Early Literacy in Everyday Places: The Pool

With Memorial Day behind us, it is now officially pool season! Make the most of your pool time with these fun activities which promote early literacy skills. 

• Dive for letters. Label a set of diving sticks with letters - random ones, the letters in your child's name, or the letters in a particular word or phrase - then challenge your kids to collect them in the correct order. 
• Play Water World Simon Says.  This game, suggested by Creative Connections for Kids, is just like regular Simon Says, except that the leader does water-based movements. Start out playing the leader yourself, then pass the role onto the kids and give them a chance to come up with their own motions for the group to do. 
• Make a whirlpool and sing. Choose a song like Ring Around the Rosie, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, or Round and Round the Village and sing it with your kids as you circle around the pool and make a whirlpool.
• Write on the deck/cement with a wet finger. Show your kids how to spell their names and other familiar words on the edge of the pool, or challenge their spelling skills by calling out sight words and seeing who can write them the quickest.