Pool Party !!

So come on lets talk Fun in the Pool…..

Marco Polo

Object of the Game: Not to get caught by “Marco” (the person who is “it”)
Rules: One person is chosen to be “it” he/she closes his/her eyes and gets on one end of the swimming pool. He/she counts to 10 and shouts “Marco” and all the others in the pool shout “Polo”. The one that shouts “Marco” has to try and catch one of the persons who shouts “Polo”. It can be shouted as much as possible. Once he/she catches a person, then that person is now “it” and so on….. fish out of water: while playing marco polo, people who aren’t it can jump off onto the side of the pool and when you suspect someone’s no longer in the pool call ‘fish-out-of-water’ and if anyone’s out while you call it, they’re it.

Treasure Dive

Divide the kids into two teams and have each team stand on a different side of the pool. Then go to the middle of the pool and toss in a bunch of treasures (it can be things that float and also things that sink). See which team can bring back the most. When I was young we did this with Pennies.

Cannonball Splash

In this game, the kids compete to see who can make the biggest splash. Divide the kids into two groups – one for the cannonballs and the other group as a team of judges. The cannonball group line up behind a diving board and have to make the biggest splash to get the highest vote. The judges are the voters and give each person a vote out of ten. (An adult is needed to decide what the majority of the judges want to give each person). Tip: don’t forget to have your cameras ready!! This is an amazing opportunity to take a picture of each kid right when they are about to splash.

Water Ball Relay

Using a Ball or a Balloon each team must transport it back and forth from each side of the pool until all players have had a turn. Hands may be used or to make it more difficult, players can only use their heads. You can also use those Rubber Duckies for this too !!

Dolphin Relay

Divide into teams. The first player from each team will race down and back the length of the pool while pushing the ball with their noses and forehead. If they touch the ball with their hands or any other part of their body they must go back to where that took place and start again. The next player will do the same until one team is the winner.

Shark & Minnows

One person is chosen to be the shark and the others are minnows. The Shark starts on the side of the pool close to the middle (the ladder) while the minnows start at one end of the pool. When the shark says go, the minnows must try to make it across the pool and back. Meanwhile the shark jumps in and starts to try and tag the minnows. If a minnows is tagged they are frozen and it is up to another minnows to unfreeze them. The minnows win if they each make it across the pool and back and are all touching the end of the pool. The Shark wins if everyone is tagged and frozen.

Additional Rules:

*If you are frozen you cannot unfreeze anyone even if they are only an inch away.
* The shark may go under water.
* All the minnows must have touched the opposite end of the pool before they can make their way back.
* Minnows can communicate.

Get Dressed (My favorite !!)

The more players the more fun, but the game will work fine with just 2 people. Each person needs a shirt, pants, socks, and what ever other clothing you would like to use.

Have all of the players line up, in the pool at one end. Have someone else who is not playing take all of the players’ clothes and bring them to the other end of the pool. Have that person get the clothes wet until they sink to the bottom, and then mix up all the clothes and put them in a pile at the bottom of the pool. That person now gets out of the pool or out of the way of the racers and becomes the judge.

When the judge says “Get Dressed” the players must race to the other side of the pool, find their shirt in the pile and put it on, then race to the other side. Once they touch the edge they turn around, race back, then find and put on their pants, then race back to the other side. Next come the socks and so on.  The order doesn’t really matter.
Note: Shorts are easier so for a twist use jeans or long pants because they are quite difficult to get on. The first person back to where they started and all dressed wins!
Twist: After you do that you have to swim to the edge take off the clothing then swim back touch the edge and back to take off another piece of clothing.

Do you have any games you play in the Pool with the Kids you would like to share?

If so Contact Me so I can add them onto the list for all to see. Just make sure they are Safe and Easy for Kids to understand !!

Also check out this page: The Best Swimming Pool Toys that has tons of great toys for the pool to keep the kids busy.

Comments

2 Responses to “Swimming Pool Games that are Fun for the Kids”
  1. Liz says:

    The treasure dive is always a popular one. If you have a themed party it’s good to find matching toys for the kids to dive for.
    Basketball and volleyball are easy games to set up for the pool too.
    Liz-CoolProducts

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