Summertime Fun at the Pool For You and Your Kids

One of my favorite sounds of summer is of Teddy's feet, running across the puddled pavement, coming to beg me for 50 cents for a ring pop at . It sounds odd, but honestly, there is a particular slap of his feet that announces he wants a ring pop. Out comes my 50 cents–it's hard to say no when we are at “the club.”

It's probably hard to say no because we aren't actually members of the club. When we go we are guests, therefore, making it extra special.

For the past few years, we have been lucky enough to be invited to the Rose Tree Swim Club several times. Last year we even participated in their August-only membership option, which gave us access from August 1^st through Labor Day. I believe Rose Tree is the only swim club in the area to offer an August-only membership, knowing that many of their members disappear to the beach that month.

A day at the pool isn't just about swimming. It's about playing with friends, hitting the mini-golf circuit, playing basketball and ping-pong with the big kids, playing on the swing set, and eating ring pops. Rose Tree also has a large collection of board and card games available, all of which must be played on each visit.

Everything is $1. It's actually free, but you have to put a dollar deposit down to borrow a mini-golf club or a game. One of my friends gave each of her children $1 at the beginning of last summer. That was their dollar to rent things with. It was supposed to last the entire summer. Of course, boys being boys, they immediately took their dollar to the snack bar to get ice cream. The rest of the summer they tagged along with other kids, playing games or making suggestions on how to use their precious dollar.

Last year I was disappointed that the mini-golf course was closed due to storm damage. All winter my friends who hold bond memberships talked about how they hoped the course would be available this summer. Well, it's back and better than ever. Last week I played on the new course with my nieces. It's a nicer course than they had before and because the holes are set up high, heavy rains shouldn't close the course again.

When I'm not busy playing with my kids or swimming, I like to sit back and talk with the other moms. We always sit in between the baby and middle pool, giving us the opportunity to see our children swim and play in either pool. We talk to each other, but our eyes are focused on our children.

Being a member of a pool is a great social experience for both moms and kids. While I get to see the moms and socialize, the boys are meeting new kids, learning new things, trying different jumps off the diving board and just having fun being kids in summer. For my kids, a day at the pool is a complete treat.

If I could make one suggestion to moms on how to survive a summer in Marple Newtown, it would be to join a local swim club, or at the very least, find lots of friends with memberships.

There are several pools that offer memberships in Broomall and Newtown Square:

Rose Tree Woods Swim Club

Marple Newtown Swim Club

Lawrence Park Swim Club

St. Alban's Swim Club

Drexel Swim Club