SPLASHtastic Summer Swimming Pool Games

School’s out (or close to it!), which means children and parents everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Bring on the lazy days of summer! While pool lounging, sleeping in and countless hours of playtime may top the to-do list, caregivers know that fun and freedom can quickly lose its appeal and turn into boredom.

Well, at Aqua-Tots, we always find fun in the pool, and we’ve put together a list of fun pool games for kids to keep pool time fresh and knock out any free-time monotony. Now, you can plan ahead for the weeks to come with these fun and educational (shhh…we we won’t tell!) splash-worthy pool games to keep little ones swimming happily!

SIGHT WORD DIVE POOL GAME

School may be over, but sight words don’t have to be. Keep the reading skills of little learners at the forefront of their focus by writing sight words on diving sticks and sending eager swimmers to the bottom of the pool to gather them up. Bonus: Use words that can create full sentences, and let them string the words together on the pool’s edge.

SWIM SCRABBLE POOL GAME

With only sponges and a permanent marker, you can easily take the age-old game of Scrabble to the pool. Create floatable letter tiles and have little ones take turns gathering letters to create words. If your tot isn’t proficient with spelling yet, use the opportunity to spell his or her name, put the alphabet in order, pick out vowels, etc.

FLOATING NUMBERS POOL GAME

Put that collection of wine corks to good use with this floating numbers game. Write a number on each cork and toss them into the pool to make a variety of math memories. Children can collect all odd or even numbers, see who can find the highest or lowest number, add the total number of corks collected or find the number to match their age. The mathematical options are infinite! Combine arithmetic and swimming together for a more challenging pool game for older children, and challenge them by incorporating addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in this fun water game.

GOIN’ ON A NUMBER HUNT SWIMMING GAME

Noodle rings and floating foam numbers make this counting game add up to hours of fun in the pool. Spread foam numbers around the pool. Children can practice swim strokes while they find numbers in order, forwards or backwards, in this numerical fun pool game for kids. Additionally, you can throw in two sets of numbers for multiple kiddos and make it a race between two children.

SWIMMERS GOT TALENT, POOL EDITION

We know older kiddos might see right through these attempts to practice math and reading skills, so we’ve included a few games to play in the pool that don’t stretch their brain cells too much. Think of it more like a talent show, pool style. Handstands, cannonballs and the best mermaid impersonations are a few places to start. Mom and Dad get to be the official judges, so have your scorecards ready!

MARCO POLO 2.0 FROM AQUA-TOTS SWIM SCHOOLS

Take the classic game of Marco Polo to the next level with animal sounds! Older kiddos may have outgrown singing about Ol’ McDonald, but we know they remember all the silly sounds they make. Let the child who’s “it” play as a sea animal (or any animal for that matter), and those they’re trying to catch must make the corresponding animal sound. “Dooooooo yoooouuuu” speak whale?

 SUPER-SOAKER WATER RACES POOL GAME

Create a water squirtgun obstacle course through the yard and pool that will have all the neighborhood kiddos begging to play at your house this summer. String cups or objects to squirt from point A to point B, add relay obstacles (such as jumping in the pool before the start) or create teams to compete for friendly, splashy competition. They can race to the finish line and repeat until naptime. 

At Aqua-Tots Swim Schools, we know that the water is where the happiest memories are made. That’s why we want your little ones to have a lifetime of fun and safety while giving you the peace of mind you desire. Enroll in swim lessons today to fill these memories with a lifetime of safety.