The one that we go to the most is the John Jay Pool located in a park on the Upper East Side all the way by the East River. We love it since there are shady areas for the children. It’s also the perfect place to go for a walk or play basketball.
One of the most unique pools is in the Bronx and is called The Floating Pool at Barretto Park. Built on top of a barge, it has 7 lanes and a beautiful waterfront view!
Our favorite pool in Brooklyn is the Pop-Up Pool at Brooklyn Bridge Park located at Pier 2. It has gorgeous views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan! Although it is a smaller pool, it is perfect for children since it is 3 ½ feet deep. There is also a sandy area with 25 lounge chairs and 10 picnic tables with umbrellas.
Another awesome pool is the Hamilton Fish Pool located on the Lower East Side, which is Olympic size! Bring a towel since it has lots of space to lounge around and sunbathe.
If you are in Astoria a great option is the Astoria Pool. It is an Olympic size pool that is great for swimming laps and has beautiful Art Deco décor. It is excellent for families. There are also gorgeous views of Manhattan!
Racing – Have your child pair up with another child and swim a lap. Whoever touches the wall first wins! You can target words such as “Ready Set Go!”, “faster”, etc. It builds great sportsmanship skills!
Freeze Tag – Keep your children active by running in the pool! Have one person be “it” and have him tag the other players. When a player is tagged, he is considered “frozen”. In order to unfreeze him, a fellow player must swim between his legs. This allows him to follow the rules of a game and encourages turn-taking.
Tea Party – This is great for pretend play. Have your child hold her breath and go under the water. She can criss-cross apple sauce and pretend to have a tea party by pouring tea in a cup and sipping it. Feel free to model it for them!
Marco Polo – One of the most fun games to play in the pool! Have one person be “it”. That person must cover her eyes while yelling out “Marco” and the other players say “Polo” so that they can be found. When she is tagged by the person who is “it” she must switch spots!
Simon Says – Have someone be “Simon” to give instructions to all the other children. Simon will say things like “Simon says, ‘Act like an octopus!’” If Simon only says, “Act like an octopus,” whomever follows the direction is out! The children can then switch spots. This helps them work on imitating, focusing, following directions, and encourages spontaneous production of commands.
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Debbie Shiwbalak, M.A., CCC-SLP, has a Baccalaureate of Arts in Speech Pathology and is a graduate of Long Island University-CW Post Campus, where she received a Master of Arts in Speech Pathology in 2001. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed by the state of New York to practice speech-language pathology. Debbie has 13 years experience as a speech pathologist in the New York City area. She co-authored a chapter of “Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism” and presents at parent and professional workshops all over New York City.
Alpin Rezvani, M.A., CCC-SLP, graduated from New York University with a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA) and has New York licensure in Speech-Language Pathology. She has 7 years of experience as a speech pathologist in the New York City area and was an adjunct instructor at New York University. She co-authored three chapters of “Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism” and presents at parent and professional workshops all over New York City.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog contributor’s. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Writers may have conflicts of interest, and their opinions are their own.