Pool School: Summer Learning in the Pool

Have you tried homeschooling in the pool? We’re big fans of summer learning in the swimming pool. During the summer months, we like to spend lots of time outdoors.

Swimming and relaxing in the pool allows us to escape the Florida heat and enjoy the summer months. How do we make it work? Can you really teach homeschool in the swimming pool?

Keep reading to discover our favorite pool school resources for summer learning in the pool. We’ve got great waterproof games and practical tools you won’t want to miss. Plus, check out more fun ways to learn through the summer months with your kids.

What Is Pool School?

What is pool school? For us, pool school means summer learning in the swimming pool. Since we are homeschooling year-round, moving our lessons to the pool gives us a chance to cool off and beat the Florida heat while keeping the learning going.

Pool school is a great way to adopt a relaxed learning approach for the summer. Plus, pool school helps encourage a learning lifestyle for our family. If we can learn while swimming around in our pool, we can learn anywhere!

Can You Homeschool in the Pool?

Yes, homeschooling in the pool is totally possible and it’s a lot of fun. During the summer months, we usually find ourselves spending more time outside exploring nature and playing in the pool. Homeschooling in the pool gives us a chance to incorporate learning and practice math, literacy, and geography at the same time.

Figuring out how to homeschool in the pool is a lot of fun too. You might be surprised by some of the unique and fun games your kids can come up with. Get creative and you can definitely make pool school work for your family.

Keep reading to discover some of our favorite ways to homeschool in the pool and the best pool school resources we’ve discovered over the years. You won’t want to miss these must-haves!

Pool School Resources For Your Summer Resources

Pool school is an excellent way to keep engaged and learning this summer! Sometimes mixing it up and taking your lessons outside is the very best way to get excited about homeschooling during the summer months. Discover our favorite pool school resources below.

Floating Card Table

Hands down, the number one essential resource for summer learning in the pool is a floating card table. The card table is sturdy and big enough for Kevin to play a round of solitaire. We can all enjoy a variety of games together on the card table while homeschooling in the pool.

Waterproof Games

There are so many great waterproof games! Over the years, we have discovered some favorites and even a few indoor games that transition well to the pool such as dice rolling games like Roll a Word, Roll a Story, or even Roll a Sum!

Aqua Blocks

These building blocks were designed for learning in the pool. They’re perfect if you’re homeschooling an only child because kids can play alone or together with friends. Aqua Blocks have multiple difficulty levels making it a great game for a variety of ages too. Choose a design, scatter the blocks through the pool, and dive down to grab the correct blocks to build your design. You can race to see who finishes first for a more competitive version too.

Bananagrams

This game wasn’t really meant for homeschooling in the pool, but it’s working out great for our family! We transferred our Bananagrams to a plastic bag for swim days.

Now, we play on the floating card table and our tiles do just fine if they get wet. It’s a great way to practice spelling skills and build vocabulary while you relax in the pool this summer.

Cinco Linko

If you’re looking for a quick pool school game that’s easy enough for young children to play, try Cinco Linko. This game encourages players to get 5 in a row with square plastic tiles. Rows can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

Cinco Linko is a lot like Connect Four without the board. It’s the perfect quick homeschooling in the pool game and easy to take on the go to practice early math skills with your kids.

Dominos

You can play Dominos in the pool too. Giant foam dominos are a fun pool school game to break out when you want to practice math skills with your homeschoolers. You can use a regular set of dominos with a floating card table too.

Llama Drama

Practicing skills like matching and comparing gets a lot more fun with Llama Drama. This game isn’t just for the pool. You can play this card game indoors too. The cards are waterproof and tear-resistant, making them a great choice for summer learning in the pool.

Another thing that’s fun about this game is that you can get expansion packs for up to 8 people to play Llama Drama together. Plus, you’ll have so much fun incorporating all the special “llama rule” cards!

Math Dice

ThinkFun’s Math Dice game wasn’t originally intended for the pool, but it’s waterproof and ready to go without the rules. Take a picture of the rules on your phone and toss this game in your pool bag for homeschooling in the pool fun.

Moby Math Tiles

Similar to Banagrams, Moby Math Tiles is a math-focused version that’s fun for everyone. It makes practicing math facts easy. Plus, you can transfer the tiles to a plastic bag and take this game along for summer learning in the pool.

Pass the Pandas

To win Pass the Pandas, you’ll need to get rid of all your dice. This dice game is fun and easy to play in the swimming pool. It’s a good way to practice numeracy skills and have fun gameschooling while relaxing in the pool. Plus, the dice are totally safe in the pool.

Seek & Splash

The Seek & Splash game from Skillmatics was made for the pool. It’s perfect for teaching problem-solving, practicing swimming skills, and matching while you enjoy a day at the pool. There’s even a junior version for young children who aren’t strong swimmers yet.

Spell & Dive

I really like playing a variety of games with these Spell & Dive letters. They come with waterproof cards your homeschoolers can use to build words as they find the letters. You can play a game where they see how many words they can form in a certain amount of time.

Another way to play is to have your kids dive for letters in alphabetical order or dive for the letters to spell their own names. Whatever you do with them, they’re versatile, fun, and easy to take along for homeschooling in the pool.

UNO Splash

We love UNO games! They’re perfect for practicing colors and number recognition with young children and still lots of fun for older kids too. UNO Splash is a waterproof card game that we love playing on our card table as we float around the pool.

Waterproof Spot It

Spot It has got to be one of our favorite games! I love it because there’s no reading involved in gameplay, so kids of all ages can participate. This waterproof Spot It version is perfect for homeschooling in the pool this summer.

Pool School Tech

Along with our essential floating card table, there are some tech items that have definitely made homeschooling in the pool more fun and engaging for the whole family! For example, our Kindle Paperwhites are perfect for reading while floating around the pool and they’re waterproof too. I love our waterproof speaker for listening to educational playlists like our multiplication songs and our favorite audiobooks.

More Ways to Learn in the Pool

There are lots of pool games you can play that don’t involve screens or floating card tables too. You can encourage summer learning in the pool without any waterproof games or pool toys too. Try some of these fun ways to learn this summer:

Teach Measurements and Fractions

Take a stack of measuring cups from the kitchen to see how many teaspoons fit in a cup. There are all kinds of ways to play with measurements and fractions while homeschooling in the pool. Get kids to think outside the box and guess how many gallons of water are in the pool for more fun with estimation too.

Sink or Float

Will this toy sink or float? Have your homeschoolers find items to put in the pool and see if they will sink or float. It’s a fun way to explore buoyancy and learn about density and mass. You might be surprised by what floats to the top and what sinks!

Geography Jumps

Try naming states and capitals as you jump from the side of the pool. Call out a state and have your child name the capital mid-air for a fun poolside game that’s great for practicing geography together.

More Relaxed Summer Learning Ideas

There are lots of ways to keep learning through the summer months outside of the pool too. Don’t miss some of these great articles about our relaxed summer learning plans and weird ways to homeschool that really work too.

What’s your favorite way to homeschool during the summer months? How have you kept the learning going while having lots of fun together? Share your favorite tips and tricks in the comments.