The Messy Pool Race

Want to wear your kids out in a hurry?  Whether you’re trying to get them their daily dose of exercise or just want them to burn off a little energy so they’ll give you a bit of peace and quiet, there is nothing like the Messy Pool Race.  The game is simple, but requires a lot of physical energy.

You’ll need a healthy supply of pool toys—floating toys, dive rings, dive sticks–you name it.  Toss all the toys into the pool and assign each child an area outside the pool (maybe one gets a spot near the deep end and another a spot by the gate).  For maximum challenge, make the place far enough from the pool that the child has to get out of the water to reach it.

On your count, the kids must remove pool toys from the pool one by one and place them in their respective assigned spots with no running.  You can declare a winner based just on number of toys collected or try these different spins on the game:

Assign different point values to submerged toys (dive sticks, dive rings, etc.) and to floating toys (beach balls, inflatable floats, etc.).  This way, the child has an incentive to dive for a toy rather than plucking a floating one from the surface.

Declare target toys periodically.  For example, as the kids race to remove toys from the pool, yell “purple dive stick” and the child who gets the purple dive stick gets double points.

However you play it, it’s bound to wear them out.  Just be sure to remember safety first:

–No running

-No hitting or pushing

-If your children tend to play rough, avoid the target toys variation so you don’t end up with an underwater battle…