Fun outdoor games to play at school

This one is a favorite challenge for younger students. All player will form a circle and hold hands. You will break up one of the sets of players and have them rejoin their hands in the middle of a hula hoop. Next, the players will attempt to pass the hula hoop all the way around the circle without disconnecting any of the joined hands.

Some traditional outdoor games for kids never get old. Like this one! Play this game on a large field with two finish lines, one at either end of a long stretch. Assign one player to be the traffic cop.

That player will stand behind one of the starting lines and all the remaining players will line up on the opposite starting line. Once they do, they can turn around and the other players have to stop. Play continues as the traffic cop calls out green light and red light and the other players get closer and closer to him or her. The first player to pass the finish line wins and becomes the next traffic cop. We spend so much our time in the classroom focusing on work, work, work. Challenge yourself this spring to try as many of these outdoor games for kids as you can!

Your email address will not be published. Notify me of new posts by email. Skip to content. Detective This is one of my favorite outdoor games for kids! Fire on the Roof All players lay on the ground on their back, forming a line as if they are all asleep in one long bed. Sharks and Minnows Play this game in an open field with two marked ends. The last minnow standing becomes the next shark. Last player standing wins. Nature Scavenger Hunt For this activity, choose an outside area that has clear boundaries.

Person to Person Have your students partner up. Stuck in the Mud This game is a fun version of tag. After a set amount of time, choose new taggers and continue. Sidewalk ABC Art This activity is great if your school grounds have a long stretch on concrete sidewalk available. Color Corners Gather students on a large field and set out four bases in the shape of a square- with each base being a different color on each corner of the imaginary square.

Hula Hoop Pass There are so many fun games to play with a hula hoop. Red Light, Green Light Some traditional outdoor games for kids never get old. Previous Previous. Make sure rules are established so no one gets hurt. No snow? Good for older kids! Next, build a tin can pyramid on each base. The child who succeeds with the fewest pitches wins. Make a game of taking turns trying to land a hat on his head by throwing it like a frisbee from 10 or so feet away.

Love frisbee? Check out these frisbee ideas. Pair up for a contest in which the object is to finish with the biggest snowball. The contest ends when the teams can no longer roll their entries or when you run out of snow. Freeze colored water in ice cube trays. Players prepare the course for the game, consisting of a maze of parts in the snow over a field or ice.

The parts should be wide enough for one person to run on, about one meter wide. What follows is a simple game of tag played in lanes in the snow. This imaginative modification of tag in the winter could lead players to invent their own unique games for the winter season. Source: Thunder Bay Multicultural Association. Just like sand, snow is wet and dense—and can be formed into shapes. When you go outside…take out the sandbox toys, buckets, containers, and molds.

Create a snow castle instead of sandcastle — Create and have fun! Make Jell-O according to directions on the package. Pour into clean baby food jars-one for each child. Place containers in a large tub and fill the tub with snow. When Jell-O is set—enjoy! Have children pick their favorite drink fruit punch, apple juice, etc and then pour this into an ice cube tray. Have kids write their name on a popsicle stick and place it in the tray. Put this outside and let it freeze if it is not cold enough you can put it in the freezer The children then have an igloo block for a snack.

This angel is easiest made together. The team with the most water wins. Each team member must fish in the pool of oatmeal for 3 marbles and pull them out with their toes. Team members must fill their sponges with the water and run to the empty bucket. When time ends, the team with the most collected water wins. Directions: Leader spins each child 5 times.

Each child must hoola hoop for 10 seconds, stand behind the cone line and shoot a ball into the bucket, blow five wands of bubbles, complete 10 jumping jacks, and then run back to the start line and tag the next team member. Fill up small water balloons and race them on a spoon, much like an egg race. First to the finish line with balloon intact wins! Grab a partner and stand across from them. Toss a water balloon back and forth, stepping further back with each toss.

For a variation, consider catching the balloon in a bowl, bucket, or towel. There is no point to this one, except for getting wet. Place the water balloon on your head and squeeze until it pops. Substitute water balloons for water balls or giant sponges. Who looks the wettest? Divide children into two teams. Have the children pair up within their team with a partner, back to back and linking arms. Place a water balloon between the two players.

Have them carefully walk to a designated spot with a bucket. Together, they must get the water balloon in the bucket without popping it. After they run back, the next two players can go. The team with the most intact water balloons is the winner at the end. Divide players into two teams and give everyone one water balloon.

The objective is to run to a designated place with the balloon, sit on it to smash it, and run back. You will need two buckets filled with water, two empty jars, and two large sponges like car wash sponges for this game. Form two teams. Each team makes a line next to a bucket filled with water. When the game starts, have the first member of each team put the sponge in the water, put it on their head, and run towards a jar at the other end of the playing area.

Squeeze the water into the jar and run back. Continue on with the rest of the players. The first team to fill the jar to overflowing wins.

You will need the same supplies as the Wet Sponge Relay. Each team makes a line. There is a bucket in front of the first player and a jar behind the last player. The next player takes the sponge and hands it back under their legs. Continue to hand it back over and under until you reach the last player, who squeezes it in the jar. Everyone sits in a circle. Play music or sing a song. Pass the wet sponge around the circle. When the music has ended just play a short segment or the song is over, the person left with the wet sponge can squeeze it over their head.

Refill the wet sponge and play again. One of my favorite water games for kids. If a mouse gets hit below the shoulders, they sit down with the ball. The next person has to get the ball and make it back to their team without getting hit!

The end goal is to try to get the cheese back to the end line. If everyone gets out, then switch roles! Activity Cross the River This is a classic game to work on communication and teamwork skills.

Inside the basket are river rocks poly spots. The first student will get the spot out, place it on the ground and step on it. The next student gets a spot out, passes it to the first person, places it on the ground, and steps on it. The second person then steps on the first spot. This continues until all the spots are gone, and a bridge is made. It can even be done with 2 people! Tug-O-War is the perfect game to add to your outdoor game list! Place one group on one side of the rope, and the other team should go on the opposite side.

The kids should line up in a straight line on each side and pick up the rope. On the GO signal, each team will be pulling as hard as they can. The object of the activity is to try to be the team to pull the other team, so they cross the line first with their feet before their team crosses the line. Activity Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate frisbee was a fan favorite of my students when I was teaching! Equipment cones jerseys frisbee Instructions Split the group into 2 even teams.

You can see who will start with the Frisbee by doing rock, paper, scissors; the team that wins gets to start with the Frisbee.

The person that has the Frisbee can take 2 steps with it. The defense has to back 3 steps away from the person with the Frisbee. Activity Pin Knock Over Pin knock-over is a great aiming game for kids! This can be done as an indoor or outdoor game! To set up the game, each team should have an equal amount of pins on their side.

The students can roll or throw the balls. They are not throwing the balls at each other! If a player gets hit with the ball from their knee below, they have to perform 10 jumping jacks to return to the game. Activity Capture the Flag I recently played capture the flag with my nephew and his friends at his 8th birthday party, and they had SO much fun!

Equipment cones jerseys 2 flags Check Price Instructions Teams should be split up evenly. If they get tagged by someone on the other team, they must do 10 push-ups before entering back into the game, and they must go back to their side. If a student gets the flag and is on their way back with it and gets tagged, they must drop the flag where they got tagged. If a team successfully grabs a flag, that round is over, and you will play again! Activity Obstacle Course Outdoor obstacle courses are fun and easy to set up!

Equipment tunnel cones hula hoops balance beam pool noodles exercise ladder inflatable tire hippity hoop balls Check Price Instructions The best thing about this activity is that you can be as creative with it as you want!

To make this competitive, you can time each student to see how quickly they can go through the course. Activity Softball Throw I remember one of my favorite esports growing up was softball. This is the easiest outdoor game set-up there is, which is always a win! Equipment softball cones sticky notes Instructions Have a starting point set for the kids to stand on to know where to throw the ball. In the end, then you will be able to see who threw the ball the furthest!

Activity Basketball Lay-Up Competition This is another great sports competition that you can include on your outdoor game list! Basketball activities are always a hit with kids and adults! Equipment basketball hoops basketballs stopwatch View Amazon's Price Instructions One person should be at each basket.

A volunteer should be standing at each basket to count how many baskets they make. On the GO signal, the kids will have 2 minutes to see how many lap-up shots they can make. At the end of the 2 minutes, the volunteers will write down how many each child scored, and then the next group would go.

Equipment stopwatches batons Check Price Instructions At one of the schools I taught at, we did the following events: m, m, m, 4xm relay, and 4xm relay.

We also did long jump and shot and disc. If you are planning a middle school field day, these events are really fun for the students to be a part of!

Everyone not involved is in the stands cheering on their teammates as well! It works on throwing, catching, defensive skills, strategy, and communication! Equipment 2 gy mnastics mats 2 hula hoops 1 football dodge balls Instructions Split the group into 2 equal teams. Set two gymnastics mats up on each side of the playing area.

One student from each team will go stand on the opposite sides mat bench. The goal of the game is to get your team on the bench before the other one does. To get over to the bench, they must throw a ball over to their teammate on the mat, and they must catch it. Once someone makes it on the bench, they can help catch balls too. If they step off the mat, they have to return to their side.

When someone catches the football on the mat, the person who throws it goes to the mat and can bring a friend!

If anyone has a hard time throwing that far, I have put hula hoops out on each side that students can go into to throw the ball, only one person in the hoop at a time.

Equipment jerseys cones yard spray paint optional View Amazon's Price Instructions Create a playing area by setting up a rectangle of cones.

This will be the starting line, finish line, and boundary lines during gameplay. Choose 2 kids to be the sharks. They will stand in the middle of the playing area!

Then, on the go signal, they will try to run to the side without getting tagged. If they get tagged, they turn into seaweed. Play will continue until all players get tagged by the sharks or the seaweed! Equipment water balloons bucket large wooden spoons cones View Amazon's Price Instructions The players should be split up into even teams. On the GO signal, the first person in line will pick up a water balloon and place it on a spoon.

They will walk down to the cones and back, trying not to drop the water balloon.