Summer camp can be a great opportunity for children to explore the outdoors, get creative, and stay active even when school is out. However, finding unique and enjoyable activities can be difficult. If you’re struggling to come up with fun water game ideas for your campers, look no further. In this article, you’ll learn five different water games that are sure to get kids excited, from classics such as The Bomb to more inventive and involved games such as Pop It. With the help of these games, your summer campers will happily stay cool and have a blast on those hot summer days.
For summer camp leaders, these fun water games will help bring an element of excitement and fun to the campers. Through these activities, kids can learn the importance of teamwork, communication, and problem solving while having fun in the process. When selecting water games, it is important to consider the ages and number of participants to ensure that they are safe and appropriate. Furthermore, water games can be adapted and adjusted to various settings and age levels. So, embrace the fun and get creative with your water game ideas for a unique, memorable experience.
After a whopping 9 years of summer camps for my ESL school I can firmly tell you that water games are the best thing ever for our campers on a hot day. (Especially here in Mallorca, Spain!). Over the years I have searched, tried and tested many different water games and let me tell you some of them sucked and were really dangerous. So here are my top 5 water games, from a teacher point of view - easy to set up and safe, to a campers point of view - fast and fun. I’ve done the hard work so you don’t have to. Relax and have a read, take notes and get ready to have a splashing time!
ABC Game
Fast thinking game, great for any age. To play this you need a sponge / water ball to pass around the circle, a bucket of water and a cup. Make a circle with the group, with the group leader in the middle. The game is to say different words starting with the letter they have. So the topic is animals, for example. The first person holds the wet sponge / ball and says A - Aardvark, then throws the ball to the next player. They say B - Bear and pass it on. The next player says C - Cat and so on. Now if a person takes longer than 10 seconds the group leader throws a cup of water at them from the middle. You can make it more difficult by taking down the time to 5 seconds.
Perfect for families, friends or class students, But I love this game for English Second language learners. They practise vocabulary and have fun too.
The Bomb
Similar to the ABC Game, fun and fast and great for all players. You will need a sponge / water ball to pass around the group, a bucket of water, a cup and a timer. Make a circle with the group. To play you give the group a topic and set the timer for how long you want - I normally change the time each round so the children can’t guess how long they have. Start the timer and the group passes the ball around saying different words for that topic. Example, sports - Football, hockey, swimming, etc. If someone repeats they have a cup of water over their head. Whoever is holding the ball when the timer finishes gets a cup of water over the head too. Great fun, no matter the age, and perfect for summer camps. I play this with water, or without with my ESL students and it energises them and gets them talking.
Pop It!
An interesting and funny, small group game that I play in pairs. To prepare you need to fill water balloons beforehand, enough for however many groups you have and rounds you want to play. So, split your group into pairs, or three’s and give each group a water balloon. You then give them a body part they must use to pop the balloon. They can’t use anything else. Only that body part. Each round the last group to successfully pop the balloon is out, until you have a winner. Some funny body parts can be stomachs, fingers and even bums!
Children love love love this game, and it’s so much fun to get kids working together. I highly recommend playing this one.
Over / Under Cup Relay
A wet and wild water game for campers to have fun. You will need two buckets and one cup per team. Split your campers into even teams ( recommended at least 5 per group) and stand them in single file lines. Put a full bucket of water at the front of the line. The first in line fills up the cup, as much or little as they want, and passes it over their head to the next player. That player passes it under and through their legs to the next person. Continue like this until they get to the final player who tips any water remaining in the cup, into the bucket. They then run to the front and start again. You can score this game two ways. You can keep going until a team fills their bucket ( which can take a long time) or you can play for 5 minutes and the team with the most water in the second bucket wins the game. The winners then get to throw the buckets of water over the other teams.
Very wet and silly but in my experience all ages love this one as it’s a race. It can get very loud, but it’s nice that they cheer each other on too.
Bottle Catch
Better to play with older kids, this game is good for the motor skills of throwing and catching. Split your group into 2 teams and space them out in a line. You need at least a metre between each player. You need to have two buckets and an empty soda bottle. The first student fills the water bottle up to the top. Then students throw and catch the bottle down the line to each player. The final player tips the remaining water in the bottle into the bucket. The first team to fill the bucket wins. I recommend taking the label off of the bottle to play. Awesome game for teens and young adults.
Easy to set up and fun to play for campers and teachers alike. Water Games are a great way to spend the summer months.
Need more game ideas? Check this out
It’s clear that water games can be a great fun and educational addition to summer camp activities. Not only are they a fun way to beat the heat and stay cool, but they also teach team building, communication, problem solving, and a whole host of other skills. With the right supplies, these activities can become a cool, wet and wild summer day. So don’t forget to add water games to your plans for an unforgettable summer camp experience.
Let the games begin!
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Super cute ideas and especially love adding learning with cooling down!
The chaotic energy the first game gives off makes it sound so much fun and an ideal way for kids to burn off energy too with all the laughing!!
Katherine
I am going to use these ideas for my grandsons. They love water