The weather is starting to warm up and the backyard pool season is just beginning. Although intermittent COVID-19 stay-at-home orders may restrict your usual summertime plans, days spent around the pool are sure to provide you all the fun and relaxation you need. There are so many fun things to do in the pool to keep kids (and kids at heart) occupied all summer long! Check out this list of swimming activities for kids for some inspiration.
1. Marco Polo
This one’s a summertime classic and a staple swimming game for kids! The rules are simple: one swimmer keeps their eyes closed throughout the game and calls out “Marco” periodically. The other children must respond with “Polo” to reveal their location. The objective is for “Marco” to tag one of the other swimmers, at which point the roles will be swapped. A fun additional rule you may want to add is that the other swimmers are allowed to get out of the pool to move to another location; however, if “Marco” suspects that someone is out of the pool and shouts “Fish out of water!”, that player is automatically caught.
2. Sharks and Minnows
In this game, one player is a “shark” while the other players are “minnows”. The shark starts the game in the middle of the pool, with the minnows gathered on one end of the pool. When the shark yells “Shark attack!”, the minnows must swim to the other end of the pool without being tagged by the shark. Every minnow who is tagged becomes a shark, making the game increasingly difficult for the leftover minnows. The last minnow standing gets to become the first shark in the next game.
3. Basketball or Volleyball
These team games are even more fun in a swimming pool! All you’ll need is a net or a hoop and a volleyball or basketball to transform your backyard oasis into a court. You can divide into teams and play a competitive game, or just relax and pass the ball back and forth. Basketball and volleyball are great swimming pool activities for kids and adults alike.
4. Noodle Joust
In this game, two children are placed on pool floaties. Using swimming pool noodles, the children try to unbalance and overturn the other’s floatie until one falls in the water and the other is named the victor!
5. Scavenger Dive
Using coins, diving sticks, or anything else that sinks, have the kids jump into the pool and try to collect as many items from the bottom of the pool as they can. The swimmer with the most items wins!
6. Fruit Basket
One player stands on the edge of the pool facing away from the water with their eyes closed. The other swimmers are in the water touching the edge of the pool; these swimmers must secretly choose a name of a fruit. The player standing outside of the pool calls out names of fruit. Once they call out the fruit a swimmer has chosen, that swimmer must try to get to the other end of the pool without being tagged. The player who is “It” cannot see whether the swimmers are swimming and can only turn around if they think they hear someone swimming. They can then jump in and try to catch them! The round continues until someone is caught. Categories can be switched up from fruit to colours, animals, and anything else they think of!