Monthly Archives: June 2013

Child Fitness, Discipline, Fun Activities, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Summer Games To Play With Kids In The Garden And Pool

Mark, guest contributor

When the temperature rises and the sun makes you feel like you’re about to melt, a dip in the pool is the best way to cool yourself and enjoy the holiday with the family. And if you think that the pool can’t be used for anything but swimming, think again, as both the pool and the garden can represent great playing fields for summer games in which fun is guaranteed.

Just make sure to secure your garden by removing anything you can step on – from small garden tools to rakes. Also, it is advisable to secure your pool with pool fencing (which is mandatory in Australia mind you) and to make sure no one can slip around the pool, all of which is done in order to avoid any unnecessary accidents, especially for children.

Next, we’ll show you 10 games that can be played in these two environments. These games are intended to help you and your child stay fit, all the while bonding and having fun:

1. Filling Buckets

For those who are fans of competitions, this game just can’t be ignored. You will need at least two players without counting yourself. Each child or team will be provided with one empty bucket of water and one plastic cup in advance. The challenge is to fill the empty bucket with water from the plastic cup. The first team that fills their bucket wins.

2. Limbo Under Running Water

The garden hose will be of great help in this situation: turn on the water and set the jet to its strongest setting. The little ones will have to go under running water without touching it. Slowly, lower the hose down. The winner will be the one who will be able to go on running without touching the hose, or rather without getting wet. The losing team will be easy to spot – they will all be wet!

3. The Wet Sponge Game

Wet a bigger sponge and offer it to your children as ball to play with. One child, designated by you, will have to throw the sponge at the others. The child or family member touched by the sponge will be next in line to take it and start targeting the others. This is a summer variant of “tag, your it” game.

4. Ducks vs. Hunters – The Garden Version

The wet sponge can also serve for a game of “ducks vs. hunters”. In this case, two children will be sitting on the opposite sides (they are the hunters) and throw the sponge at each other while trying to hit the children that are between them (they are the ducks). The first and last “ducks” touched by the sponge become hunters in the next game. This, as you may have recognized, is dogeball – but a safe, fun, and refreshing version of dogeball!

5. Ducks vs. Hunters – The Pool Version

Ducks vs. hunters can also be played in the pool using sponge or a ball. The rules are the same, only the environment changes.

6. Marco Polo

A version of “hide and seek” played in the water. One of the children will be Marco Polo. He will have to shut his eyes and count to 10 while the other players spread around the pool. After Marco Polo finishes counting, he has to touch another player with his eyes closed. He will yell “Marco” and the other participants must respond with “Polo”, so he can estimate where they are at the moment. When another child is reached, he or she becomes Marco.

7. Treasure Hunt

Spread the coins at the bottom of a swimming pool and give your children a back story for the epic treasure hunt. Until you count to 10, they must return to you with as many coins as possible. The one who gathered the most coins wins.

8. Baton (version 1)

For children who already know how to swim, teaching them baton will be easy as 1-2-3. The game is another version of the popular relay race, but played in the water. The two teams line up at the entrance to the pool, and when they are given the green light to start, one child from each team jumps into the water with a little ball in his hand (or the other relay set) and swims to the other side of the pool. The other two competitors start after the first are done. The team with the highest amount of victories is declared winner.

9. Baton (version 2)

Another way to play relay race is by placing the children at set distances along the pool. Each team will basically form a “column”. Whoever gets to start first has to swim along the pool with the ball in their hand until they reach a teammate and pass the ball over. In turn, the other kid has to do the same thing, and so on until the last member of the team reaches the pool’s end with the ball in hand. The team that gets the ball to the pool’s end first wins the game.

10. Water Basketball

Find or improvise a ring which will float on water. Make sure that its size is a little larger than the ball you choose for the game. Children will be divided into several teams and the team who manages to throw the ball in the ring most of the times win. The fun part here is that the ring moves over the water but the game may be though of as water basketball.

I hope you will have awesome family fun with the help of these tips for great summer games. I know I will!

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Mark is a father of two great kids whom he wants to grow up in equally great people, so he teaches them important life lessons while he still has influence on their development.

Child Fitness, Discipline, Motivation, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

6 Great Tricks For Making Sure Your Child Develops A Love For Sports

James Ferraro, guest contributor             

When your child is growing up you want them to get into sports. It will ensure they stay fit and that is not something you can guarantee when they become addicted to video games. If they love going down the park to throw a ball around, it means they will get out of the house more. They will develop leadership skills, but they will also learn to play as part of a team

They will even find it a lot easier to make new friends. Just because you want them to love sports doesn’t mean it will turn out that way, but there are some things you can do to maximize the chances of them developing a love for a specific sport. Let’s look at what you need to do when they are growing up.

Start to play as a family

As soon as your child can walk you should try to get them involved with a particular sport. Soccer might be a good one to begin with because it’s not likely they will be able to dribble a basketball or hold a baseball bat. Take them out into the garden and let them kick it around. If they get used to playing with a ball they will be more inclined to play with one when they get older.

Don’t compare your children

If you have any older children you must not compare them to each other. The younger one won’t understand why they are not as skillful as their big brother or sister. They definitely won’t realize it’s because they are younger and they will get upset. This could affect their subconscious mind and they might start associating sport with misery.

Try out different sports

I’ve already said that you’re better starting with a soccer ball, but when they get a little older you can let them try out different sports. They might even ask you if they can try something in particular. They should get to decide what they spend their time doing, so don’t force them to play a certain sport because it was your favorite. They might be your child, but it doesn’t mean they will like the same things as you.

Focus on the positives

 

You don’t become amazing at any sport until you’re much older, so when they are young you shouldn’t care too much about perfection. Only focus on the positives and they will enjoy sport a lot more. One of the worst things you can do is shout at them because they keep doing something wrong. Positive reinforcement will always produce better results.

Sport should be fun

Children shouldn’t be allowed to bite each other and push the referee around, but you don’t want to have too many rules. When they are still young you only want them to think about how much fun they are having. They shouldn’t be worrying about stepping offside in case the referee awards a kick to the other team. Rules can be introduced to the game once they are older.

Break down into chunks

Don’t expect miracles when you start introducing them to certain skills. They can take a long time to get good at them, so in the beginning you should try to break something down into small chunks. Let them master a certain aspect of a skill rather than the entire thing. This will give them encouragement because they will improve a lot quicker.

Video games aren’t the answer