Bring Back Your Childhood Games To Get Your Kids Moving, Outdoors!
Bring Back Your Childhood Games to Get Your Kids Moving, Outdoors!
Summer is here so lace up your sneakers and stretch those hamstrings, because there’s no better time to get outside with your kids and play!
Outdoor games are a great way to encourage kids to be active and develop their social and creative abilities. Plus, spending time outside is like swimming in a soup of health - the whole family gets benefits for your overall mood, body and spirit simply from exposing yourself to fresh air, sunlight and dirt.
Here are 10 games you probably played as a kid, that you can now share (and PLAY) with your kiddos!
Don’t just watch, get out there and move with your kids! When you show up ready to play these games along with your kids, not only are you building positive bonds and connections with them, you’re role modelling the importance of physical activity and giving them a chance to develop their social skills, creativity and teamwork.
1 - TAG!
Children love tag games! Here are five variations:
Classic Tag: One person is ‘it’. If that person tags you, you become the ‘it’ person.
Toilet Tag: When you get tagged you stand with one arm out. Someone has to press your arm down to ‘flush’ you. You then have to spin in a circle (like the water in a toilet) before you’re back in the game.
Frog Tag: When you get tagged you drop down into a ‘frog’ position and keep saying ‘ribbit’ until someone comes and “leap frog”s over you to get you back in the game.
Hot Dog Tag: When you get tagged, you laydown with your arms by your side as the wiener/sausage. Two players have to come lay on either side of you (making the buns) to free you.
Link Tag: When you get tagged, you link arms with the person who was ‘it’ and join them. You have to work together to try to tag others. As you tag them, they join the link. The last player to get tagged is the winner.
These versions of the game can be ‘perpetual’ (never ending) so put a timer on and switch the ‘it’ person every 1-2 mins.
2 - What Time Is It Mr Wolf?
This is a classic game that challenges listening skills and reaction time. Designate three areas. The Burrow (where the group stands to begin/safe zone), the Field (open space where the Wolf can tag), and the Forest (where the Wolf stands/target zone where everyone is trying to get to). One person stands across the field/game area, with their back to the group. They are "Wolf". In unison, the field animals call out: “What time is it Mr Wolf?” and the Wolf answers any time between 1 to 12 o’clock and must keep looking away from the group.. Whatever the Wolf answers, the field animals take that many steps (small or big, their choice) through the field zone, trying to get to the Forest. The Wolf can also answer “It’s Lunchtime!” and then turn around to try to tag someone. If they succeed, that person becomes the Wolf. If all the animals manage to run back to the Burrow without being tagged, then Wolf returns to the Forest and the game begins again. The winner of the game is anyone who can get to the Forest from taking the number of steps called out by the Wolf.
3 - Family Favourite: Races of Animals
Designate a start and a finish line. Kids decide what kind of animal will run the race. One person yells out ‘On your marks, get set…GO!” and kids make their way to the finish line by mimicking the animal movements and sounds. The Crab Race, Kangaroo Jumps, Snake Slithering, Orangutan “Foot-Foot-Hand-Hand’ and Slow Sloths are all hilariously fun and silly ways to get kids moving while also boosting imagination and creativity.
4 - Simon Says
Simon Says can be a fun way to teach children how to follow directions. The children are asked to do simple exercises like jump jacks and touch their toes. However, the success of their actions will depend solely on how you introduce each one with "Simon Says." If not, they are out.
5 - Duck Duck Goose
Everyone sits in a circle. One person walks along the outside and gently taps on the head of each person as they go by, saying “Duck, Duck, Duck….” until they choose someone and say “GOOSE!”. That person must then stand up and run around the circle in the opposite direction of the tagger, and try to get back to their spot before the person who tagged them does.
Games with Minimal Equipment
1 - Kick the Can
One person is ‘IT’ - they kick a can (which is inside a large circle), and the game begins. All other players go hide. Once the “IT” person has returned the can to the circle, the “IT” person goes around and tries to find where players are hidden. When the “IT” person finds a player’s hiding spot, they must accompany the hidden player back to the circle, where they now stand in “jail”. As the “IT” person continues to look for other players, the other players (who haven’t been found) can take a chance to run and “KICK THE CAN!”, which sets all the players in the ‘jail’ free, and the game begins again.
2 - Hopscotch
Grab some chalks and find some pavement - kids can draw the classic hopscotch pattern, or make up their own. Older kids can use a rock to toss onto the hopscotch, and as you go by, you can’t touch the box where the rock landed. Add layers of complexity by tossing 2-3 rocks that mark the boxes you can’t touch on the way there
3 - Skipping Rope / Double Dutch
Using one or two jump ropes, kids jump once, twice, three times (and so on) when it’s their turn. Once they have the hang of it, you can add complexity by requiring kids to do tricks as they jump.
4 - Obstacle Course
Create an obstacle course for your children in the backyard or park. Use cones, hoops and other objects to make it a fun, yet challenging challenge. For example, have them crawl under tarpaulins, jump hurdles or balance on beams. Encourage them to time themselves and beat their records!
5 - Capture the Flag
The object of this ame is to capture the other team’s flag. Divide the playing field in half and designate two small “zones” on both sides to hold people who are tagged. There can also be a designated circle on each side where the flag (or a sweaters/piece of fabric) is placed.
Each team designates their territories, the location of their flag and their zone. There is also a safety zone around the flag where the flag’s team cannot enter unless the opposing team does (this prevents impossible-to-pass guarding of the flag).
How to play:
On a group’s signal, each team tries to take the other team’s flag and return across the center line without being tagged.
Rules:
If a player is tagged while on their opponent’s side they are must go to the holding zone on their opponent’s side.
If a player who has stolen the flag is tagged, the flag is returned to the flag zone, and the player goes to the zone.
A player can be freed from the holding zone when a teammate crosses the center line and tags the player; both players then receive a free walk back to their side.
A player can only free one teammate at a time
I hope these ideas help you stay active and play some of the funnest childhood summer games!