Here are some simple games children can play with a team.
(Similar to Red Rover, but much safer.)
Materials: none
Divide the children into two teams and have them stand in a line facing each other 30 to 40 feet apart. One team calls for a player from the other team with this chant:
(Child’s name), (child’s name)
What’s that jive?
Come on over
And give me five.
The team calling the chant holds their hands out in front of them with their palms up. The child called proceeds down their line giving each player “five” by slapping their palms. If the child who is “it” slaps the palms and then slaps under their palms, that child chases “it” back to his or her original team. If “it” is caught, he or she must return to the opposing team, but if not, the chaser must joint “it’s” team. The game continues with teams taking turns calling players from the opposite side.
Clean Your Room
Materials: scrap paper
Divide children into two teams. Give each child a scrap piece of paper to wad up. Draw a line between the teams and explain that they are going to have to keep their “room” clean. They can throw their wadded up sheet of paper in the other team’s “room”, but when paper lands on their side they have to quickly pick it up and get rid of it. After several minutes blow a whistle and tell the children to “freeze.” Who has the most wadded up sheets of paper? Who has the least? In this game the side with the least number is the winner.
*Continue playing the game as long as the children are interested.
Steal the Bacon
Materials: eraser or other small object
Divide the class into two teams and have them stand behind two lines about 40 feet apart. Have the children number off on each team. (Two children will have the same number.) Place the “bacon” (eraser) between the two teams, then call out a number. The two children with that number try to “capture the bacon” and run it back to their line without being tagged by the other player. The child who successfully does this gets a point for their team, but if they are tagged in the process, the other player earns a point for his or her team. The team with more points after all the numbers are called wins the game.
Wolf and Chickens
Materials: none
Two lines are draw approximately 40 feet apart. The children are the “chickens” and line up behind one of the lines. One child is the wolf and stands between the two lines. The wolf pretends to be a chicken and says, “Cluck, cluck” and flaps his or her arms. But when the wolf shouts, “Wolf,” all the chickens must run to the other line. If the wolf tags them, they must become wolves, too, and help the wolf catch the other chickens. The game continues until all the chickens are caught. The last one caught becomes the wolf for the next game.
*A similar game called “sharks and minnows” can be played. Have the minnows get behind a line as the shark tries to catch them when “shark” is called.
Midnight
Materials: none
Draw two lines about 40 feet apart. The children pretend to be sheep and stand in their “fold” behind one line. One child is chosen to be the “fox.” The “fox” stands in its “den” behind the opposite line. The “fox” and the “sheep” come out and start wandering around the “meadow” between the two lines. The sheep ask the fox, “What time is it?”, and the fox answers, “Five o’clock,” or “nine o’clock,” or whatever. When the fox answers, “Midnight,” all the sheep scramble for their fold. The sheep tagged become foxes and the game continues until one sheep is left, who then becomes the new fox.