Three of the children's favourites are described below:
"Wiggly worms" or "The Fishing Game" or "Chase the woggle"
Row them all up in water that does not come over their waists with lots of room to run and turn and challenge them to catch the ends of two woggles that you snake around the surface of the water. The woggles can move with great sinuousity if you move your hands horizontally and you can end up running all over the place teasing the shrieking catchers like fish with tasty worms on a line. The faster you go the more they like it as it raises the stakes and draws attention from onlookers. Ensure you enlist your peripheral awareness as you will need to face the children to judge when to tease the woggle end away. When one makes a successful catch slow down and let them all hold on in a row to each woggle. Once skillful at this game you can ensure that they are all aligned in two teams on each woggle, ready to stretch and kick together to be the first team back at the wall. They love this game and it has so many benefits but some main ones are to release tension, remove excess energy, work as a team with weak kickers still feeling some forward movement and to raise heart rates. It is a tiring game, it raises my heart rate too and we often follow it with soft back floats as though we are exhausted flies.
"Feeding the fish" or "Hungry fish"
This involves holding two thinner woggles at their ends to form a hinging mouth with the lips pointing at the child. You can hinge the top woggle up so that the child has the option to porpoise through the "fish's mouth" or they can go "underneath the belly" if they are uneasy about catching their feet on the lower lip and "being chewed by the fish". The skill is in ensuring the child does not stay long pivoting on the lower lip by pressing the hinge down and moving the mouth towards their feet. After very few goes many children perform beautiful flexible porpoising and you can ask them to pretend they are going through the fishes mouth a little further to enjoy their new found skill without any pressure. They will move past your legs to escape the fish's gullet. It works because they are engaging their imagination and seeing the smiles on the faces of those who have tried it before them. Laughter not threats for this one obviously. Always start with a confident child and never pressurise anyone to do anything. They can always just stand and laugh after all. It teaches them something even if they feel unable to take part and they have the right to enjoy some schadenfreude as a skilled child has to concede with giggles while being chewed by the fish, contemplate how they can feel ready to do such a thing and take the easy option until they are ready. Other skills will also help them feel ready to do this one.
"Sheep pens"
This is to encourage those who are nervous of submerging to do something unseen by pressurising eyes.
They can choose to cheat or they can chose to try without being "WATCHED" This is very important to them. Pen them at the wall with two woggles (you can see how this one happened first) and then tell your naughty sheep that you trust them to stay in the pen while you shut your eyes (all must be relatively steady on their feet for this game) Shut one eye first which makes them laugh and also allows you to check they are happy then close both. You will sense where they go and what they do and may know their characters well enough to predict. The more competent ones will effect beautiful push and glides below the water. After they have all got out (some slip around the ends and don't even go under and that's fine, it's what they need to do to be happy at that point in time) open your eyes and say "Oh no where have my sheep gone?" They love this most, the fact that you have lost your naughty sheep. Then you can ask them to sneak back in without disturbing the water or giving you a sign they are there. When you open your eyes they are there grinning at you. This game obviously has to be played where your lessons are closely life guarded, or you have an assistant with you in the water. They must also be able to safely stand and effect a standup at their own comfortable depth. Too much uplift can unbalance them and make them flap about. You need to know that they will all feel easy with it. If one is uneasy move them so it is shallower for them. Only do what is safe and feels safe for the participants.
I am lucky enough to be able to play these games in a lovely shallow beach area with lots of wall space and woggles. These games are great for me and you may not find them suitable for you to try. However they serve to illustrate that you can present children with in-depth fun and engage them with highly productive games. They love a change in pace and need some faster moves unlike adults who while learning are unable to identify when their heart is racing with fear and when it is exercising.
"Laughter is a smile bubbling over"
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