Summer 2017

Preschool + 1º / 2 º Primary
Inside Games + Outside Games & Sports
+ Water Activities Guide
 I. Inside Games
1. Musical games
... chairs
The traditional, no frills, version. Arrange a number of chairs in a circle, or line them up
back to back. Ensure there is one fewer chair than there are players. Dance around the
chairs. When the music stops, sit on a chair. The player who fails to get a chair is out.
Remove a chair and repeat. The last player seated wins.

... couples
As above, but played by couples tied together either at the wrist or the ankle. When the
music stops, one person must sit on the chair, the other on their knee.

... laps
Or get all the boys to sit on the chairs and the girls to play the game, meaning that when
the music stops they'll have to choose a lap to sit on.

... actions
Call out how you want players to move around, e.g. hopping, backwards, shuffling cross
legged or crawling on all-fours.

... statues
Yes, you have to stand still when the music stops, but the teacher gets to call out what
you have to be a statue of.

... numbers
When the music stops, the teacher calls out a number, e.g. three, and the players
immediately group themselves into the number called. Remainders (those not in a
group) are out.

... boxes
Small children love this. When they are standing as statues, get them to close their eyes
then put a box over one of them. They all then open their eyes and try to guess who is
in the box. Instead of using a box you can just hide a kid under the table.

Musical Bumps
The children dance around in the centre of the room until the music stops, when they
must sit down on the floor as quickly as possible. The last one down is eliminated.
Hints: If you are playing with very young children you may find it easier to “eliminate”
the children by asking them to dance in a different area of the room, rather than
expecting them to stop completely! It can be better to award a prize to the last 2 or 3
children standing rather than try to pick one winner. Music for the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM&list=RDQMijk5X69SCzc

Musical islands
Scatter small pieces of paper over the floor to form islands. When the music starts,
children walk around in a circle. When the music stops, children must find an island to
stand on. More than one child may stand on an island. Anyone unable to fit onto an
island, is out. The music starts again and the game continues. Remove islands from the
game to make it harder to play. The last player left wins. You can use any songs the
children like for this game.

Musical Chairs
Have all the kids create a circle with their chairs, with the seats pointing outwards. Take
one seat out. Explain the rules: When the music begins, each person must walk around
the circle. When the music stops, everyone must sit in a chair. The person left without a
seat will be out of the game. Start the music and have the kids walk around the chairs.
Stop the music. Once one person is out of the game, you will need to take a chair out
and start the music again (repeat step 3). The last person remaining wins the game.

Cooperative musical chairs

This activity is a takeoff on the familiar musical chairs game. Set a circle of chairs with
one less chair than the number of students in the class. Play music as the students circle
around the chairs. When the music stops, the students must sit in a seat.
Unlike the traditional game, the person without a seat is not out. Instead, someone must
make room for that person. Then remove another seat and start the music again. The
kids end up on one another's laps and sharing chairs! You can play this game outside,
and you can end it whenever you wish. Afterward, stress the teamwork and cooperation
the game took, and how students needed to accept one another to be successful. Music
for the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSbXsFE3l8&list=PL4mAbErKWSCp7rufhUy1gJw
sQ498YvVgn

Musical actions
Call out how you want players to move around, e.g. hopping, backwards, shuffling cross
legged or crawling on all-fours.

Musical numbers
When the music stops, the teacher calls out a number, e.g. three, and the players
immediately group themselves into the number called. Remainders (those not in a
group) are out.

The Freeze
Prepare in advance some songs easy and hard to dance (preferably the ones that the
children don`t know well). During the lesson ask the children to stand in a circle or a line
(as you prefer) and start practicing. Let children dance to different selections of music,
but explain that when the music suddenly stops, they need to freeze in place until the
music beings again. The kid who will move is eliminated.
Try using different styles and tempos of music to give children opportunities to move in
different ways: slowly, robotically, with animation, like animals, freely, etc. The following
link is a good compilation that you can use in this activity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8&list=PLWLlkFICHOB5Amt6T7IPawzxX4WNN
yH4N
The Clapping Game
The game is called the clapping game. It encourages good group work and listening skills
and can help to develop the children’s sense of rhythm.
There are 2 teams, 1 team consists of the teacher and the other is the whole class. The
teacher claps a pattern and the children then copy the pattern. If the teacher only claps
once then the children must not clap. If they do then the teacher gets the point and if
they do not then they get the point. You let them know that you want to win and they
will never beat you will encourage them to try even harder.

Pass a Rhythm
Arrange students in a sit down circle. The teacher claps out a rhythm and passes it on to
the next student in the circle until it is passed all the way around the circle. Continue
playing and increasing the difficulty of the rhythm until there is only one student left.
This student is the winner.

Karaoke!
Divide your children into several groups and allow them to choose their name. Give one
point for every well-performed song. Keep the score during the whole game. For the
competition I suggest the following songs:

Katy Perry – Roar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HSuNRN8F_c

Pharrell Williams – Happy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ocu2UFN1nmU
Shakira - La La La https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MRlF7WJ1iE
Shakira - Waka Waka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Og8r30A3M
Shakira - Try Everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJXW27K79T4
Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIvbL01uqpU
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ5sT53_9A8
Ariana Grande - Break Free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSIZkNJmA2Y
Jennifer Lopez - Ain't Your Mama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dc69dTMmc4
Jennifer Lopez – Papi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrUloanuEQ8
Justin Bieber - Sorry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CLvFIsp9oo
Luis Fonsi - Despacito ft Justin Bieber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFnTyitFl1I

In your contest you can use any songs that the kids like: the idea is that they should sing
them altogether.

Let`s Dance
Follow the video tutorial or just select a song the kids like the most and create your own
moves.
Side to Side - Ariana Grande https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV5pHJ4Zy4Q
Black magic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8_xjk0FZLI
EGO - Willy William https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4RvOm40t6E
Better when I'm Dancing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6PmB6tMBOc
Justin Bieber - What do you mean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LnlCo4M-Bg
Bang Bang https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh-F2L42sEM
Uptown Funk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7WIS04wW34
Dance and Beat!
I suggest watching and learning basic movements before the class. When you start your
dancing activity in the classroom, first play the video to the children, then stop it and
show all the movements that the song contains, practice them together with the
children, be sure that all of them are doing fine. When all the preparations have been
finished, play the video once again and practice the dance following the video as long as
you wish. Here are possible dances for your team of little monkeys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsWRdg7nBp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8u__eU6SAo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NGa0MDxnOE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNy_0CDuzpw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUbYq93cYdE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Parej8Fi0es

2. Drawing Games
One Part Drawing
Split the classroom into teams, preferably into columns or rows so you don't have to
move desks around and they can easily pass sheets of paper between each other. If
there's plenty of whiteboard/blackboard space then you can use that but sheets of
paper work fine otherwise.
The aim of the game is for each child in the team to draw one part of an animal
combining their efforts to produce something resembling the real thing. The children
must listen carefully to the part you say at each point, quickly drawing it and passing the
drawing on to the next child so they can do the same. You then judge the completed
drawings at the end of each round and award points to the teams who did best.
For example, you might tell them to draw a monkey. With each team ready to go, say
the first body part, which might be "tail!" the first child then has around 10 seconds to
draw a monkey tail somewhere on the paper before passing it on to the next child in the
team. "Ears!" might be the next part, the mouth, arms and so on. Mixing up the body
parts adds to the fun so feel free to announce them in any order you please.
Change the order after each round so whoever started the first drawing finishes the next
or allow them to move around as they please between rounds. A good idea is to allow
the last person to draw "anything!" to give them a chance to complete a possibly
disjointed picture.
Here are some examples of things to draw: monkey, giraffe, cat, dog, panda, koala, tiger
And here's an example of the order I would get them to draw the parts in:
Monkey: ears, tail, mouth, arms, legs, body, head, nose, anything
Giraffe: neck, legs, body, eyes, nose, ears, head, anything

Pictionary
This is a good game that works well with any age group; children love it because they
can get creative in the classroom, teenagers love it because it doesn’t feel like they’re
learning, and adults love it because it’s a break from the monotony of learning a new
language - even though they'll be learning as they play. Pictionary can help students
practice their vocabulary and it tests to see if they’re remembering the words you’ve
been teaching.
Before the class starts, prepare a bunch of words and put them in a bag. Split the class
into teams of 2 and draw a line down the middle of the board. Give one team member
from each team a pen and ask them to choose a word from the bag. Tell the students to
draw the word as a picture on the board and encourage their team to guess the word.
The first team to shout the correct answer gets a point. The student who has completed
drawing should then nominate someone else to draw for their team. Repeat this until
all the words are gone - make sure you have enough words that each student gets to
draw at least once!

Don't say a word!

Before class, write a set of ten words or phrases on a piece of paper. Make one copy of
the set for each group. Divide the class into groups of five or six. Give each group a set
of slips and ask them to place the slips face down.
When you say 'go', the first student in each group takes a card and has 60 seconds to
draw the word/phrase on a sheet of paper.
The students are not allowed to speak or use any words or letters in the drawing.
While the student is drawing, the other members of the group try to guess the word or
phrase (They must say exactly what is on the card.).
When the time limit has been reached, shout 'stop', and ask each group if they guessed
the word or phrase correctly. Give them one point if they did.
Then, it's the next students turn to take a slip and so on. The team with the most points
at the end is the winner.

Blind artist
Have your students form pairs. The students can’t see each other. One student gets a
drawing you have prepared earlier. Ideally, the drawing should be something relevant
to what you are teaching.
The student holding the drawing needs to give good instructions to the other student.
The other students need to draw it without being able to see the original picture. If you
want to spice up the classroom game, you can put a variety of conditions to it. For
example: no asking questions, must draw with your non-writing hand etc. Aren’t you
curious about the results?

Collaborative Drawing
Distribute paper and writing utensils to everyone that will be playing. Make sure that
the players are sitting in some sort of orderly fashion such as a circle or in straight lines.
Instruct each person to fold their paper into four equal sections, as you would fold a
letter. They should then unfold the paper so that it is flat again.
Players are then told to draw a head for their drawing in the uppermost section. It
doesn’t matter what kind of head they draw or where on the upper section it is, as long
as the neck connects to the top of the second section on the paper.
Instruct players to fold their paper over in order to hide the head they drew, leaving only
the very bottom of the neck showing to help the next player in their drawing.
All players pass their folded papers to their left and accept the paper being handed from
their right side. Each time a new paper is given to each player, they must draw the
missing section, connecting it to the other person’s previous section without actually
looking to see what it looks like. This process will be repeated for all three of the other
remaining sections: torso, legs, and feet. Make sure that all the players know to leave
the very bottom of their drawing visible so that the next person can continue on. Each
section should be timed to avoid spending too long on this game.
Once the drawings are all completed, open up the papers and check out the crazy
creatures or people that are featured there!

3. Classical Games
Teacher Says
This is the game "Simon Says" but using the word "teacher", or your name, instead. Go
straight into the game (no explanations necessary) by saying "Teacher says touch your
(knees)". Do the action and make sure everyone else follows along. Do a few more
"touch your eyes, touch your toes", etc. Then at some point give a command without
the "Teacher says" part (e.g. "Touch your mouth"). First time round, everyone will touch
their mouth, so make it very clear that they shouldn’t do this when you don’t say
"Teacher says". After a while your students will get the hang of it. Play the game faster
and faster. When a student makes a mistake, they have to sit the rest of the game out.
The last student standing is the winner.

Dog & Cat Chase

Have children sit in a circle. Walk around the outside of the circle patting the children
on the head saying "dog" each time. Suddenly, say "cat" as you touch a child`s head and
then that child must chase you around the circle. You must try to sit in the child's spot
before being tagged by the chasing child. If you are tagged you must touch the heads
again. If you make it back without being touched, then the chasing child walks around
the circle touching heads.

Ha!
Have the group lie on the ground or floor. Position each to lie their head on another’s
tummy. One of the end people will start. The one that starts say one “HA!” The person
that has his/her head on their tummy goes next and says, “HA HA!” With each person,
add one “HA!” If there are 30 people, then the last person should say 30 “HA!’s”.

Hot potato
Have the children sit in a circle, almost shoulder to shoulder. Turn on music and hand
the potato (can be replaced by a small ball) to someone in the circle. As the music plays,
the children must pass the potato as fast as possible. Randomly stop the music. The
player who is holding the "hot potato" when the music stops is out for a round and sits
in the center of the circle. Start the music again and the player who is holding the "hot
potato" when the music stops replaces the child sitting in the center of the circle.

Fruit Salad
Have everyone sit in a chair, arranged in a circle facing inwards. Select one person to be
in the middle and remove his or her chair from the circle. The person in the middle
needs to say something that applies to at least 2 people in the circle. For example,
“Anyone who has a pet”, “Anyone who is wearing jeans”, “Anyone who has a brother or
sister”, “Anyone wearing the color purple”. If the person’s statement applies to
someone sitting in the circle, that person has to move from his or her seat and sit in a
different chair. If the person says "Fruit Salad", then everyone needs to move to a
different chair. The person in the middle tries to sit down. There'll be one person left
without a chair - this person will be the next person in the middle of the circle. The
standing person starts a new round by saying a different statement. Note: People cannot
move to seats on their immediate left or right. For example, a person is allowed sit two
seats away, but they cannot move to the left or right of their current chairs.

Who am I?
Prepare a post-it note for each person in your group. Write on it the name of a well-
known or famous person. This can be an historical character or current sportsman,
musician, TV personality, celebrity etc. Alternatively, you can put down different objects,
names of fruits and vegetables or even animals. Have a good mix of boys and girls.
Keeping the names hidden, stick the post-it notes on the foreheads of everyone in the
group. They must then ask questions of the others to find out their identity. Each person
takes a turn to ask questions and figure out who they are. For example, Am I alive? Am
I female? Am I in a band? Only yes or no questions can be asked. If the answer is no,
their turn is over. If the answer is yes, they can ask another question and keep going
until they get a no, or guess who they are. Keep playing until everyone has guessed, or
if time is short, stop after the first few correct answers.

The sheriff
Kids stand in a circle and when you call one name, the student called sits down. Then,
the two kids by his/her side need to say each other’s name as soon as possible, the first
one to do it correctly keeps on playing while the slowest one is eliminated. The game is
over when there are only two players left.

Telephone
Kids usually get excited just thinking about this game. The more kids the better. Line the
kids up, think of a sentence of sufficient length, and see what that sentence becomes by
the time each kid whispers it into the next kid’s ear. This game is more fun if played in
two teams, when you are whispering a short sentence or a long word into the ears of
“captains” and they then pass this word to the members of their teams. Change the
“captains” to give a chance every kid to start the game.

Changes
Everyone sits in a circle. One player is sent out of the room. Now a change will be made
in the circle. Example: 2 players exchange jackets or places, or 1 player changes his T-
shirt so he is wearing it backwards. The player who was out of the room comes in and
must guess the changes made to the circle.

Hot and Cold

Select one item for hiding. Divide your group into two teams. Team 1 close their eyes
while Team 2 hide the item somewhere in the room. Once the item is properly hidden,
Team 2 search for it slowly and deliberately while Team 1 assist with verbal clues. If
Team 2 are not at all close to the item as they search, Team 1 say, "You're cold," but as
they get closer to the hidden item, Team 1 respond, "Getting warmer…" When Team 2
are very close to the item, Team 1 say, "You're hot!" The verbal temperature indicators
aid in finding the item.
Giving the temperature clues can be more fun if you associate locations. Cold can be
"North Pole," and Hot can be "Sahara Desert." Substituting any other adjectives can
definitely spice it up — frigid, scalding, room temp., and ice cold are all welcome.

Hangman
This classic game is a favorite for all students but it can get boring quite quickly. It works
no matter how many students are in the class.
Think of a word and write the number of letters on the board using dashes to show many
letters there are. Ask students to suggest a letter. If it appears in the word, write it in all
of the correct spaces. If the letter does not appear in the word, write it off to the side
and begin drawing the image of a hanging man.
Continue until the students guess the word correctly (they win) or you complete the
diagram (you win).

A Great Wind Blows

This is a noisy, running around game. You'll need chairs for all of the kids, and space to
play.
Arrange the chairs in a circle, facing the middle. All the children sit down. You should
stand outside the circle and call out "A great wind blows for everyone who....", fill in the
blank with a statement that will affect some of the group (see ideas below). Anyone who
is affected must stand up and find another chair which is at least 2 chairs away from
their own.
If a large group of children stand up, you should quickly remove one of the chairs from
the circle as soon as the kids stand up and begin moving. Any child who cannot find a
chair moves outside the circle and helps the adult come up with ideas for the next "great
wind blows".
Here are some ideas:
• A great wind blows for everyone who has a little brother
• A great wind blows for everyone who has a big sister
• A great wind blows for everyone who has been to France
• A great wind blows for everyone who has a dog
• A great wind blows for everyone who ate cornflakes for breakfast this
morning

Tic Tac Toe

Draw a large noughts & crosses table on the whiteboard/blackboard and explain to the
children that they will be playing you, the teacher, in a classic game of noughts and
crosses. The difference with this version of tic tac toe is that there aren’t alternative
turns, you will instead be asking the students questions relevant to the theme of
Colours, Shapes, Numbers, Days of the Week, etc., if they answer correctly then they
can draw a 'O' but if they are wrong then you can draw an 'X'. Ask a range of questions
until either they or you have a line of three consecutive O's or X's. It's a simple activity
but a fun way to finish the class, especially if the children win.
Knots
Divide your group into teams of 6-8. Each team forms a small circle. Ask them to extend
their right hand across the circle and hold the left hand of the other team member
opposite them. Then extend their left hand across the circle and hold the right hand of
another group member.
The task is to unravel the spider's web of interlocking arms without letting go of anyone's
hands. Give them a three-minute time limit to complete the task. Pressure! You can
follow video instructions as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbCPau5YL0g

4. Detective Games
Killer
Everybody will start close together with their eyes closed and thumbs up. The leader will
squeeze the thumb of one group member. That group member is the “killer.” With eyes
still closed, the killer will squeeze the thumb of another group member twice. That group
member becomes the sheriff. Once the two positions have been established, everyone
can open their eyes. Nobody should know who is the sheriff or the killer. Everyone
begins walking around, making eye contact with everyone else. The object of the game
is for the killer to kill everyone without getting caught. The killer does his/her killing by
winking one eye at someone. If the killer winks, that participant that was winked at is
dead. Anyone killed by the killer must count to twenty and only the sheriff may guess
who the killer is. The killer also can kill the sheriff. If the sheriff’s guess is correct, he/she
wins. If they guess wrong, they immediately die, and the killer wins.

Buzzing Bee
Have all the kids sit down on the floor as a group. Select one person to be the first
volunteer. Explain the game: The volunteer will leave the room, and you will hand an
object to a person sitting down. The volunteer will come back in and try to guess who
has the object through the buzzing sounds. The louder the buzzing, the closer the person
with the object is. The kids’ buzzing will hint to the volunteer where the object is located.
Ask the volunteer to leave the room. Hand the object to one of the kids sitting down.
The person with the object will need to hide it in his/her hand. Retrieve the volunteer.
The volunteer has to guess who the person with the object is. Once he or she finds the
hidden object, you can select another volunteer to leave the room.
Variation: If you would like a more competitive game, you can time the volunteers to
see who can find the object the quickest.

Electricity
Arrange everyone into two equally numbered teams. Have both teams line up in parallel
lines. At the end of the line, place the object about five feet away (in equal distance from
both ends of the line). You’ll be at the head of the line.
Explain the rules: Everyone in line will need to hold hands and close their eyes. Only the
first person of both lines can open their eyes. Flip the coin in the air, catch it, and reveal
the quarter to the first person of both teams.
If the quarter comes up as “heads”, the first person squeezes the next person’s hand.
The second person squeezes the next person’s hand, and so forth. At the end of the line,
the last person runs to grab the object. The team that grabs the object first wins a point
for the round. If the quarter comes up as “tails”, then no one squeezes anyone’s hand.
If there’s an “accidental” hand squeeze and the quarter comes up as “tails”, the team
that grabbed the object loses a point for the round.
For the second round, the first person goes to the back of the line and the game
continues. The first team that reaches 10 points wins the game.

Spy Handshake Game

The goal of this game is to guess which child is the spy. One child is selected as the "Host"
of the party who begins the game. Everyone else sits down and closes their eyes. The
Host selects the Spy by patting one child on the head.
The game begins when the Host announces, "Welcome to my (tea, slumber, rock & roll,
birthday, dance) party." Everyone gets up and pretends to be at the kind of party named.
They walk around and shake hands with the other guests.
The Spy must remove guests from the party by gently scratching or tickling the inside of
their hands when shaking it. The Spy does not have to eliminate everyone whose hand
they shake. A victim waits ten seconds before leaving the party very dramatically. It is
very important for the victim to wait ten seconds and shake other children's hands so as
not to give away the identity of the Spy. A child may guess who the Spy is at any time
after at least one person has left the party. If the guess is wrong, he or she must leave
the party, too. A child cannot refuse to shake another's hand. The person who correctly
guesses the identity of the Spy becomes the Host of the next party.

Code Maker
The children sit in a circle, facing each other. You choose a child to be the "Code Breaker"
and place a blindfold over his/her eyes. Then you silently point to another child who
becomes the "Code Maker".
The Code Maker performs an action and claps in a rhythm. The group repeats it several
times. Then the Code Breaker removes the blindfold. The children continue to perform
the action and clap in rhythm. The Code Breaker must guess the identity of the Code
Maker while the group repeats the code.
When the Code Breaker successfully guesses the identity of the Code Maker, that child
becomes the new Code Breaker. The former Code Breaker chooses a child to be the new
Code Maker.

I Spy
You need to start by saying “I spy with my little eye…. Something beginning with the
letter ‘L’ …” or another example “I spy with my little eye…. Something that is colored
red” …. And the kids need to figure out what it is by guessing.

Detective Game
One child leaves the room and the rest are seated in a circle. Another child is designated
to be the leader and subtly and quietly, without being seen, makes a subtle
movement. The rest of the group has to copy the movement but try not to look at the
leader so that they will not give away the secret. When the child returns to the room he
has to guess who the leader is. If he or she guesses correctly, he gets to stay and the
person who was the leader has to leave the room. Continue playing for several rounds.
Mafia and Detectives
Rules of the game: Everyone sits in a circle on the ground or in level chairs except for
one person (everyone must be able to see everyone in the circle). The person standing
up is the command giver (CG) and is in charge of telling people two basic commands,
picking the Mafia, and telling the other people (the detectives) if they were right or
wrong about who they think the Mafia is. At the beginning of the game, the CG tells
everyone to "go to sleep" (close their eyes). The CG walks around the circle and chooses
someone to be the Mafia by tapping twice on their head (the rest of the people become
detectives). The CG then tells everyone to wake up and open their eyes. Then everyone
makes eye contact with everyone while the person who is the Mafia tries to “kill” people
by winking at them. If a certain person is winked at, they must die dramatically. The
game is ended either if someone guesses who the Mafia is (and is correct; if that person
is wrong - he/she must “die” on the spot), or if the Mafia has “killed” off everyone. If
someone does guess who the Mafia is, they then become the CG. This is one of those
games for kids that usually lasts a few minutes and the kids normally want to play it
several times.

Gumshoe-Shoe Detectives
Have every child outline their shoes on a piece of paper. Collect all the papers and give
each page a different number (making a list of the kid’s name and the number of the
page where his/her feet are outlined on). Then pass out a shoe outline to each kid (make
sure not to give a kid their own shoe outline) and give the kids a few minutes to figure
out who's shoe outline they have. They will have a really good time while they frantically
try and measure other people’s shoes, while others are trying to measure their shoes!

Detective Memory
Place many items on a table. Cover them with a garbage bag or anything at your disposal
(use items that a spy might use: camera, watch, passport, headphones, tape recorder,
etc. alternatively, use lots of objects you can find all around you). Lift the “blanket” for
30 seconds allowing the kids to view it. When the time is up, cover it and give each kid
a paper and pencil. Give the kids 2 minutes to write everything that they remember from
the table and whoever remembers the most is the winner.

Cake Hunt
Here's another one of those fun games for kids. You can give the kids a “briefing” and
introduce yourself as head chief of police. Tell them that someone mysteriously stole
…… (here you can use any object) and show them a picture or drawing of it. Tell the kids
that you decided to call on them so that they can bring order and figure out where the
object is. A more creative way of starting this hunt is by taping yourself onto a tape
recorder with a deep and mysterious voice (or tape regularly and slow down the voice
to sound deep). As you record, say what the mission is (what crime has been done to
solve). At the end say something like “this message will self-destruct in 3 seconds” and
tape this explosion sound. Then take the tape recorder and wrap it many times (lots of
layers – even put in boxes). At the party start off with the game “pass the parcel”.
Have the kids sit in a circle passing the package. Play a mission impossible or any other
spy detective tune. The kid who holds the package when the music stops, is the one to
unwrap one of the layers. This goes on and on until the last person to unwrap finds a
tape recorder. They press play and everyone gets to hear the mission.
Then divide the big group of kids into small groups and put an adult to be responsible (if
the hunt is in an outside area like a playground, etc.). Provide each of the kids with a
notepad, pen or pencil and a magnifying glass. Then give each group a clue that will lead
them to their first station (you will need to hide all of the clues beforehand). Each clue
can be hidden in all kinds of places and every time they find a clue it should also give a
certain assignment to do to sharpen their detective skills. Examples for such assignments
can be
- Collect certain items that are listed
- Look for items that are shaped in all kinds of different shapes (diamonds,
circles, rectangles, etc.)
- Find a rock that resembles something specific
All kinds of other assignments that you can make up yourself
The first team to locate the object gets the prize (like candies, cookies or whatever is at
your disposal)!

5. Blindfold Games
Blindfold
Objective: To be able to identify members of your group simply by using the senses.
Also, it is a test to see how well the group knows each other, without using sight.
One person is chosen to be blindfolded and stands in the middle of the room. The
student must be blindfolded at all times, until he correctly identifies the tagged person.
The rest of the students move around the room and try not to be “tagged” by the
blindfolded person.
If the blindfolded person tags or touches a member of the group, the tagged person
must stand close and wait for the blindfolded person to correctly identify him or her. If
the blindfolded person is incorrect, the student must continue participating in the game.
If the blindfolded person is correct, the tagged person must then become the
blindfolded person in the middle of the room.

Blind Man's Bluff

Choose one child to be "it", and blindfold him or her. Turn him/her round a few times to
disorientate a little, while the other children group themselves around. Then let him/her
try to tag one of the other children, who will then become "it".
Variation: Play as above, but when a child is caught the blindfolded child must try to
guess who it is by carefully feeling their face and hair.

Trust Walk Activity

The Trust Walk is a teambuilding activity that helps people practice trusting each other.
A leader steers his or her partner around obstacles using verbal or nonverbal
instructions. This activity requires a great deal of space, so you have to take away tables
and chairs in advance. Participants will form pairs.
As the facilitator of the Trust Walk Teambuilding Activity, be sure to scout out a safe
area in advance. Minor obstacles are okay, but do not play this game in a dangerous
environment. Once you have found a safe, large area, you can prepare additional
obstacles if desired (cardboard boxes, balloons, etc.).
Ask participants to arrange themselves into pairs. Instruct one partner to be the guide
(navigator) and the other to be blindfolded. Once the blindfolded partner is ready,
slowly spin the person around a few times so that they are unsure which direction they
are headed. Guide the participants to the field with obstacles. From this point on, the
guide should not touch the partner at all, but rely solely on verbal cues (e.g. “In
approximately five steps ahead, there will be a tree branch. Go ahead and step over it
slowly.") Remember that the guide is solely responsible for his or her partner’s safety.
He or she try their best to steer their partner away from obstacles.
If desired, ask participants to reflect and share what they learned from this experience.
The following are some sample questions to ask following the Trust Walk activity:
• What was it like to be the “guide,” being fully responsible for the safety of
your partner?
• What do you think was the purpose of this team building activity?
• Did you have any difficulty trusting your partner while blindfolded? Why or
why not?
• Why is trusting your teammates important?
• Afterwards, how did it feel when you and your teammate successfully trusted
each other to accomplish something challenging?
• How does this relate to _______ (here you can fill in the blank with the current
scenario of the participants, such as class, a sports team, employees working
together on a project, etc.)?

6. Freeze Games
Character Freeze
The teacher will tell the students to walk freely in the room until someone yells freeze.
The students must all stop moving and the teacher will announce the kind of character
the students should be. Once everyone has their characters the teacher tells the
students to move again until someone yells freeze. Switch the characters. Some
examples include: Old lady, macho man, young child, etc.

Museum Statues
Have the players gather in a large room, called the “Museum.” One person, who is “it”
should then leave the room and count to 20.
The players then pose like statues, and the person who is “it” comes back and pretends
to be a museum guide. If the guide leaves the room, the players must choose a new
pose. When the guide spots someone moving, that player becomes a tourist, and must
follow the museum guide. Anytime the guide looks at another statue you can quickly
change your pose. Continue play until only one statue is left. He becomes the new
museum guide.

Hop’n Freeze
Use boundaries to create an appropriate size play area. Demonstrate how to avoid
contact with each other. Students should be able to repeat all rules and signals. Spread
students out to avoid contact and collisions.
You must stay inside the boundaries. On 1st signal: students begin hopping (skipping,
jumping, etc.). On 2nd signal: students must freeze in a balanced position (on one foot,
one foot and one hand, etc.). Repeat several times; change what students for each
signal. Variations: Have the children play this game while balancing a book or any other
flat object on their head. Have them go while holding hands with a partner and give
added balancing challenges.

7. Miming Games
Chinese mimes
All stand facing the back of the person in front, with eyes closed. The leader taps the
person in front on the shoulder, when they turn around mime an action. The mime is
passed around the circle to see if it changes much. As an extension, you may play the
Broken Phone game where the kids need to pass the message (can be a simple word or
a sentence depending on the level of the kids) to each other and the last person says it
out loud.

Guess the Action

Some students love mime and others are not so keen. Children can get very self-
conscious and embarrassed, so don’t push it upon them, rather show a good example
and make the process very funny. Prepare slips of paper with instructions like these (you
may use your imagination and just whisper a simple sentence to the ear of a kid):

You’re knitting on a fast train.

You’re eating spaghetti with chop sticks.
You’re sweeping leaves outside on a windy day.
You’re washing a big, angry dog.
You’re a clumsy waiter.
You’re a drunk tightrope walker.

These can be relatively easy or very complicated linguistically depending on your

students. Give a slip of paper to one student with the instructions that she is going to
mime the activity and the others must guess what he/she is doing. No words, in any
language, can be spoken.
The first person to guess – in English what he/she’s doing is the winner and gets the next
slip of paper. (If the same students always guess, let others have a chance to mime).
Once they get the idea of the game, get students to write similar instructions on slips of
paper. This can get incredibly funny.

Describe it
Divide the students into pairs (A and B). Each student will need a pen and a piece of
paper. Have all the A students move their chairs so they can’t see the board. All B
students should sit so they can see the board.
Write five to ten words on the board that you want the students to practice or revise.
For example, if you wanted to revise sports you might write tennis, football, cycling,
badminton, volleyball, etc.
Student B describes the first word on the board to Student A without saying the word,
and speaking only in English, e.g. People play this sport on a court. They use a racket and
ball to play. This sport is usually played between two people, etc.
Student A listens and then writes down the word he/she thinks it is and shows it to
Student B.
Student A is not allowed to speak during the game. He/she can only write down the
words on the paper. If the word is correct, Student B moves onto describe the second
word on the board and so on. If it’s wrong, Student B must try to give a clearer definition
or clue to help their partner guess the word.
When they have finished, the students swap roles and a new set of words is written on
the board.

As If
Teacher reads sentence to class:
• Jog in place as if a big scary bear is chasing you
• Walk forward as if you’re walking through chocolate pudding
• Jump in place as if you are popcorn popping
• Reach up as if grabbing balloons out of the air
• March in place and play the drums as if you are in a marching band
• Paint as if the paint brush is attached to your head
• Swim as if you are in a giant pool of Jell-O
• Move your feet on the floor as if you are ice skating
• Shake your body as if you are a wet dog
Students act out each sentence for 20 – 30 seconds. Students may create their own
sentences for additional activities.

Passing on facial expressions

The first person thinks of a facial expression and shows it to the next person who then
passes the facial expression on. The game can also be played like postman's knock but
the 1st person must be able to show the original facial expression again.

8. Line Up
Line up
Ask your group to line up. Works best with 8-10 in a line. If you’ve got a bigger group,
split them up and challenge each line to complete the task first. Ask the group to form a
new line in order of….
• Height, from smallest to tallest.
• Birthdays, from January through to December.
• Shoe size, from smallest to largest.
• Alphabetical first names (A-Z).
• Alphabetical mothers’ first names.
• Alphabetical grandmother's first names!
• Anything else you think up.

Alphabet Game
This one is all about coming up with themes. I’ve listed some below to get you started.
Within your chosen theme, take turns with letters of the alphabet and come up with
things in the theme. For instance, in the theme “Animals”, you would have anteater,
baboon, carp, duck, etc.
a. Animals
b. Countries
c. Famous people (many sub-categories here, actors, actresses, etc.)
d. Household items
e. Kitchen items
f. Food
g. Drinks
h. Movies

9. Chair Games
The human chair
Invite everyone to stand in a circle shoulder to shoulder. Each person then turns to the
right to face the back of the person in front of them. Ask them to place their hands on
the shoulder of the person in front. On the count of three they slowly begin to sit down
on the lap of the person behind. As long as everyone is helping the person in front of
him or her to sit, then everyone should be supporting the weight of everyone else. Of
course, should someone slip, the game becomes 'human dominoes.' It might take a
couple of attempts to complete the challenge.

All My Friends
Create a circle of chairs in the classroom. Have enough chair so that only one person
does not have one. That person stands in the middle of the circle. They start the game
by using a sentence starter, “All my friends…” then they will choose a trait that some
people who are seated have. For example: “All my friends who have green on”. All of
the students will get up and race to another chair, leaving one person standing in the
middle of the circle, only to repeat the phrase, with a new trait. The rule is that you
MUST get up, and move to another chair if the trait applies to you. You cannot move to
the chair next to you.
Gradually the teacher should begin to have students ask deeper questions. Sometimes
the students take a long time to warm up to the activity, so some of the traits may be
very shallow. It will come, let it work itself out! Have fun!

Get on that chair

For this classroom game, students need to be flexible and balanced. For every student,
the teacher places a chair. All the chairs should be lined up in a single line. Every student
has to stand on a chair. Then, the teacher asks them to go stand in a certain order. For
example: “I want you to organize yourselves from young to old.” The students now have
to change places without touching the ground.
With this energizer, the students get to know each other better in an interactive way.
The teacher can give other orders like: “from tall to small.” or “from A to Z.” Every time
the students have to change their positions without pushing someone off the chairs. If
you want to make it more challenging, you can set a time limit.

Chair Basketball
Place masking tape on the floor to split the room into two equal sides. You may want
indicate the line with some coloured craft paper, for example. Prepare some soft balls
of unnecessary paper or newspapers (could be nice to assign this task to the kids, as they
enjoy it greatly).
Divide everyone into two equally numbered teams. Arrange the chairs into three equal,
spaced rows (or as close to being equal as possible). Place a basket on the corners of
each side.
Ask for one volunteer from each team to be the “runner”. The Runners will be able to
get up from their chairs and pass the ball to their teammates- but cannot pass to the
opponent’s side. Runners cannot shoot the ball as well.
When you say “go”, each team tries to toss the ball into the basket. A basket made from
the third row is three points, second row is two points, and first row is one point. The
team with the most points after fifteen minutes wins the game.

Chair Aerobics
If possible, have students move their chairs several feet away from their desks in
classroom. Begin with a warm up with slow music, if available. After some minutes of
stretching, switch to faster music and lead students through several chair exercises.
While sitting on their chair have them: Hold the bottom of the chair with both hands
and raise alternate knees up and down. Reach down to the floor with the left hand then
the right hand. Hold the bottom of the chair with both hands and alternate lifting each
leg straight up to seat level and down again. Stand in front of the chair and place the
hands on either side of the chair, raise the right leg backwards straight up and down 10
times, and then repeat with the left leg.

Chair Game
Inside, have all students bring a chair and arrange them in a close circle with no gaps.
Every participant should start seated in a chair in a circle. The leader chooses one
student to stand in the middle, so one chair is open. The goal of the person in the middle
is to sit in the empty chair. All seated students must work together to stop the person in
the middle from sitting in the open chair. Someone next to the empty seat tries to beat
the person in the middle to it by shuffling over, creating a new empty seat. The game
continues until the person in the middle makes it safely to the open seat. The facilitator
then picks someone new to go into the middle.

10.Other Games
Find a Person Who….
There is less speaking involved, but everyone will have to pay attention, understand
what is being said, and interact with the class. Have everybody begin in a big circle. The
teacher calls out: “Find a person who is wearing glasses.”
Everyone runs to grab the hand of a person wearing glasses. Assuming each student has
two hands, only two people can be partnered with each glasses wearer.
Whoever is left without a hand to hold stands in the middle. The youngest one of the
middle group must now call at the next turn. Possibilities are endless! Find a person
who:
1. Is wearing red.
2. Has words on his/her shirt.
3. Can curl his/her tongue.
4. Can touch the floor without bending knees.
You can have a prepared list of finds or can ask the students to make up their own.
The shy person either must be quick to follow the English instructions or find themselves
in the middle, where must take a turn at calling out the next “Find a Person.” Either
way, all students are engaged.

Ball Toss
Divide your class into several teams. Supply the children with sheets of paper and ask
them to make the balls. Place two empty boxes in a distance and indicate the line where
the kids should stand. They mustn`t cross this line, otherwise they will be eliminated!
The distance from the boxes to the line should vary with abilities. Have the children
stand in a line one by one and throw the balls into the box. The team that will have
bigger amount of balls in the box is the winner!

Number Six
With this one you need to be very short in your instructions as you cannot make it
relevant unless you are teaching about the number 6. However, it will keep even the
most reluctant participant amused but not until the very end.

- Stand up
- Raise your right foot
- Draw a circle with your foot anti clockwise (pause and let them practise and
find their balance)
- Lift your right arm in the air with your index finger pointing out
- Draw with your finger, the number six, starting from the inside up (this is
opposite to how most people write the number 6)
- Keep circling that foot anti clockwise

Let the giggling begin as it is almost impossible to coordinate this. The foot movement
will change to a clockwise direction.

Board Races
Board races are a good way for students to brainstorm their vocabulary knowledge. This
enjoyable category game helps students focus on the vocabulary for the subject or topic
you are teaching.
Split the class into three teams. Draw three columns on the board. Have each team line
up in front of a column and give the first player in each team a marker or chalk. Write a
category on the board and set a target number of 10 to 20 words depending on the level
of the class.
The first player in each team runs to the board, writes a word connected to the category,
gives the marker/chalk to the next student, and goes to the back of the line. Then the
second player runs to the board and so on. The first team to reach the target number
and have suitable words and correct spelling wins a point. Play multiple rounds and then
add up the scores.

Do You Love Your Neighbour?

Everyone sits on chairs in a circle except for one player. This player must sit on
someone’s lap and ask him “Do you love your neighbour?”. When the answer is ‘Yes’,
the player moves to the next player’s lap and continues the question. If the answer is
“No”, the following question is asked “So who do you love?”. A possible answer –
“People who wear red t-shirts”. Then all the people wearing red t-shirts must exchange
seats. Whoever doesn’t get a chair, goes in the middle. The aim is to spend as little time
as possible on someone's lap.

Thigh and Hand Concentration

Everyone sits in a circle. Each player puts his left hand on the thigh of the player to his
left and his right hand on the thigh of the player on his right. One player begins: with
one hand he slaps the thigh of the player next to him. This player slaps his neighbours
thigh, and so on in a clockwise direction.
If a player slaps twice, the direction is changed. If a player slaps too soon or late or not
in his turn, he must put the hand that made the mistake behind his back for the duration
of the round. If he makes another mistake, he is out of the game.

Snake
Everyone forms a circle and joins hands. Somewhere in the circle the beginning and the
end of the snake will be determined. These players don’t hold each other’s hands. The
player at the beginning can step over the hands of the next players, crawl through the
legs of other players, or can go under the arms of the other players on his way to the
end of the snake. The rest of the snake follows him, still holding hands. If he reaches the
end of the snake all the players must figure out how to untangle themselves without
letting go of their hands.

Back to the Board

Divide the class into two teams. One player from each team comes to the front of the
class and sits with their back to the board. Tell the two players not to look round at the
board. Write three words on the board behind the two players. Make sure it is possible
to mime all the words. When you say 'go', the two teams start miming the first word to
the players sat at the front of the class. The first player to correctly guess the word wins
a point for their team. The two teams then start miming the second word and so on.
When all three words have been guessed correctly or the two players give up, two new
players come to the front and three new words are written on the board.
Play continues until everyone has had a turn guessing the mimes. The team with the
most points at the end of the game is the winner.
As a variation, have the teams take it in turns to play and set a time limit of one minute
for the player to guess the three words on the board.

Bombs and Shileds

The teacher will tell the students to walk around the room. After a few minutes, the
teacher will ask students to pick someone in the room (without saying anything) to be
their personal “Shield.” Then tell the students to continue to silently walk around the
room. Tell the students to pick another person, without saying anything, to be their
personal “Bomb.” Tell the group to continue to move around the space without
explaining anything else. Then, explain that the goal is to keep the person who is your
“shield” between yourself and your “bomb.”
Lion/Lemon
The teacher calls out “Lion” and the group opens their mouths and take their tongue out
while raising their eyebrows. The teacher calls out “Lemon” and the students all squish
their features. When she/he adds the body, they can move their body in a big way or
contort as small as they can.

Shake Virus
The teacher will tell students they have a “virus” that starts to shake the foot, then works
up through body, one piece at a time, until it attacks the whole body.

Stoplight
The teacher will organize the chairs in a circle, ensuring that there is one less chair than
the number of people. The teacher will remove a chair for each round. Ask for a
volunteer to be the "caller" who will call out Red, Yellow, or Green: Yellow means
"jump," green means "walk," and red means "sit." When the caller calls a word, all of
the students must get out of their seats and find new ones. The "out" person (who
couldn’t find a seat) has to sit out.

Steal the Place

The teacher will organize the students in a circle. She/he will ask for one volunteer to sit
in the middle of the circle. The objective of the students in the circle is to make eye
contact with someone on the other side of the circle and switch places with them safely.
The objective of the person in the middle is to get out of the middle and into the circle,
trying to “steal” the spaces left by people on the outside.

Elephant-parade
The whole group is an elephant. Here, all children have to stand in a circle, stretching
their arms forward, walking toward one another with eyes closed. Everyone grabs any 2
hands. If you have caught two hands, you can open your eyes again. Another player now
tries to tame this chaos by pulling the children apart. Scratching or gagging is not
allowed. All freed elephants will automatically become liberators and help the first child.
The game is only over when all have become the rescuers.

Ghosts
2-3 children are chosen as the ghosts. The rest of the group members spread out in the
room and close their eyes. The ghosts now try to stand behind a child for 10 seconds
without being noticed. If they manage the 10 seconds they must then tap the child on
the shoulder and the child must sit down. If the child believes that a ghost is behind him,
he can ask “Is a ghost there? “If there is really a ghost behind him the child may become
a ghost, if not, he must sit down.

Rainbow Room
Everyone stands in a circle, except for one person that is chosen to stand in the middle.
The person in the middle gets to shout the name of a color. Everyone in the circle must
then run and as fast as they can, try and locate something that is the color called. The
first person to have the correct colored object wins and now stands in the middle to
start the game again.
Can’t Touch the Floor!
There are many different variations for this tricky game, but the one rule that is always
the same is that your feet can’t touch the floor and you have to get from Point A to Point
B. Divide your class into small groups and explain the rules.
Other Body Parts: Since your feet can’t touch the floor, walk on your hands, roll, or
slither on your stomach.
Not Parts: None of your body can touch the floor or you will be melted in the lava, eaten
by crocodiles, or fall off the cloud! In this case, what can you use to walk on? Pieces of
paper to walk, cushions, or furniture are good things to start with. To make it more
challenging, make paths, jumps, and long steps.

Spin
Spin around in circle until you are dizzy and then try to walk a straight line. Can you do
it? It’s hard! And fun. Indicate the straight line on the floor and invite a member of each
team to spin around for 10-15 seconds and then pass the line straight. A team, whose
members will do it better, are the winners.

Snowball Fight
Give each student a piece of recycled paper. Ask them to write their name and five things
about themselves on the paper. Then, split the class into two teams and have them
stand facing each other at opposite sides of the classroom. Tell the students to crumple
up their paper into a snowball. When you say go, the snowball fight commences.
When you shout stop, anyone who is holding a snowball must go and find the person
whose name is on the paper and introduce them to the class using the information
written inside.
Students continue the snowball fight until everyone has guessed the name of every kid.
You could also use this activity to review a topic by writing a question on each piece of
paper. Then, when you shout stop, anyone holding the snowball must answer the
question written inside.

Brainstormers
Prepare in advance some simple brainstorming categories, like: 5 things you can eat, 7
things you can sleep on, 10 things you can put on, etc. Split the students into teams of
three or four. Each team chooses one student to be the runner. The runners go to the
teacher’s desk and read the category, e.g. seven things you do before you go to bed.
The runners go back to their teams and tell their team members the category.
The teams then brainstorm words in the category and write them down.
The first team to finish shouts Stop!
The winning team calls out their answers. If their answers are correct, they win one point
for each word in the category. The next category slip is placed on the table and the game
begins again, and so on. The team with the highest number of points at the end is the
winner.
You can also want to call out the category yourself, inventing it and adapting to the level
of your kids. This way all the kids stay in places and brainstorm their ideas.
English Whispers
Put the students into equal sized teams and have each team sit down in a row. The
students sat at the back of each row are given a different conversation. The students at
the back whisper the first sentence of their conversation to the student in front of them.
That student then whispers the sentence to the next student, and so on down the line.
When the sentence reaches the person at the front, they stand up and write the
sentence on the board.
If the sentence is incorrect, the sentence is whispered down the line again. The game
continues until one team has written all the sentences on the board correctly.
The student at the back of each row chooses when to whisper the next sentence. He or
she could say each sentence quickly or wait until the sentence has been written on the
board. Try to make sure that the conversations are of equal length. Five to eight
sentences are ideal. For younger learners, you can play this listening game using
individual words.

Tornado
Students make one big circle. A single student begins in the middle as the Tornado. The
class passes the ball around the circle while the Tornado in the middle spins around 10
times. When the Tornado stops, whoever has the ball becomes the next Tornado.
Variations: Allow students to alter the direction of the ball, have more than one ball
going at the same time, or alter the number of spins.

Dead Fish
The leader of the game calls a countdown [5-4-3-2-1 DEAAAD FIIISH!], during which the
students can run around and make as much noise as they want (if you are playing in a
classroom, have students walk and talk quietly). When the leader says ‘Dead Fish’, all
students must do their best impression of a dead fish. Often this involves lying down.
The leader walks among the fishes, looking for movement. If a student moves (beyond
blinking), s/he is out and must go to the line.
Variations: When students get out, they can help look for movement or try to entice
other players to move.

Screaming Viking
Screaming Viking is a stationary/active/party game that is highly interactive and silly.
Players must correctly act out interesting things such as a “screaming Viking,” a “chia
pet,” “power rangers,” and other funny things. The ideal number of players is about 12-
15, making it a good medium and large group game. No special materials are required
to play. You can play indoors or somewhere like a park.
Have everyone sit in a large circle, with each person facing the middle. The facilitator
should teach everyone all the various motions for how to play.
The basic idea behind this game is simple: one person is in the middle and tries to get
someone on the outside (seated within the circle) to make a mistake. If a person makes
a mistake, he or she becomes the new person in the middle.
To get someone “out,” the person in the middle points to one person who is sitting on
the outside and commands the action. Typically, three people must then proceed to do
a funny motion and make silly noises: the person who was pointed to, and the two
people on the left and right, respectively. The three people have ten seconds to do the
action properly without making any mistakes. There are various actions that can be
done.

• the “Screaming Viking”: the person in the middle is the main Viking, who forms two
horns with their fingers on their forehead and screams loudly; the person to the left
and right of that person must also make a fast rowing motion with their arms.
• “Smurfs”: three people interlock their arms and sing the smurf song, “Laaa, la, la-la,
la-la…."
• “Chia Pet”: One person in the middle is the plant, and the people to the left and right
form the pot. All three of them must sing loudly, “Ch-ch-ch-chia…"
• “Jello”: the person selected in the middle must wobble like gelatin (jello), while the
other two people form a bowl with their arms.

Hot Potato Camera

Hot Potato Camera is like Russian roulette with selfies. Not as fatal as the original game
— but still pretty embarrassing — the loser will end up getting a naturally terrible photo
that will have everyone laughing.
This game will work with a regular camera as well. You just need to know how to use the
timer function.
Grab a smartphone and open the camera app, or grab a dedicated camera. All players
sit in a circle, or around a table. They just need to be sat close enough together to pass
the camera to their neighbor quickly.
The player who starts with the camera sets the timer to whatever delay they want,
whether a single second to half a minute. A longer timer will build more tension, but
don’t set it so long that other players get bored.
The player points the camera at themselves, smiles, then immediately passes the
camera to the player on their left. The trick is to be quick about it. You don’t want to let
any player look at the camera for more than a second, or they might accidentally get a
good photo! If anyone tries it, give them a firm shove on the shoulder, and hope you
hear a “click". The player now with the camera repeats the previous step.
Eventually, and without warning, the camera will go off! This will very rarely happen at
an opportune moment, so you can enjoy many photos with your friends with half open
mouths, awkward and anxious expressions, and unflatteringly blurred features.

Newspaper Towers
Compete against other teams to see who can build the largest tower using only one
ingredient – newspaper! Newspaper Towers is a great teambuilding activity involves
creativity, coordination, and teamwork!
Collect as many newspapers as possible in advance and separate them into equal piles.
If you know how many people will be there, create 1 pile for each team you will have,
but if you don’t know the group size just create equal piles of newspapers with some
left over as spares.
Divide the main group up into teams. Ideal size for each team is between 2 – 4 people.
If you are doing this as a team-building exercise, you might consider larger teams to
promote healthy communication and interactions, otherwise 4 should be your
maximum group size.
Give each group an equal pile of newspaper and a roll of tape. Ensure that you have
some spare newspapers in case one team ends up needing them for any reason.
Set your timer for around 5-10 minutes or prepare your stopwatch. On your signal, all
teams should go to their newspaper piles and begin working. The goal of the game is to
build the largest tower out of only newspapers. Teams can use any sort of design
methods they would like as long as only the newspaper is being used and no assistance
is given by glue, tape, staples, or anything else.
Once the designated amount of time expires, all teams must immediately stop working
on their towers – and hope they stay up! Go around and inspect the towers, being sure
to measure each tower to find out which one is the tallest of them all. Also check that
only newspaper was used with no other supplies. Any tower that falls over before its
height is judged cannot be repaired or built again.
The winner of this game is the team that successfully builds the tallest tower using only
newspaper and tape. Any tower design is acceptable as well as any building method, as
long as the teams are only using the provided supplies of newspaper. For a harder game,
use less (or no) tape.

Cups and Downs

This game is best played with a small group. Place 10 or more cups in the middle of the
room, put half of them upside down and the other half the right way up. Divide the
group into 2 teams and give each team a name (i.e. ups or downs) - the 'up' team needs
to turn as many cups up the right way as possible, and the 'down' team needs to flip
them upside down. When the allocated time limit is over, count all the cups and
whichever team has the most turned up their way wins.
To extend this game you can arrange a cup castle challenge: the idea is to build the
highest and the strongest castle using only plastic cups.

Partner body positions

All the players chose a partner. The group is divided into two groups of pairs. Each group
forms a circle, one inside the other. As the music is playing, each circle walks in a
different direction. When the music stops, the leader will announce two body positions.
Example: “lift right leg and hold it with the left hand”. Everyone assumes this position
and tries to find his partner. Pairs will be eliminated who do not assume the correct
position. In the next round, the music will be played shorter than the round before and
new body positions will be named. The requirements for play can be made more difficult
and more humorous to watch with similar positions as:

Place big toe in mouth

Place tongue in armpit
Place foot behind head
Fold legs up over abdomen
Walk on all fours with abdomen facing up

Zipp-Zapp
The group sit on chairs in a circle. One player sits in the middle of the circle. He then
points to a player in the circle and says ‘Zip’ or ‘Zap’. When ‘Zip’ is said, the chosen player
must name the player on his left. By ‘Zap’, he must name the player on his right. (This
can be changed.) If the chosen player doesn’t say the name within 3-4 seconds, he must
exchange places with the player in the middle. If the player in the middle says ‘Zip-Zap’,
everyone must find a new place to sit. Whoever doesn’t find a place must go in the
middle.

Newspaper Slaps
A rolled-up newspaper/piece of paper is used as a slapping stick. Everyone sits in a circle,
except one player who sits in the middle and has the newspaper. The leader calls out
the name of one of the people in the circle. The player in the middle must “tap” the
person named with the newspaper before that person can call out another person’s
name.
Option: The group leader calls out the position of the player whose name should be
called out. For example, "who is the player 3 places to the right of Peter?" Peter must
then name the person 3 places away on the right. The batter in the middle must tap
Peter with the newspaper before he can call out the player's name. This option should
be favoured when the group knows each other a little better or if players who are friends
are seated together.

Bang
All of the group members stand in a circle. The group leader calls out a name. The players
on the left and right of the chosen person make a pistol with their hands, pretend to
shoot at the chosen person and say „BANG “. The person who was called out throws
himself to the ground and ducks. Out of the game is either: the person who ducked too
slowly. If he ducked quickly enough, then the slower one of the two shooters is out.

Elf, Giant, Magician

This game is similar to Rock-Paper-Scissors. The group divides itself into pairs that stand
opposite each other. On the leader’s command, the couples must assume positions to
show the character and they must also make the sounds of that character. Each
character has a specific sound:

• Elf: assume a squatting position and holds hands with index fingers pointing upwards
to resemble elf ears. The elf sound is “eeeeking –eeeeking…”
• Giant: stand on tip-toes and cross arms in front of chest. The giants sound is a deep
bellowing tone.
• Magician: stands in a normal position with arms outstretched and uses a secretive,
poetic voice to say his spells.

Who wins? What happens next? An elf hits the magician by shooting an arrow at him.
The magician makes a dramatic fall clutching his heart (where he was shot). The
magician hits the Giant who “shrinks” while making shrinking noises, like a balloon losing
air. The giant hits the elf while pretending he is very small.
Making gestures
The game is similar to "I went to the market" but using movements and gestures. The
first child starts with "I went to the market and bought a … (head shake, nose rub, hand
shake, nod of the head.)" The movement is made when the sentence is called out. Then
it is the next child's turn who says and performs the previous child's text: "He went to
the market and bought a ... (say and perform the text) and I bought (makes own gesture).
The game carries with all players repeating all of the previous players gestures and then
their own.

Dog Chases Its Tail

Have players line up holding each other around the waist. (DO NOT allow kids to hook
fingers through belts or belt loops). Remind students not to run, only speed walk. Have
the last player tuck a bandana/scarf/piece of fabric/ribbon in his or her pocket so that it
hangs down like a tail. Next, the front of the line begins to chase the end of the line,
attempting to grab the bandana. Players in the middle can help or hinder the head or
tail, depending on their whims. If the line breaks, the player who let go must step out,
shortening the line.
Variation: Set up two lines of players, creating two dogs that can chase each other’s tails.

Circle Animals
Begin in a circle. Choose two or three animals to mimic. Review the sounds and actions
of each animal with students. Demonstrate how each animal formation will look.
All students begin in a circle, with one student chosen to be in the center of the circle.
The student in the center will point to a student on the circle and call out an animal. The
student, who is pointed to, along with the student to his/her right and left, has to create
the animal named.
If the student in the center points to Joe and says, “Rabbit”, Joe holds 2 fingers over his
head making rabbit ears. The 2 students next to Joe each tap one foot on the ground to
mimic hopping. Students who do not do the correct movement are out. These students
now move to the center of the circle and choose animals for people to create. Game
continues until only three students are left.
Variations: Other animals include: Elephant – middle: makes trunk with arm, left and
right: make ears by placing arms in ½ circle shapes next to head of middle. Cat – middle:
makes claws with hands, left and right: use fingers of one hand to create whiskers next
to face of middle.

Cat and Mouse

Before the game begins designate one player as the “cat” and another player as the
“mouse.” The rest of the players should join hands and form a circle around the mouse,
while the cat remains outside the circle. The mouse starts the game by darting outside
the circle and around the players. The cat must try to tag the mouse while standing on
the outside of the circle. The players may lift their arms over the mouse’s head in order
to help him/her. Likewise, the will try to block the cat. When the cat finally tags the
mouse, the mouse becomes the new cat, the cat joins the circle, and another player
becomes the mouse.
Desert Island
Announce, 'You've been left to a deserted island for a year. In addition to the essentials,
you may take one piece of music, one book and one luxury item you can carry with you
i.e. not a boat to leave the island! What would you take and why?'
Allow a few minutes for the children to draw up their list of three items, before sharing
their choices with the rest of the group. As with most icebreakers and relationship
building activities, it's good for the group leaders to join in too!

Around the world

The leader begins by saying the name of any country, city, river, ocean or mountain that
can be found in an atlas. The young person next to him must then say another name
that begins with the last letter of the word just given. Each person has a definite time
limit (e.g. three seconds) and no names can be repeated. For example - First person:
London, Second Person: Niagara Falls, Third Person: Switzerland

The Alphabet Back Game

Split everyone into pairs. Ask one volunteer from each group come up to the front.
Secretly write down a letter on the piece of paper (you can write it on the whiteboard
as well, but be sure that other kids don`t see it) and show the letter to the volunteers.
The volunteers are not allowed to speak, say the letter, or give any hints to their
partners.
When you say “go”, the volunteer traces the letter on the back of their partner using
only their finger. If the partner figures out the letter, the partner must raise his/her
hand and share what he/she thinks the letter is. If the letter is correct, the pair receives
one point. If the letter is incorrect, the game continues until one pair guesses the letter
correctly. The group with the most points wins the game.

Animal sounds chain

With the animal sounds one person "sends" the action to another person by making
their own noise/motion, and then someone else's noise/motion. That person, in turn,
makes their noise/motion, and then another person's.
For example, in a game with a cat, a dog, and a monkey, the action might be as follows:
Cat Dog / Dog Cat / Cat Monkey / Monkey Dog / Dog Cat and so forth...
Cat, monkey, and dog are commonly used, but creativity is encouraged...the sillier, the
better! If someone "messes up" (stumbles over their noise, does the wrong combination
of noise and motion, or hesitates too long), they're out for that round. The last person
still in is the winner.

Hands Up
All players stand in a circle. The leader says to one person: “Hands up!”. The players on
each side of this person must grab his hands and “throw” them up in the air. The player
on the left grabs the right hand and the player on the right grabs the left hand of the
player chosen. The player must try to keep his hands down. The player who does it
wrong, is ‘it’ next.
 II. Outside Games & Sports
Ball relay race
Divide your group into two-three teams. The first starts off with a ball and places it in a
basket (you can use boxes or empty bins). Then the next runner can start. He fetches
the ball from the basket and hands it to the third player. This player places it in the
basket again, runs back and the fourth runner may start. This can be played for several
rounds. 2-3 baskets can be placed at different distances. The ball must always be
transported to the next basket. Alternatively, you can mark the start line and the finish
line and have a traditional relay race of a sprint passing the ball to the hands of another
person as soon as the distance is over.

Crab race
The relay race goes backwards and forwards in the crab position – this means on all fours
with the stomach pointing upwards. Depending on the size of the group, several rounds
can take place. Depending on the age of the group you can also build in some obstacles.

Rabbit Hopping
Rabbits hop in a zig zag when they are trying to get away from their prey. Divide the
children into two groups and have children hop in a zig zag pattern from one point of zig
zag lines to another point. The team where all members will finish the fast is the winner.

Duck Walk Race

Have the kids line up at the Start Line, squat down and grasp their ankles with each hand
from behind. On GO, they waddle to a designated Finish Line. They can't let go of their
ankles or they are disqualified. The first child over the Finish Line wins. You can play this
game not with a full group but as a part of relay race, dividing your children into two
teams and competing with each other.

Spit race
The legs are spread and the players grab their own ankles. The race will take place in this
position (forwards, backwards or sideways). The fastest team or the fastest runner wins.
You should make sure that the legs really remain spread throughout the race (therefore
stiff and straight).

Wheelbarrow Race
One player on a team will be the wheelbarrow and the other player is to be the pusher.
The wheelbarrow gets down on hands and knees at the start line. The pusher picks up
the wheelbarrow by the knees or ankles with both hands and on the word “Go!” all
wheelbarrows race to the finish line. The teams will probably stumble and fall, making
this race very challenging. The first pair completely across the line wins the race.

Two-Player Ball Run

Have the members of each team pair up. You can let them pick their own partners or
assign them. However, make sure you explain the objective of the game is to run an
obstacle course holding a ball with the sides of their heads or waists, so it is best to
choose someone the same height. Either set an amount of time to complete the course
or declare as winner the first team to do so successfully.

Tunnel Relay
Each team stands in a single line (players one yard behind each other with feet apart).
At the signal, the first player of each team rolls the ball between their legs so that it
passes through the legs of the other players on their team and is caught by the player at
the end of the line. The player then runs with the ball to the front of the line, and repeats
the procedure. The game ends when the first player of one team has again reached the
top of the line. NOTE: You can vary the game by having players run to front of line with
the ball between their legs, or by pushing the ball with their head, on their hands and
knees.

Jumping Rope Relay

Hand a jump rope to the first member of each team. When the relay begins, that student
has 60 seconds to jump rope as many times as possible. Teammates holler the number
of each jump. Each student jumps for 60 seconds or until he or she trips. If the student
misses a jump, the team stops counting and waits out the balance of the 60 seconds. At
the end of 60 seconds, call out "Time's up, go!"
Then the first student in line hands off the jump rope to the second student -- and the
activity continues. When all team members have jumped, add up the total number of
jumps the team made. The winning team is the team with the most total jumps. This
game benefits from speed as long as the speed is paired with accuracy. Speed does not
pay off if it results in a mistake.

Newspaper or crate relay

Each team receives two sheets of newspaper (can be replaced by paper). The first runner
is only allowed to move along on the paper without touching the ground. After the
course is completed it is the next team member's turn. The first team across the finishing
line wins or the team who completed the course without any mistakes.

Caterpillar
A child stands with their feet on a piece of carpet (paper can be used instead) with both
hands on another piece of carpet. The forwards movement goes like this: slide the hands
forwards, push the legs from the back to the front.

Mix-It-Up Relay Race

The rules for this one couldn't be simpler. Players must travel from point A to point B
and back again, in turns, until the whole team has participated. The catch: No one player
on the team can travel in the same manner as a teammate. One runs, one skips, one
hops, and so on.

Chimp Race
Set up teams and play area. The first person on each team is to bend over with feet apart
and grab their ankles. On “go”, they are to race down the course and back without
letting go of their ankles. Each person on the team repeats the relay. The first team done
is the winner.
Shoebox Slide
Equip each team with two shoeboxes or A4 sheets of paper. When the race starts, the
first player on each team steps into the shoeboxes and slides his way to the turn-around
point and then back. Then the next player on his team hops into the shoeboxes for his
turn, and so on.
Variations: Add obstacles (such as cones to maneuver around) to the playing field

Never in the Olympics

Okay everybody, sit down and walk! Mark a finish line. Everybody can race at the same
time or you can divide up into teams to make it a relay race. To play, sit on the floor with
your legs straight out in front of you and try to walk on your behind. You can't use your
hands or feet in any way to push yourself forward! Here's a hint: first try moving one
side of your behind and then the other!

Log Roll
In case you have a flat clean surface, you can play the following fun game. Have the
entire group lie down on their stomachs, shoulder to shoulder, forming a straight line.
Then the person on the end rolls over everyone’s back until they reach the end.
Everyone continues to do this until the entire group has rolled over. The first team done
first wins.

Backward Clumps
Have the students divide into pairs. Ask each pair to sit on the floor with their partner,
back together, feet out in front and arms linked. Their task is to stand up together. Once
everyone has done this, two pairs join together and the group of four tries to repeat the
task. After they succeed, add another two and try again. Keep adding people until your
whole group is trying to stand together.

Catching the Snake’s Tail

A snake is formed with all the students holding hands in a line. One end is the head and
the other is the tail. The head tries to catch the tail while the tail tries to escape. Let
participants know that they should not break their grip. A variation is to have more than
one group and have the heads of the groups chasing the tails of the other groups.

Thieves dens
Half of the group are robbers and hide somewhere in the area. The others (police) hunt
the robbers down. Those who are caught by the police (tagged) must go to jail. The
prisoners can be freed by another robber who manages to get into the prison before
being tagged. The game rules can be agreed and varied: instead of being tagged they
can defend. Prisoners can be tied up and guarded or a top thief can only be tagged by 2
cops. The aim is to catch all of the thieves. Then the roles are swapped over.

Balloon Races
Divide groups into teams of at least 6 people on each team. Each team lines up in a single
line and each team member is given a ball. Each team member puts the ball between
their knees and their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. The teams
race to the finish line, but if anyone on the team drops their arms down or loses their
ball, the whole team must stop, that person goes to the end of the line, and then the
team keeps going.

Frog Races
Split the group into two teams. Each person should jump towards the finish line as a
frog would and jump back. The next person does the same. First team done wins.

Shoeless Joe Jackson

Have students line up and place a cone on the other end of the yard. The first time they
race to the far cone, they will remove one shoe, then run back and go to the end of the
line.

Cooperative Game
On their second turn, students will remove their other shoe at the cone, run back and
go to the end of the line. The third time, the student must find their shoes in the shoe
mountain, put them both on, and run to the end of the line. Once the student is done,
they sit down and remain quiet. The team is done once everyone has their shoes on and
tied, and are all sitting down quietly in their line.

Bookworm
Students race to a cone while balancing a book on their heads. They cannot use their
hands to touch the book. Whenever the book falls, students must freeze and place the
book back on top of their heads at the place where it dropped. Once the student is done,
they are to sit down and be quiet. The team is done once everyone has finished the race
and is sitting down quietly in their line.

Three-legged race
Students pair up on their teams and use a jump rope or piece of cloth to tie their two
legs together above their thigh. Advise students to pick up the long ends of the rope and
link arms for better balance. As a pair they run to the finish line (a cone). The team is
done once everyone has finished racing and is sitting down quietly in their line.

Tug of War
Divide participants into two groups. Each team holds on to opposite ends of a long rope,
with a flag tied to the middle of the rope. Place two cones under the rope, equal distance
from the middle (2’-5’) Each team tries to pull the rope until the flag passes the cone.

Ball race
Students pair up on their teams and form a line. Place a cone for the start line and set
up a hula hoop with bean bags or small balls on the other end of the yard. Students must
place a red bouncy ball between their torsos with both torsos still facing front. They put
their arms on each others’ shoulders. Keeping the ball held between them but without
holding it with their hands, the partners race to the hula hoop. Once they get to the hula
hoop, one partner tries to pick up a bean bag, with the ball remaining between the
partners’ bodies. They return to the start line with the bouncy ball still between them,
drop the bean bag there and give the bouncy ball to the next set of partners in line. If
the ball drops while they are running, the partners must freeze in place and put the ball
back in place. The team is done once they have picked up all of the bean bags from the
hula hoop and returned to the start line.

Whole Yard Obstacle Course

Have students go down the slides in the playground, hula hoop, jump rope, shoot hoops,
shoot goals, etc.

Poison ball
It's us against them! Poison ball is all about escaping the ball throwing skills of the adults
to avoid being hit! Because once the kids are hit, the hunted become the hunters and
it's game on. This is such a fun party game that will keep the kids well entertained and
laughing!
Get the kids in a large area in the backyard. Stand a couple of adults around the edges
of this area and all the kids in the centre.
Adults throw the ball through the area to try to get the kids as they duck and weave out
of the way.
Any child touched by the ball must join the edge with the adults and throw the ball
through the centre to get their friends out! The last kid standing is the winner!

Back-to-back balloon pop

Back-to-back balloon pop is a fun game to keep kids active and laughing. This engaging
kids activity can be played indoors and outside and enjoyed by children of all ages. Get
popping those balloons now!
Divide children into pairs. Have the children line up back-to-back holding a balloon in
between their backs. On your command have the children attempt to squeeze together
and pop their balloon. The pair that pops their balloon first is the winner. If you do not
want to have a specific winner, keep the game going until all pairs have popped their
balloon.

Hula hooping
Active play is essential in every child's life so why not introduce them to the hula hoop!
Children and adults around the world have played with hula hoops for centuries. Let
your kids in on the fun now!
Encourage children to use the hula hoop in any way they feel fit. You can show your
children different tricks to try with the hoop. Try to spin the hoop around your waist, or
get it spinning on the ground or even spinning on your arm. Children will enjoy playing
and experimenting with their hula hoop.

River ball
This is a great game to be played by young and old and will keep everyone entertained
for hours. It encourages team work and is great for hand eye coordination.
Divide yourself into two teams. One team is at one end of the court, the other team is
at the other end. The middle third of the court is the river.
One person from the team throws the ball and the other team has to catch it. If they
catch it you continue with the game. If they drop it, then the person who dropped it or
is the closest to the ball is out.
The only way the person can get back in is if one of their team members catch the ball
or one member of the other team drops the ball. If the ball goes in the river you are out.

Kick the can

A twist on the old hide and seek favourite, kick the can adds a whole new element that
kids can enjoy amongst friends at a party or gathering.
Start by choosing one person to be IT and a "home base" for the children to gather. To
start the game, this player (IT) gets to kick the can as far as he/she is able. The players
scatter to find hiding places as the can rolls. IT then chases after the can and brings it
back to home base.
Once he brings the can home, IT counts to 50 (or 100; depending on age) with his eyes
closed. When he opens them, he starts searching for the other kids and the fun begins.
When IT finds a hider, he calls out this player's name. If the hider can kick over the can
before IT does, he's safe. If IT makes it to the can first, the player whose name he calls
out is captured and must wait in the jail (next to the can).
The player/s in jail are not doomed just yet, another player can risk capture to save
them. If another player can kick over the can and call out "Home FREE" without getting
captured by IT, the jailbirds are free to run and hide from IT again.
The game continues until all the jailbirds have been captured. The first person caught
becomes IT in the next game. If jailbreaks keep the game going on too long, the first
person who is caught 3 times becomes IT and a new game begins.

Fast skipping game

Skipping has been around since the start of time. All kids love it and not only is a fun
family game to play but, most outdoor kids parties have an element of skipping involved.
Grab the rope and get the kids skipping!
Two people turn the rope in full circles. Players line up on one side of the rope. One
person runs into the middle of the rope. The rope turners turn the rope at normal speed
for three jumps then they turn the rope twice as fast to see how long the skipper can
stay in. Whilst this is happening, the rest of the players count how many jumps
each skipper does. The player with the most jumps wins.

Notes: You can include rhymes once the skipper is more advanced. Rhymes include:
Jenny Jenny touch the ground,
Jenny Jenny turn around,
Jenny Jenny Reach for the light,
Jenny Jenny say goodnight. Goodnight.

I like coffee, I like tea, I like so and so in with me (named child runs in to join the
skipper)
I don't like coffee, I don't like tea, I don't like so and so in with me (child runs out)

Drop catch
Have the players stand at a distance from each other. They can be close together or far
apart, whichever is most comfortable for them. Instruct the players to throw the ball
between them. If a player drops the ball, he has to pay a penalty. On the first drop, he
must go down on one knee and throw the ball back. If he catches the ball on the next
throw, he can stand up again. If not, he goes down on both knees. Here are all the
penalties according to number of drops:

-­­1st drop: go down on one knee

-­­2nd drop: go down on both knees
-­­3rd drop: go down on both knees, one hand on the ground
-­­4th drop: go down on knees, one hand on the ground, one eye closed
-­­5th drop: go down on both knees, one hand on the ground, both eyes closed
-­­6th drop: you're out

For each ball caught, a player can only subtract one penalty level. For example, if a
player is at the 4th penalty level, with both knees on the ground, one hand on the
ground, and one eye closed, and catches the ball, he can move up to the 3rd penalty
level. If he catches the ball again, he moves to the 2nd penalty level, and so on.

Station’s game
Divide your group in different teams of 3 or 4.
1st station: flying ball. They need to stand up in rows. Each team will have a captain
holding a ball and facing the rest of the group standing in line (2 meters distance)
When the teacher says ‘go’ the captain will throw the ball to the 1st person in the row,
Once they’ll catch it they’ll rapidly throw it back to the captain and sit down, the captain
will throw the ball again to the 2nd person in row and the same action will be repeated
until student number 5 that will run to replace the captain to continue the game.
The first to finish will be the winners of the station.

2nd station: elephant race. Set an imaginary line where children will need to run to and
come back (they can run until the wall, touch it and come back). The first person in the
line must bend over at the waist and put his arm through his legs so his hand is reaching
out to the person behind him, chain-­­like. They cannot break the chain.

3rd station: relay race. The first person in the line needs to run up until a boundary and
come back. He will then hold hands with the 2nd person in the row, run and come back.
They will hold hands with the 3rd person in line and make the same circuit. They will
continue until holding hands with the last person in the row and complete the circuit.
They need to hold hands; otherwise they will need to start again.
4th station: Bomb. This is a game they usually like to play at their schools, so they will
know the rules. The full group makes a circle and they need to pass the ball to each
other. In the middle, one of the kids will count up until he/she shouts ‘bomb’. The
person grabbing the ball at the moment when the person being ‘it’ screams ‘bomb’
needs to sit down with their legs straight. The countdown starts all over again, this time
the players need to sort out the ‘obstacles’ by jumping over the legs of their disqualified
colleagues.

Hiding
A volunteer counts to 50 with his face to the wall (or a tree) and then begins to look for
the others who have hidden themselves. Anyone who is found must be tagged at the
starting point. If the player is faster and can tag the board before the seeker they can
tag themselves free and hide again. Everyone is allowed to seek. The winner is the one
who finds the most players in time and tag them.

Footsie
Be quick with your feet. To play, you need at least three players. Players lie down and
put their legs in the air. One player puts a ball between his/her feet and passes it to the
next player. If a player drops the ball, he/she's out. Keep doing this until all the players
but one is out.

Everybody’s It
Ask everyone to spread out evenly on the playing area. Once you say “go”, everyone
tries to tag each other. If one person tags another person, the tagged person must sit
down for the rest of the game. However, if two people tag each other at the same time,
they both have to sit down.
The game continues until all but one person is eliminated. The last person standing wins
the game.

Olympic Games
Organize your team in 2 groups and tell them that they are going to take part in the
Olympic Games. For each of the events, give 5 points to the winners and 2 points to the
other group.
-­­ Football (20 min.)
-­­ Basketball (20 min.)
-­­ Long jump (10 min.)

Sack races
The sack race is a classic party game that has been around forever. The fact that kids are
learning amazing development skills will be disguised in the fun and sometimes hilarity
of the game. Covering a broad range of ages and stages, this cool party game will be a
huge success!
In a wide, open area, divide kids up in teams. You can have as many or as few teams as
you like. Designate a turning point using a marker or cone. Handing the sack to the first
person each team, begin the race. Children must jump their way to the marker, turn and
come back to the next person in the team. Getting out of the sack and getting the next
person in looks tricky, but the time doesn’t stop. Continue until everyone has had a
jump. The first team to have all players jump and sit win.
Notes: If you only have 2 players, they can race each other, or find personal best times
against a stop watch.

Red rover, red rover

The red rover, red rover game is a classic kids party game for children of all ages to enjoy.
Make this game the highlight of your party as the kids learn listening and teamwork skills
while they play.
Divide the children into two equal teams and have each side line up shoulder-to-
shoulder and hold hands. The two teams should be facing each other and about 6m
apart. The team starting the game selects a player from the opposing team and chants
"Red rover, red rover, send (insert child's name) right over!" Then the player who is
selected will run and try to break through the hands of a section on the other team.
A successful breakthrough means that player gets to choose a player from the opposing
team to join his or her team. If that player fails to break through, he or she now becomes
part of the opposing team. The teams take turns until there is only one person left on
the opposing team.

Hopscotch
Hopscotch is an old traditional game that still brings loads of fun and laughter in school
yards everywhere. With these easy steps you can create your own hopscotch at home,
inside or out!
Use chalk to draw a hopscotch pattern on the ground or use masking tape on the floor.
Create a diagram with eight sections and number them. Each player has a marker such
as a stone, bottlecap, shell, button, etc. For younger children simply hopping across the
single versus double squares can provide hours of fun.
The first player stands behind the starting line to toss his or her marker in square one.
Hop over square one to square two and then continue hopping to square eight, turn
around, and hop back again. Pause in square two to pick up the marker, hop in square
one, and out. Then continue by tossing the stone in square two.
All hopping is done on one foot unless the hopscotch design is such that two squares are
side-by-side. Then two feet can be placed down with one in each square. A player must
always hop over any square where a maker has been placed.
Getting out: A player is out if the marker fails to land in the proper square, the hopper
steps on a line, the hopper loses balance when bending over to pick up the marker and
puts a second hand or foot down, the hopper goes into a square where a marker is, or
if a player puts two feet down in a single box.
The player puts the marker in the square where he or she will resume playing on the
next turn, and the next player begins.

Buzz-bomb balloon
Buzz bomb balloon is a fun game to keep kids active and entertained as they practice
'bombing' a target with their balloons.
All children are to inflate their balloon. Some children may need help in doing this.
On your command, instruct the children to let go of their balloon in the direction of the
target. Keep score so as to determine a winner. Allocate five points for the balloon that
lands closest to the target and 15 points for a direct hit on the target. This can be a fun
game played in teams.

Rope jump
Jumping rope is a classic game that has been around forever! With this activity you can
teach your kids how to jump rope no matter what age they are. They will love showing
you any special tricks they have come up with.
Have the children stand around you in a circle (or if there is only one child they can just
stand in front of you) a little less than the length of the rope away. Swing the rope low
and slow and encourage the children to jump as it comes past.
For younger children, you might need to go very slow on the ground as their
coordination will not allow much more than this.
For older children, you can swing the rope faster and higher and higher with each turn.
They will love showing you their capabilities!

Exercises
This one is great for over excited children who need to burn off a bit of energy. Stand
the children in a line and call out instructions:
• "Stand up” (Teacher stands and so does everyone else)
• "Hands up / hands down" (do 4 or 5 times)
• "Jump" (4 or 5 times)
• "Run! / Stop!" (4 or 5 times)
• "Turn around! / Stop!" (4 or 5 times)

Four corner game

To begin, four corners (or general areas) of the room are marked from the numbers one
to four. One player is designated to be "It," or the "counter." This player sits in the
middle of the room and closes his or her eyes, or exits the room, and counts to ten. The
remaining players choose any one of the corners and quietly go and stand in that area.
When the "It" player has finished counting, he or she calls out one of the numbers. All
players who had chosen that corner or area are out of the game, and they sit down.
Then, "It" counts again and the remaining players move to a different corner. Unless the
corner is out.

The shoe game

All children sit in a circle and take off one shoe. Children hide their eyes as the teacher
hides all the shoes. The children must find a shoe that DOES NOT belong to them and
bring it back to the circle. When all the shoes have been found, teacher asks a child
whose shoe he found. Child looks around the circle to determine who is wearing a shoe
that matches the one he found. When he finds the owner, he returns the shoe, and that
child now must find the owner of the shoe she has found.
The Best Game
Arrange everyone into groups of 4 or 5. Everyone has to participate in at least one round.
Explain the rules: You will be announcing a contest category for the group (for example,
“The Tallest”). Each group needs to select one person who they think will win the
category. There'll be a category contest and if a person has "the best" within the
category, his or her team gets a point.
Each group needs to select one person from their group who they think will win the
category.
Reveal the specific action or measurement the selected people have to do to win the
contest (example: Whoever has the “The Tallest” thumb). The person with the best
action or measurement wins a point for their team. The team with the most points wins
the game.

Over Under, Over Under

Team members line up and each team receives a ball or another easy to pass item. The
goal is to pass the ball over the head and under the legs until it reaches the end of the
line. The player at the end of the line runs to the front and passing starts over. When
the last person in line returns to the front, the game is over, with the first team
successfully completing the task winning.
The last person to still be in the game wins, and usually becomes the new "It. "If "It" calls
out a corner containing no players, she either calls out another number right away or
the players rotate to a new corner, according to different versions of game play.

Red Light Green Light

It is an outdoor game suitable for children of all ages. You will need quite a bit of space!
If you play the game with younger kids, you can use it to reinforce the concept of "red
is for stop" and "green is for go". One player (or an adult) is chosen to be the caller. The
caller stands facing away from the other children, who stand behind a starting line drawn
up about 10 meters away. When the caller calls out "green light", the children run
forward to try to tag him. They must move as quickly as possible but at any time the
caller may call out "red light", at which point all the children must freeze. The caller turns
round and if he catches anyone moving - even a tiny bit - they are sent back to the
starting line. The first player to tag the caller becomes caller in the next round.

Who's Got the Gold

To get started ask the children to sit in a circle. One child sits in the middle with his/her
eyes closed. You need to prepare a golden coin (can be replaced by 1EUR coin) in
advance for this game. The children in the circle pass around a gold coin while the child
in the middle slowly counts to ten. All the children place their hands in their lap and
pretend they have the coin. The child in the middle opens his/her eyes and can guess up
to three times, who has the gold. The child who had the coin gets to sit in the middle for
the next game.

Where Do You Stand?

This fun game requires lots of running around and sometimes some bumping into each
other - so it's best played in a large hall or the playground! Draw a line with chalk or
otherwise mark out a line down the centre of your space. All the children start by
standing on the line. Now call out opposites and point in one direction for each. Children
make their choice and run to the correct side of the line.
Examples might be:
Cats or dogs? Rabbits or mice? Blue or pink? Football or rugby? Country or town? Hot
dogs or hamburgers? Cereal or toast? Tinkerbell or Peter Pan?
Try to think up some opposites that will get all the children on one side of the line! If you
are playing indoors and you want the kids to get a little more exercise, you can also ask
children to sit down once they have decided.

Necking-the-Orange
Divide your group into two teams and have them stand in a line. The first person in each
line holds an orange/little soft ball under their chin. In case you don`t have a soft ball or
an orange, you can make a paper ball and give it to the kids. The object of the game is
to pass the orange/ soft ball down the line to the last person without using hands by
holding the orange under the chin. When the orange/ soft ball gets to the end of the
line, you can end the game or continue by having the last person run to the front and
start over again.

Roll the Ball

If your group is large, it can be even a race. Here we go... indicate on the floor the start
and finish lines. If they get too good, add a few obstacles, such as a chair to go around,
or tape a line for them to try to follow, be creative. Take the plastic spoons and place
the paper balls that we used in a previous game on them, asking the children to run from
one point of line to another holding a spoon with a ball in their hand. To make it more
difficult, ask them to take the spoon in their mouth and run to the indicated point like
that!

Tied in a knot game

This is a fun kids party game to get your guests into knots of laughter! So link up your
little party guests with Tied in a knot game and get the party moving.
Gather your players into a circle facing each other. Each player must hold out their right
hand and connect hands with one of the players opposite them. Next each player holds
out their left hand and connect hands with a different player.
The aim of the game is to try and untangle the "knot" they are now in by ducking and
wriggling around other players to try and make a straight line out of their group.
No player is allowed to let go of any hands. Now untie the knot and try not to laugh!

Backyard bowling
Your kids will love getting in the backyard for a game of Backyard bowling. This is such
an easy game to set up and even easier to play so get the kids outside and active today.
Line up the boxes in a row at least two metres away like bowling pins. Use the ball to try
to knock the 'pins' down. For every 'pin' the players knock down, they are awarded one
point. Play as many rounds as you want. The player who knocks down the most 'pins' is
the winner.

Seven times ball game

Seven-seys: Throw the ball against the wall seven times and catch it.
Six-seys: Throw the ball against the wall, allow it to come back and bounce on the ground
once, then catch it. Repeat six times.
Five-seys: Bounce the ball on the ground five times and catch it.
Four-seys: Throw the ball against the wall. When it comes back, divert it with the palm
of your hand, and without catching it, bounce it twice on the ground, then divert it again
with the palm to bounce it off the wall, then catch it. Repeat four times.
Three-seys: Bounce the ball on the ground once then divert it with the palm of your hand
against the wall and when it bounces back, catch it. Repeat three times.
Two-seys: Throw the ball under one leg against the wall and when it bounces back, catch
it. Repeat two times.
One-seys: Throw the ball against the wall, then spin around quickly, and catch it without
letting it hit the ground. Do this once only.
Captain ball game
Have two teams lined up with the captain of each team standing one metre away from
the first person on the team. To start the game, the captain throws the ball to the first
player in the line who then throws the ball back and sits down.
The captain throws the ball to the next player, who throws the ball back and sits down.
The player continues in this way until all players have had a turn. The last player catches
the ball and runs to the captain to replace him. The new captain now repeats the
throwing of the ball to each player. The first team to complete have every player be the
captain wins the game.

Sardines game
Children love to play outside hiding behind trees and running around. Sardines is hide
and seek backwards and is a great game for kids to play.
Choose an area in which you will play the game. Choose one person to be ‘It’.
He hides while the rest of the group together count slowly to thirty. The players
then start looking for the person that is ‘It’. When someone finds him, she joins ‘It’ in
the hiding place trying to stay as quiet as possible. When the last person finds the hiding
place and all the hidden players, the game is over.

Superhero chasey
This is a great party game that all children will love as they play outdoors. There is lots
of running and laughing involved!
Mark two lines in the grass or play area, at least 15 metres apart.
Pick one player to be Superman, and have him stand in the middle of the play area
between the two lines. The other players are the “bad guys,” and they should stand
behind one of the lines.
To start, Superman yells, “Up, up, and away!” All of the bad guys must try to run through
the play area and across the other line without being tagged by Superman. If Superman
tags a bad guy, that child is caught and must hold hands with Superman during the next
round. As more players are caught, they join hands with Superman, extending his
reach.
Play continues until only one player is left. That player gets to be Superman for the next
round. Play as many rounds as desired.

Catch and throw

Improve your little one’s hand-eye coordination and ball throwing skills with this fun
activity. Throwing and catching are skills which are learnt through repetition rather than
inherent at birth. As such your child will enjoy being able to see their improvement
during this activity and, if it is repeated regularly, their improvement over time.
Place the hula hoop some distance away from your child. Give your child the bean bag,
ball or button and instruct them to toss these into the hula hoop circle.
Once your child has done this a few times, have your little one take a step backwards,
or move the hula hoop slightly forwards, to increase the skill level required to toss the
item into the circle accurately.
Extension: Once your little one has mastered this activity you may wish to increase the
difficulty of the task by reducing the size of the area into which the ball or button is to
be tossed.

Skipping rope activities

If you feel that your kids are too small for any of the activities described below, use Inside
Games + Outside Games & Sports + Water Activities Guide to replace it by any other
activity.

Link arms skipping game

Skipping is an outdoor group activity that is great for children. It is lots of fun and helps
children learn coordination and timing of jumping.
Two players turn the rope in full circles. Players line up on one side of the rope. Players
link arms at the elbows and run through in pairs. Next, the players can link arms in threes
and then fours and fives.

Run through the rope game

Two kids turn the rope in full circles. Players line up on one side of the rope. One at a
time the players run under the turning rope, without jumping they then run out the
other side of the rope.
Once players run out of the rope, they run around the back of the rope holder and line
up on the other side ready to go again. Players run through continuously without leaving
gaps in between the next person that runs through.

Jump rope game

Two kids hold the rope at either end. They start by swinging it from side to side slowly.
The skipper moves into the centre of the rope and jumps over the rope as it sweeps past
the ground. As the skipper becomes confident at jumping, the rope can be swung a little
faster.

Jump rope splash challenge

Summer is a great time of year for water games. Play the Jump rope splash challenge to
get the kids active and laughing at your next kids party or weekend gathering.
Each player is given a cup of water. Two people will swing the jump rope as each player
takes turns to complete 5-10 consecutive jumps while trying to keep as much water in
their cup as possible.
The object of this water game is to keep as much water in your cup as you can. As the
players complete the set number of jumps, raise the number each round to make the
competition harder. The last player with water in their cup wins.

Confusion
Give each participant a sheet with various tasks and ask them to complete it when you
say, “GO!” Here is a sample:
➢ Get someone to do five push-ups and sign here.
➢ Stand on one foot with your arms outstretched for 20 seconds.
➢ Have someone sing a song
 ➢ Leap frog over someone 5 times.
➢ Run on the circle during 2 minutes
➢ Get someone to recite a nursery rhyme.
➢ Shake hands with someone and ask him/her to play in clapping hands with you
➢ Have someone teach you a dance.
First person to complete the entire sheet, wins.

Crows and Cranes

Players are divided into two teams. Mark two safety lines not more them 40 feet from
center. Midway between the safety lines, form players in two teams facing the leader.
The lines of players are about 5 feet apart. One line is “crows,” the other is “cranes.”
When the leader calls “Crows,” the crows run for their safety line, attempting to reach
it before the cranes can tag them. If the leader calls “crawfish” no one runs. The leader
should use deception and precede his call with a “crr” sound, so players will not know
what is going on. Each team receives a point for every member of the opposite team
tagged before that team reaches safety. Each team loses a point for every one of its
people running in the wrong direction or running on the call “crawfish.”

Clothes Pin Tag

Give each player four clothespins. Each player tries to get rid of the pins by attaching
them to the other players’ clothing. A player’s four pins must end up on four separate
players. You can adjust this game and use post-its instead of pins. The rules for the game
remain the same.

Hill Dill
The person who is “it” stands in the center of the play area while the other players stand
behind one of the goal lines marked across the ends of the play area. Half of the players
stand on one side of the play area and the other half stands on the other side. The person
who is “it” call out “Hill Dill, come over the hill!” On this signal the players run across the
center to the opposite side. The person who is “it” tries to tag them. The players who
are tagged go to the center and help tag the remaining players. The game is played until
one person is left.

Islands (Carpet Squares)

This game should be played with at least 6 people. Lay squares of carpet in a line putting
down 1 more carpet square than the number of people playing, (if you don’t have carpet
squares, use paper or a plate). Have half the people line up on the squares on one side
and have the other half line up on the other side, with the empty square in the middle
of the line. Have everyone face toward the empty square. Tell the group that they have
to transfer all the people to the opposite side from where they now stand of the empty
square. People can only move if they are stepping past one person in front of them and
on to an empty square. (They can’t move if there is not a person in front of them, or if
there is more than one person in front of them). Only one person can be on a square. A
lot of people find this game pretty tough! At the end of the activity everyone should be
on the square exactly opposite from where they began.
Roman Wagon Races
Two players stand in front as horse heads. 2 more players bend over to make the horses
backs. They hold the 2 players in front with their hands on those players’ hips. A fifth
player stands on the backs of the horses and holds their shoulders securely. At the signal
the harnessed team moves over the course to the goal without group breaking its
positions.

Paper Boy
Large single sheets of paper are hung over the body (head, arms, legs, etc.). Without
using the hands to hold the paper in place, the player must run to the goal. If a piece of
paper falls off, the player may stop, replace the paper and continue the race. This game
can be played as a relay race. You may also count how many pieces of paper make it to
the goal, without replacing any that have fallen off.

William Tell Race

Divide into teams. Have one person at a time from each team put an apple (can be
replaced by a soft ball, a book or any other little object) on their head. They are to walk
down the course and back, keeping the apple on their head. The next person does the
same; the first team done is the winner.

War Ball
Divide your group into two teams and have them stand facing each other inside two
adjacent playing areas. Distribute the soft rubber balls equally among the two teams.
You can make this activity more interesting if you ask the children to create the
balls…with old newspapers/unnecessary paper!!!
When you shout “Go!” the players throw the balls and try to hit players on the other
team. When a player gets hit, he/she must go to prison camp behind the opponents’
playing area. The prisoners can catch any balls that come back there and throw them at
the opponents. Hitting an opposing player sends that player to prison camp and releases
the player who threw the ball to go back to his/her original side.

Wall to Wall
Find a space to run across from wall to wall or wall to fence. Start with a counting-go
game, yelling the loudest "Go!" you can muster, where upon the children run from one
wall and stop at the other. Run with different children each time. Count up to different
numbers. Count down. Then challenge different ways to run. Tip toes? Knees high? Arms
high? Circling? Swinging? Twisting? Zig-zag? Backwards? Jumping?

Run, Run Chicken, Go Home!

Like wall to wall, the children run from one safe zone to the next, but in the middle is
the catcher, who calls, "Run run chicken go home" to signal the others to run across the
mid space. Anyone tagged becomes part of the catchers for the next run, proceeding
until all are caught and the game begins anew.
The Blob
Establish boundaries. Start by calling yourself the Blob. Chase the children until you
catch one. That child then grabs your hand and becomes part of the Blob. Together, still
holding hands, you catch others. The Blob grows larger with each capture. Only the
outside free hands can tag. The Blob may either tag or encircle its prey. One of the
characteristics of the Blob is that it can split up in to different numbers of smaller Blobs,
but there must be at least two to a Blob. When one, two, or three children are left,
whichever you specify, the game ends. Those children unite and begin the next Blob.

Paper Race
Give each child an ordinary piece of paper. The teacher shows the children how to run
with the paper, first by holding it on her chest, then, after picking up speed, letting go
so the air pressure holds it in place. It is relatively easy to keep it in place running in a
straight line. The challenge is to run in circles.

Loose Caboose
Groups (trains of 3 or 4) depending upon the size of the group are made up with the
individuals lining up behind each other forming a train. The game is a tag game. Two
people are designated as “it” and two are the “loose caboose.” The object of the game
is for those who are “it” to tag the players who are the loose caboose. The loose caboose,
however, can avoid being tagged by hooking onto the end of the train. Once a player
hooks on to the end, the first player in the train then becomes the loose caboose. The
train can also try to avoid being hooked onto. Once a player has been tagged, they then
become the “it,” and the “it” becomes the loose caboose.

Ghost in the Graveyard

One person is the ghost. The rest lie in their "graves" hiding their eyes and counting to
20 as the ghost hides. When the count is finished, everyone starts to look for the ghost.
The first finder yells, "Ghost in the graveyard!" and all rush back to their grave. Anyone
caught before he returns to his grave, lies down and hides his eyes becomes the next
ghost.

Huckle Buckle Beanstalk

Select an object to hide and designate a home base where all of the children can gather
at once. A player is designated to hide the object without the others peeking. Then
everyone searches. When anyone finds it, they run to home base shouting, "Huckle
buckle beanstalk!" They continue until everyone has found it.
 III. Water Activities
Kids love to play in the water and probably won’t even realize that they are getting at
great workout at the same time! Swimming pools allow kids to get a great cardio
workout while working all of their muscles at the same time. The best part is that the
water keeps them from putting any strain on their bones and joints that they would
experience during normal exercises. Here are some great suggestions to keep kids
moving in the pool while beating the summer heat.

Safety
According to the Lifesaving Society, the majority of pool drowning victims under five
were alone when they fell into the pool. This is why it’s so important that you provide
adequate supervision.
Be sure that each your child knows to ask permission before entering the water and that
access to pools is restricted when they are not in use. Remind children about the rules,
such as no horseplay or running on the deck. Life jackets should be worn by kids who
cannot swim, unless an adult is providing close supervision in shallow water.
When taking kids to the pool for water aerobics or any kind of exercises, make sure
there's a large enough shallow end - deep enough to offer resistance but shallow enough
for the kids to comfortably touch bottom - to allow room for exercise. Even children who
are strong swimmers can tire quickly, so it's best to exercise where they can stop and
stand up when necessary.
Cover them with plenty of sunscreen at least once an hour, and make sure they stay
hydrated. Even though they are in the water, any physical exertion requires a water
break every 20 minutes, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Warm-Up
Have the children warm up by walking fast and running around the pool for about five
minutes. Ask your group to stretch the body: demonstrate some of the exercises and
repeat together with the kids. If the kids aren't swimmers, ask them to hold onto the
side of the pool and kick their feet behind them or jump up and down, moving across
the pool. They should stay in water no deeper than chest deep.

Water Walking
Walking through the water adds resistance to a water workout, that`s why when you
walk from one side of the pool to the other in chest-deep water, your legs will be burning
in no time. Ask the children to slowly walk from one side of the pool to the other. If you
feel they can do it quicker, raise the speed of the activity.

Leg Lift
Stand in shoulder-deep water and hold onto the edge of the pool lightly for balance.
Extend your right leg straight out to the side as far up as you can bring it. Only go as far
as you can while keeping toes pointing toward the pool wall (don't let your ankle turn)
and keeping your hips straight toward the wall. Complete 8-10 times. Repeat on left leg.
Races
Encourage the kids to participate in the water aerobics by making it competitive. Design
races that involve different types of water exercises. Have the kids walk or run across
the pool in chest-deep water, swinging their arms underwater, to see who can make it
across the pool the fastest. You can also initiate a side shuffle, where the kids hold onto
the side of the pool with their hands and place their feet on the side under the surface.
They move sideways like a crab to the finish line. This works best if they start at opposite
corners and work inward toward the center; the first one to reach the ladder in the
middle wins, for example.

Dolphins Race or Relay

If there are just two players, this game is a race. With four or more players, it can be a
relay. Each team has a beach ball that the players must move from one end of the pool
to the other using only their noses to push the balls along as they swim or walk. If anyone
uses his or her hands to move the ball, he or she must return to the starting position.
The first person or team to finish wins.

Floatie Race
For this game, you’ll need two or more people, and two floaties of any kind — as long
as they’re big enough to sit on. Two players line up on their floaties at one end of the
pool and, on “go”, race to the other end. First one there wins. This game works best in
a longer pool, and can also be played as a relay race with two teams.

Noodles
Adding a pool toy to the workout keeps the kids interested and having fun as they
exercise. Use noodles to create resistance, having them lower them underwater with
their arms straight and then raise them, controlling the movement. For additional
difficulty and excitement, have them raise their legs as they lower the noodle and hop
over it, similar to jumping rope. With their backs to the wall and the kids holding on to
the side of the pool behind their heads, place noodles behind their knees and have them
lift their knees up toward their chests and lower back underwater .

Kickboard
Kicking uses the large muscle groups in the legs and hips, which raises your heart rate
quickly for a powerful cardiovascular workout. Give the kids a kickboard to rest their
arms and chests on as they kick across the pool. Give silly awards, such as for the biggest
splashes while kicking. A kickboard can also be used to create resistance. Have the kids
hold a kickboard vertically in front of them with both hands and push it forward then
pull it back. Or, they can spin in a circle, holding the kickboard vertically as they spin.

Whirlpool
Line the kids up along the inside edge of the pool. Have them all run in a clockwise
direction for five minutes. At this point, the water’s current should be flowing strong
enough to push them along. When you give the signal, have them turn around and try
to swim in the opposite direction. This will take some time and a substantial amount of
effort. Walking and running against the resistance is a great way to work their muscles.
Safety note: this type of activity should only be attempted in an inground or above
ground pool – not an inflatable pool. If attempted in an inflatable pool, the sides could
possibly collapse, causing possible injury.

Crocodile wrestling
Have a crocodile wrestling contest! Place a big inflatable crocodile in the pool. Each child
will have 60 seconds to do the best show of crocodile wrestling in the pool. Give points
for creativity, death rolls, etc. The kids will have a great time while not realizing that they
are getting a great workout by wrestling that crocodile!

Bumper Balls
Using a rope, section off a small area of the pool. Have all the players hop into that
section, each holding onto a beach ball. On the count of three, the players all use their
beach balls as a means to bump the other players into the rope, as if they're playing
bumper cars. Anyone who touches the rope has to leave the pool. Keep playing until
only one bumper remains in the pool, thereby winning the game.

Bobbing Heads
One player is it while the other players bob in and out of the water at one end of the
pool. Without crossing the centerline, the person who is it tries to hit one of the bobbing
players with a foam or soft rubber ball. Bobbing players should come up and submerge
at an irregular pace to keep the person who is it from knowing exactly when they will
emerge again. If the person who is it misses, he or she must retrieve the ball and return
to the throwing side. If he or she hits one of the bobbing players, the person who was
hit then becomes it.

Cardboard Boat Race

Supply teams with large cardboard boxes, packaging tape, colored paper, markers and
stickers, and allow them to build the best seaworthy boat.
Note: An adult should be on hand with scissors to cut the boxes. To add to the fun,
encourage creativity in design and decoration, and, of course, every boat must have a
name. Each team (one member at a time) must race the boat from one end of the pool
to the other side and back again, using his or her arms as oars. The team that does this
in the fastest time wins. If the boats are not sturdy enough to be raced, the contest can
be based on which boat stays afloat the longest.

Colours
Choose a person to be "it". "It" stands on the side of the pool with their back to the
other swimmers who are lined up in the water on the same side of the pool as
"it". Players choose a colour and keep it to themselves. "It" begins to call out colours
one at a time. If a players colour is called out they must try and make it to the other side
of the pool as quietly as they can. If "it" turns around and the players have a hand on
the side of the pool then "it" must take a step away from the edge and start again. If
"it" catches a swimmer then the swimmer becomes the new "it".
Poison Pool Toss
Divide the pool into two halves and the teens into two teams. Place one team on each
side of the rope. If the pool has a deep end, divide it in half so that both teams have to
deal with it. Dump all of the toys into the pool evenly split between the both sides - this
is the poison. Give the teams your time limit, like five minutes and then say "Go!". During
the next five minutes the teams try and put all of the poison on the other side of the
pool. When the time is up, yell "Stop!" The team with the least amount of poison on
their side of the pool, wins.

Invisi-Bottle
Take a clear, 2-liter bottle, remove the wrapper and fill it with pool water. Try to use a
bottle with a white cap, or a cap of the same color as the floor tiles of the pool. Divide
everyone into two teams and line them up, in the water, on opposite ends of the pool
— facing away from the water. An adult, or one of the players, stands outside the pool
and tosses the bottle in the water. When they hear the splash, the players turn around
and try to find the bottle. Sounds easy, right? Think again! The clear bottle blends in and
becomes almost invisible on the bottom of the pool. It’s a fun, challenging game for
everyone!

Marco Polo
Marco Polo is a simple game that can be played with two or more players. To play,
choose one player to be “it”. That person closes his or her eyes, or is blindfolded, and
counts to a certain number (you pick!). While the “it” person counts, the other players
scatter around in the pool. When the count is over, the “it” player tries to tag the other
players, using only the sound of their voices to find them. The “it” player calls out
“Marco”, and the other players call out “Polo”. When the “it” player tags another, that
player becomes the “it” person and the game starts over again.

Noodle Joust
Select 2 players to sit on a blow-up raft in the middle of the pool. Give each one a pool
noodle and have them joust with the noodles and try and get each other off the raft. The
winner takes on the next player.

Numbers Crunch
Divide the players into two teams and have each team line up on opposite sides of the
pool with a plastic bucket. Then scatter about 25-30 numbered ping-pong balls around
the pool. The numbers represent the point values for each ball. With an On Your Mark,
Get Set, Go! both teams jump in and try to retrieve the balls and place them into their
team's bucket.
The catch is that players are allowed to retrieve only one ball at a time. When all of the
balls have been collected, each team adds up the numbers on their balls to determine
their score. The team with the highest score wins. This game can be made more
interesting by allowing teams to win extra points for collecting sets of consecutive
numbers.
Popsicle
This is a modified version of freeze tag. Define a playing area where everyone can stand
with his or her head above water. One person is it and tries to tag the other players. If a
player is tagged, he or she must stand frozen like a popsicle (with hands straight in the
air) until another player thaws him or her by swimming between his or her legs. A player
cannot be tagged while underwater. After a minute or two, have someone else be it and
continue the game until everyone has had a chance to be on the offensive.

Scavenger Hunt
Pick a variety of items, and throw two of each into the pool — make sure they’ll sink and
that they’re not sharp or made of glass. Divide everyone into two teams and shout, “go”.
Each team has to collect one of each item from the bottom of the pool. The first team
to collect them all wins.

Watermelon Push Relay

Funny relay race for individuals or teams. Players must push a watermelon from one
end of the pool to the other without touching the bottom of the pool with their feet.

Sponge Race
After dividing your group into teams, direct them to stand in rows. Place a bucket with
water and a sponge in the front of the row and an empty bucket at the back. The goal is
for each team to transport the water using the sponge from the front of the line to the
back. The last person in line squeezes the filled sponge into the bucket and runs to the
front of the line, where the task begins again. Set a timer and the team that manages to
pass the most water before the time is up wins. For added fun, have the team members
pass the sponge over their head and down the line.

Pass the Water

Similar to the sponge race, a plastic cup filled with water passes from one person to
another from a full bucket at the beginning of the line to an empty one at the end. To
make it more complicated the person passing the water must use the teeth and have
their hands clasped behind their back. Either this game can be played with a time limit
or by having the first team to fill the bucket declared the winners.

Fill-it Water Race

Set up an obstacle course using whatever is available – tables, chairs, large rocks, etc.
Give each team a plastic cup and a full bucket of water. Team members take turns filling
the cup and racing to an empty bucket at the end of the course. The first team to fill the
empty bucket wins the game.

Bucket Brigade
Divide into teams of 5 to 10 players. Each team will be given two water bottles, one full
and the other empty. Each player will receive one cup. The teams line up front to back
in a row sitting on the floor. The person in front will hold the full water bottle and the
last person on the team will have the empty water bottle. On go, the first person in line
will pour water into his cup and then without turning pour his cup of water into the cup
of the player behind him. Each player will pour his cup of water into the cup of the next
player. The last player will then pour his cup of water into the water bottle. As soon as
the first player passes his water he can refill the cup and start passing again. They will
continue until all the water is out of the first bottle. The team with the most water in
the bottle at the back of the line is the winner.

Pass on a bucket
In this relay game, a bucket is placed over a stick. The player at the opposite end of the
course takes the bucket from the runner using his own stick. The whole things can also
be played through an obstacle course (e.g. crawling under a table, jumping over a hurdle
or sliding down a slide etc.). The important thing is that the bucket is never touched with
the hands. Only the stick should be used to carry and pass on the bucket.

Drip, Drip, Drop

This is a variation of Duck, Duck, Goose, and is played outdoors on a warm day. The
teacher brings out a big bucket of water and a sponge. The students sit in a circle. The
teacher gets the sponge quite wet, so that it drips a bit. One student is chosen to stand
up and walk on the outside of the circle. She says “Drip, Drip, Drip…” as she drips a bit
of water on each classmate’s head. Instead of tapping one person’s head and shouting
“Goose!” she shouts “Drop!” and squeezes the sponge out on her victim. The victim with
the wet hair chases the sponge holder around the circle, trying to reach the empty spot
in the circle first. Try some other variations, such as Skip, Skip, Hop (the student who is
“it” skips around while tapping each head. Then the two students chase each other
around the circle by hopping.) You could also try Walk, Walk, Run; Tap, Tap,
Tickle; or Talk, Talk, Sing.

Water Balloon Games

With the hot summer days in full swing, we are all looking for new ways to keep our kids
active outdoors, while staying cool AND having fun! Pick up some water balloons, and
try out some of these games for kids of all ages!

Water Balloon Fight - the original water balloon classic!

Water Piñatas - Hang your water balloons and grab a stick!

Water Balloon Toss - Stand directly across from your partner. Start off close, and with
each successful toss and catch, take a step back. Continue until someone gets wet!

“Hot Water” Balloon - Just like Hot Potato, but a little colder!

Water Balloon 3-Legged Race - Have each racer hold an individual balloon. Whoever
wins, gets to throw the unbroken balloons at the opponents of their choice!

Water Balloon Catch - Use the belly part of your shirt to throw and catch the balloon.
Water Balloon Egg Relays - Carry your balloon on a spoon! This is really tough, so it
may be easier to use serving spoons.

Water Balloon Shot Put - Who can shot put their balloon the furthest?

Water Balloon Tag - Whoever is “it,” carries the water balloon. If you get hit and the
balloon breaks then… “Tag you’re it!!”

Water Balloon Dodge Ball - Just like regular Dodge Ball, but be careful the balloons
do not break on the ground before starting. Play nice—No hitting in the face!!!

Water Balloon Volleyball - 2 teams of 2 people stand holding each end of a towel or
a t-shirt. Use the towel/t-shirt to catch and throw the water balloon over the net!

Water Balloon Art – Throw balloons onto the ground, and look at all the pretty designs
you can make.

Water Balloon Darts - Hang up some balloons (the smaller the easier), and see who
can hit the target!

Water Balloon 500 - You need one person to be the thrower and a group of people
standing a good distance away to catch. The greater the distance, the older the kids.
When throwing the balloon, the thrower announces a number value to the balloon. If
someone catches the balloon, they get the amount that was called out. Continue this
until someone racks up 500 points. To make the game longer, the thrower can call
negative numbers.

Sponge Launch
This is a timed event. Three team members use the water balloon launch to launch
sponges filled with water to their team mates. Teammates catch the sponges (or pick
them up off the ground) and wring the sponge out in the 3-gallon bucket, members
must run back to the launcher and put the sponge back in the large tote of water.
Once the bucket is full, the timer is stopped. Record the time.

Flipper Fill-Up
This is a timed event. Participants put on flippers, fill up the small bucket (from the large
tote of water) and walks to the 3-gallon bucket with the small bucket on their head.
Once they reach the 3-gallon bucket, they pour the water into the bucket. They run back
to the start line (still in flippers) where they tag their teammate, remove their flippers,
and their teammate puts on the flippers, etc.… Once the bucket is full, the timer is
stopped. Record the time.

Lead and Guide

Cut nylons in smaller sections. Tie smaller sections in loops. Designate a large area with
cones and then mask off a 4×4 section in the center, either with cones, string or tape.
This is a timed event. Each team chooses a director and the rest of the teams find a
partner, using the looped nylon tie one of their legs to their partner. Everyone but the
director puts on a blindfold. Someone from an opposing team takes the ten random
objects and places them through the large designated area. The director guides each
partnership to the items, where they must pick it up and be directed back to the
designated 4×4 section where they will place the item. Once all ten items are placed in
the 4×4 area, the timer is stopped. Record the time.
Each team records their score and times for each event on a piece of paper. In the end,
collect all the papers and assign 3 points to the fastest team in each event, 2 points for
second place and 1 point for third place. Add up the totals and announce the overall
winner.

Rainshower relay race

Water games are great kids party games especially in the warmer months. The
rainshower relay race will keep your kids active and laughing as they have fun.
Divide the players into two teams. Take the ziplock bags and prick lots of holes in the
bottom with a pin. Give each team a bag. Sit each team down in a line. Place one bucket
filled with water behind the last player of each team. Mark the other bucket at the
halfway mark and place it in front of the first player.
The race starts when the first player from each team runs to the back of the line with
their bag and fills it with water. The player then passes the bag to the last player who
must pass it over his head to the player in front of him and so on until the bag arrives at
the front of the line.
The player at the front must dump the remaining water in the empty bucket and then
run to the back of the line and refill the bag. The player repeats the process.
The race continues until one of the teams have filled their front bucket to the half-way
mark. The first team to finish is the winner.

Jump Rope Water Splash

OLDER GROUP- The object of this water game is to keep as much water in your cup as
you can. the player who is taking their turn jumps rope while holding on to their cup of
water, trying not to lose the water in the cup as they jump. They must complete 10
consecutive jumps. When all of the players are done with 10 jumps, the game repeats
to 15 jumps, etc. The last player with water in their cup wins.
YOUNGER GROUP- As above but lower the expectation- instead of turning the rope a
full circle so half circles (la a “U” and have the children jump- give one point for every
jump and non-spill.

Over then Under Sponge Relay Race

Divide children into relay teams of at least 4. Give each team a sponge and line them up
behind a bucket of water. When the race begins, the first player dunks the sponge into
the bucket, making is sopping wet. Then pass it to the player behind them over their
head. The next player passes it under their legs to the third player. The sponge goes in
this pattern, over then under until it gets to the last player. The last player then runs to
the front of the line and re-dunks the sponge, repeating the process until the very last
player on the relay team completes the pattern. The first team done wins.
Plug the Leak Water Game
The first person fills their cup and places it on their head trying to plug up the hole. They
race to the empty bucket and pour their water into it. When both teams are finished,
the team with the most water in what was their empty bucket wins.

Water Balloon Toss Game

Each pair stands face to face with one holding a water balloon. They toss it to each other
and then take one step back. Each time it is tossed they take one step back. The pair that
has water balloon intact the longest wins.