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Debby Hoffer |
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Fun and outside games are a great childhood remedy to chase away the summer boredom blahs. For playing fun, choose a location that features a spacious grassy area such as a local park or a big back yard. To have enough players to have a really great time, invite friends or family with children the same ages to join in the fun. Gather all the equipment needed before game day and place it in a handy “ready to go” location. Now you and your child are ready to have some serious family fun with these exciting outdoor games!
Red Rover Red Rover
This old fashioned game involves running and stretching. Divide children into two teams with one team situated on either side of the backyard. Have the children stand in a line, face forward while stretching out their arms and clasping hands. Then one team starts the game by calling “Red Rover, Red Rover send (any child) Melissa right over.” Melissa runs to the other team and tries to break through the clasped hands. If Melissa cannot break through, she joins hands with the opposing team. If she does break through, she returns to her original team taking one player with her. The next team then takes a turn. Play the game until each child has had a running turn
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Duck, Duck Goose
This is a fun game for preschool children which involves running and memory skills. Have the children sit in a circle. Pick one child to be it. Have the child walk around the circle tapping each child on the head saying duck. When the child is ready to run, have them tap a child and say goose. The child tapped as the goose then gets up and runs around the circle chasing the other child until he or she finds a spot in the circle to sit down. If the goose child taps the duck child before sitting down, the duck child is out. Play the game until each child has had a turn
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The Two-Legged Relay Race
This is a great game for teamwork, running and coordination skills. Divide children into two teams and have them buddy up with a partner. Have them stand with their legs side by side. Take an old rag and tie it securely around the left leg of one partner and the right leg of the other partner. Linking arms across the shoulders have the buddies practice running across the yard. Set a starting point and have the first two teams’ race across the yard and back to the next set of buddies. Each set of buddies takes a turn tying the rag around the legs and racing across the yard. The first team to finish wins!
The Great Spoon Relay Race
This is a fun game for older and smaller children alike. It teaches hand coordination, balance and running skills. Determine fair starting and ending points of the race for each team. Set up spoons at the starting point with a small object, such as an egg, for each teammate to balance on the spoon. Divide children into two teams making a straight line at the starting point with each child lined up behind another. After yelling start, have each child pick up the spoon and balance the small object on the spoon. Have them run as quickly as they can while balancing the object to the ending point and then run back giving the next teammate a turn. Keep a container of eggs, or other small objects handy for quick replacement as the laughing, dropping and spilling occurs. The first team to finish with less drops and spills wins!
The Funny Dress up Relay Race
Get two sets of funny dress up clothes and put them in a container at the beginning point of the race. Divide the children into two teams and have them line up behind the containers. Explain that each teammate will need to put on the funny dress up clothes over their regular clothes as quickly as they can. The teammate will then race to the end of the yard and back, taking off the dress up clothes and allowing the next teammate to dress up and race. The first team to finish with all the dress up clothes back safely in the container wins!
Flashlight Hide and Seek
This is a fun outdoor night game that promotes seeking and finding skills. Give each child a flashlight and make sure that the running area is free of small barriers and obstacles, low to the ground that a child would not easily see in the dark. Ask for a volunteer to be the seeker. Give the hiding children five to ten minutes to use their flashlights and find a good hiding place behind a big tree or a rock. Have the seeker use the flashlight to try and seek out the other children. The first one that is captured in the light of the flashlight automatically becomes the next seeker. Encourage the hiding children to carefully change hiding places, using their flashlights until the seeker has caught them. This will give the seeker a better chance of finding someone in the dark.
Wally Bally
This is a fun game for older children and teenagers that combines teamwork, coordination and targeting skills. If the weather is extra warm, children will enjoy exercising while getting wet. Buy some inexpensive water balloons, fill them with water and place them in a cooler. Divide the children into two teams and place them on either side of the back yard. Have a volleyball net or some type of barrier set up that each team can use as a reference point to throw the water balloon over. Give each team a towel and have the starting team place the water balloon in the towel and throw it over to the opposing team. The opposing team’s main objective is to catch the water balloon in the towel and re-launch it over the net or barrier to the opposing team. Points are scored when the water balloon misses the opposing team’s towel and breaks on impact giving teammates a refreshing sprinkle.
Playing games with your kids is a great way to bond with them and teach them important rules of fair play. Before playing any game, explain the rules clearly and encourage good sportsmanship. Having fun in the sun with your child and their friends is a great way to show your child that exercise can be fun!
For more fun games and sports, check out the links below!
Childn’Parent has parenting tips for boy's soccer and girl's soccer and get ready for summer with swimming lessons!
Games at family.go , rainbow games for preschool kids, Outdoor Games ,
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