Games for kids in the pool

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Did you ever play this game when you were a kid? It was played a lot at school and was a pool party game staple. It works best with a large group. To play: Start with one person, the shark, in the middle of the pool. Give the shark boundaries that they cannot cross to get the minnows.

The rest of the swimmers, the minnows, line up along one side of the pool. Anyone who is tagged becomes a shark. The last minnow standing becomes the shark for the next game. This classic never gets old! Even the littlest of hands can get into pool games. Little kids love playing this pool fishing game, but the older kids enjoy it as well.

Your kids will be building their hand-eye coordination without even knowing it. To play: Line all the racers up at one end of the pool and choose one person to be the referee. You can have them already on their floats or all in the pool and they have to mount when the whistle blows. Either way, the objective is to see who can get from the starting line to the other end of the pool riding their float first!

Anyone that falls off is disqualified. If you have a bunch of kids, you can do this as a relay with teams! This game can be a little intense, so reserve it for your more rough-and-tumble kids. Or, check out this log raft game with canes. To play: Each player rides their raft like a horse in the middle of the pool.

They each have a pool noodle and on the count of 3, they joust to see who can knock the other player off their raft first. If you want to add a little math practice to your summer fun, this is the perfect game. It takes a little bit of prep work but can be used all summer long in a variety of ways for kids of all math abilities.

Start by using a permanent marker and numbering 25 or more! Then head to the pool! To play: Start by dividing the kids into 2 teams and place them with a bucket on opposite sides of the pool. Throw all the balls in the pool. Ready, set, go! Everyone jumps in and collects balls to put in their bucket. However, you can only collect one ball at a time. When all the balls are collected, each side adds up their total older kids can help the younger kids with math and the highest-scoring team wins!

The team with the highest score wins. To play: The whole point is to try and stand on your pool noodle without falling off. Whoever can stay on the noodle the longest wins! This game is fun for kids and adults of all ages. To play: All you need is some kind of ball to throw and enough room to jump into the pool. The first catcher stands at the edge of the pool and the pitcher throws the ball into the air in front of the catcher, who has to jump in and catch it before plunging into the water.

You can get creative with this game by having the catcher do a leap or a trick before catching. The catches can get more difficult, which ups the ante! This can also be done off a diving board, which makes it really fun as you can jump higher and farther! While rubber ducks make this game super adorable, it can also be done with any number of other items that float like balls. To play: The players line up and each swimmer starts at one end of the pool with a rubber duck.

The object of the game is to get your rubber duck to the other side, without using your hands. Your kids may try blowing on them, pushing them with their forehead or nose, carrying them on their back or head.

Let them get creative. The first one to the end of the pool wins! Take this fun basketball game to the pool! You can play this game with a pool basketball hoop , a bucket, or a round innertube. To play: The first player has to try to make a basket from anywhere in the pool and if they make it, the next player has to repeat the shot exactly how the first person did.

Bring a healthy dose of imagination for this game, but you could also use this as an educational activity to research some marine life. Sometimes my kids use gear like a snorkel, mask, or fins, but those are not necessary.

To play: First, imagine a scuba diving scenario. It could be searching for a sunken ship, looking for manta rays, or scouting out the Great Barrier Reef.

Then gather any pool floats you have. My son prefers an inner tube. Next, sit on the edge of the floatie and fall backward into the water. Make sure to be far away from the edge of the pool. If you have goggles or a mask, try to communicate with each other using just your eyes or hand signals, like real scuba divers.

Be sure to share all of the interesting specimens you found on your dive. Talk about a fun find! Invisible bottle is one of the best swimming pool games for kids. To play: Find a clear plastic 2-liter bottle with a clear or white cap. Fill it with pool water. Have everyone playing stand on the pool deck, turn their backs to the pool, and close their eyes.

Throw the bottle into the water. The clear bottle will blend in and become almost invisible at the bottom of the pool. The first person to find it wins! Airball is lots of fun and a great game to play with a large group of people or the whole family.

We use a beach ball when we play this in the pool. To play: The goal of this game is to keep the ball in the air! You can pass it to other players or go around in a circle. You just need to keep it from touching the water. Count out loud how many times the ball is hit.

When the beach ball touches the water, the round is over and you start a new game! Try to beat your score from the last round. As a kid, I was absolutely fascinated by the power of water. One of the things we loved doing was to get the water moving in a whirlpool and then fight the current.

The more kids that can play, the better results. The smaller the pool, the better. Or stay in the shallow end of the pool. To play: Everyone starts in a large circle. Begin walking slowly in the circle, all in the same direction. Start walking faster and faster until everyone is running in the water. Continue running until a whirlpool is formed! Laughter and chaos are sure to ensue! Everyone loves a good belly flop! This game is sure to bring the laughter and a good way to get everyone big and little involved in the action.

First one to complete the letters in the word FISH loses the game. You can spice up the game through additional rules and mechanics to make the game even more challenging. Splash Dance: This swimming pool game is like having a dance show right in your backyard pool. Play an energetic pop song, and have the players dance to the beat. Invite friends and family to witness the most adorable dance show! They can even get creative with props.

You can also have your own reward system for the kids that outstandingly performed for the show. Cardboard Boat Race: Divide the kids into teams, and give them large cardboard boxes, packaging tapes, coloured papers, stickers, and markers. Let the teams get super creative in building their own boat. Each team must race the boat from one end of the pool to another, using only their arms to serve as the oars.

If the boats are not sturdy enough, the winner of the contest will be based on which boat stayed floating for the longest time. Simon Says: This swimming pool game requires four or more players. Let them spread out in the pool.

The winner will be the last standing kid in the water. Mirror Game: This is a fun activity suitable for swimming pool parties and can be played by everyone. Starfish Tag: This swimming pool game is another version of a swimming pool tag game. To play:. Over and Under: In this game, everyone has to work as a team. Prepare your materials for the game; for an instance, a small ball or any other small object. Swimming Through Legs: Make underwater swimming extra fun with this game.

Stand in a star shape with someone else facing you. If you find it easy, try getting two or more people standing with their legs open and see if you can do the challenge! Roly-Poly: Get a ball and tuck yourself in. Try to do several rolls without touching the bottom of the pool.

You can do this by yourself or by competing with other kids on how many rolls you can do. Stepping Stones: Challenge your friends with this fun swimming pool game! See how many steps it would take for each player to get into the other side of the pool.

The one with the lowest number of steps is declared the winner. Fishy in the Middle: Get everyone jump with excitement with this swimming pool game. What you need is a medium-sized softball for every three players. Kicking Duel: How tough you think your legs are? For this swimming pool game of strength and endurance, you will need a pool noodle between two players. Bike Rider: Every player should have a pool noodle tied like a knot.

Start swimming around the pool with your pool noodle as your bike handlebar. See if the others can follow you! Balancing Game: See how long those kids can balance! What you need is a pool float or pool noodle. Have everyone stand on their own float and see how long they can stay without falling in the water. The one who stays the longest will be declared the winner! Silly Hats: Keep those hats on your heads! This is a fun game that needs only a float for each player.

Mermaid Bingo: This game would be very fun if you add your friends and family into the action! But first, you should prepare some floats with numbers and pool toys that float in the water. Ball Toss: Place some frisbees in the water. Write them some numbers that will correspond as the scores. Take turns on throwing balls at frisbees and score the points written on them. The first player to get points is the winner. Swimming Pool Scrabble: Enhance the spelling and vocabulary skills of children with this swimming pool game!

You just need some sponges with letters written on it. Target Practice! Each players can take turns just like playing the darts game. Underwater Obstacle Course: Create a mini obstacle course right in your pool. Seaweed: This swimming pool game starts with one player in the middle of the pool, and the others lined up against one end of the pool. If a player have been tagged, he will join the middle player and catch the remaining players. The last person who is not caught in the seaweed will be the winner.

Volleyball: This swimming pool game is pretty simple, you just have to set up a pool volleyball net and find some inflatable ball. Instead of using air, fill your balloons with water and let the kids do whatever they want to them! Dolphins and Sharks: This swimming pool game will be fun for a large group of kids in your pool. Pool Basketball: This is as simple as the other games, you just have to grab a pool basketball hoop, and let the kids spend their time on getting an excellent three-point shot!

Chicken Fight: This swimming pool game is for the older kids and adults alike. Get a partner and ride him on his shoulder and engage to the other team. Grab an odd number of diving sticks 7, 5, 9 and toss them in the middle.