Swimming Pool Games – Greater Sacramento Area
Published: Friday, June 22, 2012
It’s surprisingly cool here in Sacramento this week! But, here at Leisure Time we are always thinking about having fun in the sun! So your kids or grandkids are coming over to swim… Or maybe your child is having a pool party… Whatever the case, there are so many games that kids can play in the pool that will maximize their exercise and enhance their fun! Remember though, SAFETY FIRST. All children should be directly monitored by an adult whenever they enter the swimming pool area. Here are some games ranging from classics to inventive!
Marco Polo – The Classic
# of Players – 2+ (Best with 4-6)
Designate one person as “it”. That player closed their eyes and count to ten while the other participants try to “hide” by swimming away in the pool. When the count is up, the “it” tries to find the other players. To help find them, “it” can call out “Marco” and the other players have to respond with “Polo”. When someone is tagged, they become the new “it” and the game starts over.
Coin Madness – Swimming In the Money
# of Players – 2+ (Best with 4-6)
This game can be played with many players. To begin, have all of the players outside of the pool, while one player throws in a variety of coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters). Once all coins sink to the bottom, all the players jump in at the same time and retrieve as many coins as possible until there are no longer any coins remaining on the pool floor. The person with the most coins wins. *To make it even more interesting, have each player add up the coin amounts at the end of the game. The player with the greatest amount of money wins! *Let them keep the money of course!!!!
Pool Tag Survivor – Twist on Tag
# of Players – 4+ (Best with 4-5)
One player is chosen to be “it” while the other players are either a dolphin, frog, or submarine (depending on the “it” player’s preference). Dolphins swim on top of the water, frogs swim in the middle of the water, and submarines swim near the bottom of the pool. To play the game, the “it” person closes their eyes and calls out for the players to be either a dolphin, frog, or submarine. The players then must try to make it to the other side of the pool without being tagged by the “it” person. Players who make it successfully to the other side of the pool must yell “survived!” and are exempt from being “it” next game.
Water Colors – A Colorful Game of Tag
# of Players – 4+ (Best with 6-8)
One player is chosen as the “it” player and is designated to stand on the outside of the pool facing away from the swimming pool. The other players stand in the water along the same edge of the pool as the “it” player. The players in the water think of a color. When everybody has come up with a color, the “it” person shouts out different colors. When the swimmers’ color is called, they try to swim to the other side of the pool. If the “it” person thinks they hear someone swimming, they will jump in and try to the tag the swimmer as the next “it”. Every time the “it” turns around and no one is swimming or doesn’t tag someone, they must stand farther and farther away from the edge of the pool.
See ya’ later!
-Chris-