Winner is Joel Massey, congrats!

Summer is here and what better way to spread some summer cheer than an awesome giveaway! We are giving away this Banzai 3D Shark Lagoon Pool this month. All you have to do is make a comment to the blog and post a summer picture of your child on our Facebook page. The person with the most likes will win!

I have put together a list of some of my favorite pool games for kids. Here they are!

Marco Polo

Game is to be played in a swimming pool.

The idea is to not to get caught by "Marco" (the person who is "it")

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 to 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.....

Sharks and Minnows

The "shark" starts in the middle, The "shark" says, "Come, little fishies!"  All the "minnows" run from one end of the "pool" past the "shark" to the other end.  If a minnow gets tagged it becomes a "shark."  Both "sharks" try to tag "minnows" the next time the minnows run. 

At the end of the game, whoever is the last "minnow" to be caught becomes the "shark" to start the next game.  Any "minnow" who goes outside the pool becomes a "shark" automatically, If a "minnow" doesn't run right away, "sharks" must stand on a "safe line" and must count backwards from 10 to give the "minnow" a chance to run.  Then they can cross the safe line.  (This is called the "No Babysitting Rule.")
 

Balloon Toss

What is needed:

• Water balloons
• A group of friends paired off

How to play:
Each pair stands face to face with one holding a water balloon. They toss it to each other and then take one step back. Each time it is tossed they take one step back. The pair that has their water balloon intact the longest wins.

Scavenger Hunt

Choose a variety of objects to strew across the bottom of the pool -- anything that doesn't float, isn't made of glass and has no sharp edges. Make sure there are two of everything (one for each team). Designate the shallow end for little kids, the deep end for bigger ones and grown-ups and give each team a list of items to retrieve. The team that collects the most things on its list in the allotted time wins; the other team has to scour the pool for the remaining stuff. 

Sponge Toss Relay

What is needed:

• 1 large sponge per relay team
• 2 buckets per relay team
• 6 or more teens

Each player on a relay team must be at least 5 feet away from the other players. They can be in a line or a zig-zag formation. Place a bucket full of water near the first player on the team and an empty bucket near the last player in the line. When the race starts the first player soaks up water in the sponge and throws it to the 2nd player who throws it to the 3rd and so on until the sponge gets to the last player on the relay team. The last player squeezes out the water into the empty bucket and sends the sponge back the same way it came. This repeats until the empty bucket is full or until a time limit is met. The team with the most water in their 'empty' bucket wins.

I hope you enjoy these fun pool games for kids! Good luck and don't forget to make a comment to this blog and post your favorite summer photo of your child. Most likes on our Facebook page will win! (Picture must be recent and contest end July 1 ,2012.)

Jessica

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by Jessica G