Swimming Pools as Fun Educational Resources

Many people associate swimming pools with one of two things – either as a means to cool down after you’ve been lounging in the sun, or as somewhere you learn to swim, packed with kids and floatation devices.

However swimming pools don’t need to be simply all about swimming a certain number of lengths or learning a specific stroke – they can also be used as an educational and fun resource in other ways too. There are plenty of games you can play in the pool with children either as part of a club or a family activity in order to both learn and have fun.

These can include anything from traditional team games like water polo and water hoops, which not only help with teambuilding and learning sports, but can also help keep kids and adults alike fit and healthy in the pool in a more interactive way, without following each other silently up and down the pool.

Other games that are great to play, especially in a public pool environment, are things like swimming pool bingo. This is completely different from the traditional adult bingo where numbers are called out and marked off on a player’s card in order to win a prize. Instead this is where you give the kids 5 or 6 pool related items to spot, and get them to tell you when they’ve spied them. Items can be anything from floats and pool noodles to arm bands, goggles and locker wristbands. This allows kids to practice focus and problem solving whilst keeping them alert. You could even offer a prize up for the first person who marks off all of their bingo items, just like the real game.

Another version of pool bingo which will have the kids moving much more involves a bucket each and a pre-made bingo card which will need to be laminated to avoid being spoiled by water. You’ll need to do some planning in advance of the game, by purchasing a set of floatable balls and then marking each with a number corresponding to your different bingo cards. Then simply hand each child a bucket and bingo card, throw all the balls into the pool then get them to find all the numbers on their card. Players should race against each other, again with a prize offered up for the winner.

If you’d prefer to play your own bingo poolside while the kids play, you now can thanks to online bingo sites which let you play the game from your smartphone. You can even play for free and win a prize of your own thanks to no deposit bingo at bingostrike.com listing all the places that offer free cash when you play there. Just be careful to keep your mobile device well away from the pool edge to avoid any accidental water damage!