Spring Yard Games
Spill The Milk Equipment per station:
Stack the milk crates. Stack the Topple Tubes in a pyramid shape on top of the milk crates. Make a line about 15-20 feet from the crates, depending on grade level. Students get 2 throws to knock the tubes off the top of the crate. Standing Long Jump Station Equipment:
Players will jump from 2 feet, and land on 2 feet. Use the small cone to mark where their heel landed. 1 Cone will be used as the marker to show who in that class jumped the farthest. The other cone is for each student to see where they landed. Throw for Distance Equipment:
Mark off an “alley” about 10-15 yards wide, and as long as you need so that players can’t throw to the end, with the dome cones. You can also make the “alley” narrow at the short end and wider at the far end. Make a throwing line that players need to stay behind to throw. Players get 1 attempt with any or all of the “balls”. Mark the longest throws in each class with the Cone or Flag for that “ball”. Speed Minton Equipment:
Play with four square rules, using badminton equipment. |
Corn Hole Equipment:
Go play Corn Hole. 3 points if you get it in the hole, 1 point if you land on the board. Adjust the line to toss from depending on the grade level (10-25 feet). Disc Bowling Equipment per station:
Set up a throwing line to stand behind. The Pins will be set up like bowling, with one pin in front and two behind. You get two tosses with the disc to knock over the pins. Play goes for 5 rounds. Keep track of your score. 1 point per pin you knock over. Bocce Equipment:
Four Square Equipment:
Play Four Square 3 Hole Disc Golf Equipment:
Mark off the Tee box for each hole with the dome cones. The Tee box should be about 6-8 feet wide and 10-12 feet long. Each Player gets to throw from the Tee box. The player farthest from the basket throws next. Players keep track of how many throws it took to get their disc into the basket. After everyone has made their throw into the basket, all players then move on to the next hole. Lowest total throws is the winner. |
Students! Remember to do your Warm-ups and agility exercises before you choose an activity or video to do. (Get your Heart rate and breathing up)
Strength and Locomotor skills at various distances.
Strength and Locomotor skills at various distances.
K thru 2nd
10 push-ups and 10 sit-ups. May throw arms to help sit up (touching toes each time). Find a safe place outside todo your agility runs. About 20 yards long. Go across and back with each exercise) · Walk · Jog · Skip · Side step · Giant jumps · Gallop (right leg in front first then left leg in front) · Hop (right leg then left leg) · 1,2,3,Leap…… · Bear walk · Frog jumps · Crab walk (frontwards and backwards) optional. |
3rd thru 6th
12 to 15 or more Push-ups and Sit-ups (arms crossed over chest and elbows touch to legs each time) Find a safe place outside to do your agility runs. About 20 yards long. Go across and back with each exercise. · Jog across and back. · High knee giant skips. · High knee jogs · Pocket kickers · Side slides · Giant jumps (feet stay together) · Backwards walking · Leaping · Sprinting |
Indoor Games & Activities For Kids
(1) Lego Super Hero Action Dice: We love this free printable from Life Over C’s and so will any Super Hero loving kids. Simply print and roll and they’ll be soaring like superman, zooming like the Batmobile and Running like Flash!
(2) Get the Kids Moving Game: Just print, cut and glue these colorful printable die and your kids will be performing silly (but strengthening) tasks like “Bunny Hops for 15 seconds” or “One-Leg Flamingo Balance for 45 seconds” in no time. (3) Animal Action Dice: This adorable printable dice from Playdoh to Plato features creative animal movements like “Wander like a moose” and “Scurry like a squirrel”. (4) Movement Dice: Alternatively, use these printable movement dice from Pink Oatmeal which include classic movements and animals. (5) Animal Movement Activity Dice: Simply print and stick these engaging animal movements from Silhouette Blog onto a wooden block. This one is perfect for pre-schoolers who won’t be able to hold back the giggles whenever they roll “Waddle like a penguin”. (6) Move Like An Insect Gross Motor Dice: This printable dice from Life Over C’s features bugs and their movements. Your kids will be having a blast crawling like caterpillars and flapping like butterflies while burning off tons of energy! (7) Moving My Body Gross Motor Dice: Another great printable from Life Over C’s features 2 dice – 1 with body parts and 1 with motions. Roll them both and put them together to do active motions like “wiggle your head” and “bend your elbow”. (8) Snowy Winter Gross Motor Dice: For this game from 3 Dinosaurs there are two dice: 1 for winter-themed movements (think snow angel, skiing and shoveling) and 1 for speed (fast, slow and normal). A great active boredom buster for your next snow day! (9) Animal Dice Game: Another fun option for animal movements are these free printable dice which combine instructions on 1 die like “act like…” and “run like…” with different animals on another die. (10) Gross Motor Action Dice: This easy printable |
GET DRAMATIC
This won’t be a problem for most kids, as drama is often a skill that is practiced daily (whether they realize it or not!). Have your kids channel that drama in these exciting activities that will also reduce their restless energy. Movement Charades: Pretend to be your favorite animal, superhero or sports player by imitating their signature moves (no sounds allowed!). The rest of the players try and guess who they are – the first one to do so correctly, gets a point. If your kids have trouble thinking on the spot, write down some suggestions and place them in a hat to draw from when it’s their turn Create a Show: Invite your kids to create their very own play (you’ll provide the audience!). The only catch is that they have to create it around an active prompt you give them – this could be a sport, activity (karate, dance, gymnastics) or our personal favorite, a Circus Show full of juggling (attempts at least) and jumping through hoops. Once they’re ready to perform, video tape it so it feels like a real production (plus kids love to watch themselves on tape so you’ll get a moment of rest while the replay airs). Choreograph a Routine: If your child is into dance, theatre or just loves to be the star of the show, challenge them to choreograph a one minute solo routine that they’ll have to perform in front of their loyal fans (ahem, you). Not only does this get kids thinking creatively and working independently (aka Mom gets a break), it also gets their blood flowing as they practice over and over again until it’s just right. BONUS IDEAS! These may not be printable, but they’re super easy to execute and are still extremely engaging. Assign-a-Dice: On a piece of paper assign each number from 1–6 a movement or action. Have your child roll a dice and perform the task assigned to the corresponding number. Make it active yet silly for best results. A few fun ones to try:
Uno Movement Game: OK, so this Uno Movement game from Still Playing School isn’t technically an activity dice game, but it works in a very similar manner. Grab a deck of Uno Cards and assign actions to each number. Flip a card over and everyone gets up and completes the task. |
IMAGINATIVE PLAY Exercise your child’s body and mind with these active imaginative games. Snowball Fight: Create an indoor snow fight by creating your own snowballs with scrunched up pieces of newspaper, or buy a fun indoor snowball fight kit like this one. Make your own fort to take cover in between throws. This is a kid-favorite and they burn a ton of energy ducking and darting out of the way of incoming blizzards. We’re Going On A Bear Hunt: Hide a bear (or other stuffed animal) somewhere in your house and have your child find it (use “hot” or “cold” for younger kids who may need a bit of direction). Bonus points if you read the book first. MUSICAL + DANCE Freeze Dance: Add-in a game to your dance party where one person stops the music and everyone else must instantly freeze. If you catch someone moving, they’re out. The last one standing (or dancing in this case), wins. Musical Letters: Make pieces of paper with big letters on them and spread them around the room. Play some music while they dance and then stop it and call out one of the letters. They have to immediately find the letter and sit down on it. If they pick the wrong one, have them do 15 jumping jacks (or whatever age appropriate movement you decide). Scale this activity to fit the level of your child – use colors, numbers or sight words to make it easier or harder. (Idea via Let Kids Be Kids) |
Tape Games
A simple roll of low-tack Painter’s tape will be your new best friend once you try these genius ideas that get kids exerting their energy in all sorts of creative ways.
(just bringing out the roll of tape got Ooos and Ahhs from my kids – these activities were extremely well received!
Tape Shape Game: Use tape to put a variety of shapes, letters and/or numbers on your floor. Have your child stand on their favorite one then give them instructions to follow that will lead them to their next destination (for example: “bear crawl to the square”, “hop like a Frog to the T”, “Run to the rectangle”). We love that this game keeps your child moving, but also helps them learn their shapes, letters and numbers!
|
Tape Lines: Make 5–10 separate lines of tape, each about a foot apart, on your floor or carpet. Label the first one the “start” line and then give your kids simple instructions:
Long Jump: See how many lines they can jump over. Have them try and beat their best score each time. Experiment with arm swinging vs. arms behind their backs. Run ‘n’ Jump: Now let them take a running start and see if they can jump even further! Long Jump Backwards: Increase the difficulty by performing the tasks jumping backwards. Hop: How far can they jump on one leg? Reach ‘n’ Stretch: How far can their leg reach with one foot on the “start” line? |
Create a Race-Car Track: Use your painter’s tape (or opt for to make a huge road system for your kids’ matchbox cars. Think outside the box and have the track scale furniture and other obstacles (just make sure it’s something you don’t mind toy vehicles being “driven” over). The key to making it active is to make it large-scale, so they are engaging their core muscles while crawling all over.
|
Hopscotch: Make a simple hopscotch “board” and your kids will think it’s just the coolest thing that it’s inside! (pic via Brit+co)
Number Squares: Make a large square with your tape and then divide it into 9 or more small squares, marking random numbers in each one. Now ask your child to perform a specific movement to get to the next number like “jump to 10”, “zoom to 3”, “slither to 67”. |
Balloon Games
Has your child ever received a balloon at a birthday party and been totally enamored by it? Take that fascination to the next level by adding in a few “rules” and they’ll be happily moving around developing their gross motor skills while burning off some of that rambunctious energy. Try some of our favorite balloon games and always keep a few handy to pull out when the going gets tough. **Just a reminder that pieces of burst balloons can be a serious choking hazard, so if you have younger kids, make sure they are supervised during these activities at all times**
Don’t Let The Balloon Touch The Ground: This is the classic game that kids fall for every time. The rules are simple – hit the balloon up in the air but don’t let it touch the ground. To make it more challenging for older kids, have them juggle more than 1 balloon, or tie one hand behind their back. Time them to see how long they can do it for, or if you have multiple kids, have them count how many times they can hit it back and forth…then see if they can beat their time or score! This game is great for improving arm strength and hand-eye coordination. Try adding stuffed animals to the mix for extra fun. Have your child pick their favorite stuffy and hold it in their hand so it is essentially the one hitting the balloon. You’d be surprised how this one simple variation can boost their engagement even further!
Penguin Waddle: Place a balloon between your child’s knees and have them waddle across the room without dropping it. Make it more challenging for older kids by having them go around a few obstacles. If they drop it, they have to go back to the start.
For multiple kids, have them play as a team with the balloon placed between their hips. Once they get the hang of it, get out your timer to see how fast they can do it. |
Balloon Taps: Hang a balloon by a string from your doorway so it is a few inches higher than your child’s arm reach. Then challenge them to try and tap it with their hand. Count how many they can do in a row without missing (this gets tiring very quickly!). Up the ante by seeing if they can jump and touch the balloon with the top of their head!
|
Balloon Blow: Set up a “course” and see if your child can blow a balloon all the way to the finish line. They’ll have to do lots of army crawls working their upper body and core strength along the way.
|
Backhand Balloon Balance: Challenge your kids to balance a balloon on the back of their hand, and see how long they can do it before it falls to the ground. You’d be surprised how much they will move around with this one!
|
Balloon Paddle Ball: Use a fly swatter, tennis/badminton racket or make your own paddle using a paper plate and over-sized popsicle stick (or use a paint stir stick or plastic spoon), then use it to play the games above.
These paddles are also fun for balancing your balloon. Have your kids try to keep their balloon on the paddle as they navigate through obstacles or run around the house. Not as easy as it sounds!
Balloon Foot Balance: For a real challenge, have your kids lie on the ground with their legs up in the air and try and balance the balloon on their feet. It’s not an easy task and requires a lot of concentration. It’s also a great core workout!
Balloon Volleyball: Make a “net” by tying a piece of string between 2 chairs and then have your child hit the balloon back and forth by running from one side to the other, trying to keep it off the floor. If you have 2 or more kids, have them hit it over the net as many times as they can without it falling.
Balloon Hockey: Use a small kiddy hockey stick or make your own out of cardboard (see full tutorial on Creative Connections For Kids) to navigate a balloon into a net (use a laundry basket or box on its side if you don’t have any smaller ones to bring indoors).
These paddles are also fun for balancing your balloon. Have your kids try to keep their balloon on the paddle as they navigate through obstacles or run around the house. Not as easy as it sounds!
Balloon Foot Balance: For a real challenge, have your kids lie on the ground with their legs up in the air and try and balance the balloon on their feet. It’s not an easy task and requires a lot of concentration. It’s also a great core workout!
Balloon Volleyball: Make a “net” by tying a piece of string between 2 chairs and then have your child hit the balloon back and forth by running from one side to the other, trying to keep it off the floor. If you have 2 or more kids, have them hit it over the net as many times as they can without it falling.
Balloon Hockey: Use a small kiddy hockey stick or make your own out of cardboard (see full tutorial on Creative Connections For Kids) to navigate a balloon into a net (use a laundry basket or box on its side if you don’t have any smaller ones to bring indoors).
FUN/SILLY MOVING GAMES
Just a warning – you’re going to have a hard time deciding which of these fun (and often giggle-fit-inducing) games to play first. They’re so entertaining that you’ll be wanting to join in too!
Sticky Spider Web: Use painter’s tape to make a web-like design on a doorway opening (idea via Give your kids some newspaper to scrunch up and throw up at the web. Or get creative and use other light-weight objects like balloons. Have them count how many objects stick versus how many don’t for extra learning points.
|
Sticky Note Wall Bop: Attach 26 sticky notes to the back of a door and write a different letter on each one (in random order). Make a “start” line a few feet away from the door (more if you have older kids), and have your child stand behind it with a soft ball, bean bag, stuffed animal or pair of rolled up socks. Now instruct them to throw their object to try and hit the “A” or the “T”. Players with more advanced aim and spelling skills can try and hit all the letters in specific words (to make it even tougher, if they miss one of the letters, have them start all over again!).
Alternatively, write different point values on each sticky and give your child 10 throws. For each target they hit, mark down the number of points. At the end of the round, tally up to crown a winner (or if playing solo, have them try and beat their previous score). (editor’s note: make sure your kids are retrieving their throwing object themselves…running and bending down to pick it up over and over again is all part of the exercise!) |
Floor Bop: Take Wall Bop to the floor. Instead of aiming up high, your kids will now have to toss an object to land on pieces of paper on the floor. The same rules as above can apply.
Color Toss: Similar to Floor Bop, but with this game you’ll tape colored pieces of construction paper to the floor. Create your own point system where you get 1 point if you land a bean bag on any paper, but 5 points if you land on a paper that matches the bean bag color. You can also use these colored “mats” to instruct your child to do fun tasks such as “bounce like a bunny to green”, “tiptoe to yellow” and “high knees to red”. |
Ping Pong Ball Catch: Get out those plastic red Solo cups and a few ping pong balls (or any small object that will fit in the cup) and have your kids toss the ball to a partner and try and catch it in the cup. Start out close together and then keep taking a step backwards to increase the challenge. For a single-player, they can simply throw the ball in the air and try and catch it.
|
MORE GAMES & HUNTS
Alligator Alley: One of our favorite go-to inside games of all time. Simply scatter some “islands” or “boats” across the floor (use pillows, stuffed animals, books, etc) and then have your kids jump from one to the next without falling into the “water” and risk being eaten by a hungry alligator. Bonus points if Mom plays said hungry alligator and chomps after them when they stumble!
Crab Walk: Teach your child how to do the crab walk, then see how fast they can scurry across the room. Have races with siblings (or yourself!) and then increase the level of difficulty by having them balance a stuffed animal on their stomach. If it falls, they have to scramble back to the beginning and start again!
Cotton-Ball Crawl: This Cotton-Ball Crawl game is tons of fun and involves moving a pile of cotton balls from one room to another using a spoon. The feather-weight cotton balls make it easy to fly off if they don’t balance it just right!
ABC Exercise Cards: Download these fun printable cards from Home School Share which outline an active task for each letter of the alphabet. Have your child do all the ones that make up their name, or simply pick at random. In addition to getting in some healthy physical movement, they’ll also be learning their letters!
Indoor Croquet: Make your own indoor croquet course using toilet paper rolls or pieces of construction paper. Amp up the activity by writing active tasks on each “tunnel” that need to be completed once your ball makes it through like “do 15 jumping jacks as fast as you can” or “go run up and down the stairs 2 times”.
Movement Chain: You need at least 2 players for this interactive game where the first person starts by performing a certain movement – this could be something simple like jumping 2 times, or more complex like holding a plank for 30 seconds. The next person has to perform the first movement, and then add on another, forming a chain. The following person does the previous 2 movements, plus adds their own. You continue in this fashion until the chain sequence is broken (usually forgotten!) and then that person is out. The last one standing is the winner.
Potato Drop: The Potato Drop is another one of our favorites because kids think it is good ol’ silly fun (we do too). Have all participants place a potato between their knees and race to a finish line where they have to drop it into a designated bowl or bucket. If the potato is dropped, or if hands touch it, they have to go back to the start and try again. (editor’s note: this is actually a great party game for big groups of kids – split them up into 2 teams and relay race to see which one can get all their potatoes into the bucket first!)
Mirror, Mirror: Stand face to face with your child, about a foot apart, and have them attempt to copy all your movements. Reach up and stretch to the sky. Do 10 jumping jacks. Run in place. Act like a monkey. Make it fun and you’ll both be working up a sweat in no time. Then switch roles and copy your child – they won’t be able to hold back the laughter (and neither will you!).
Airplane Landing: Make paper airplanes and throw them. The catch? You have to collect it and bring it back to the start line without walking – this could be running, hopping, skipping, twirling, crawling…let them get creative!
Crib Mattress Slide: This is another one of our go-to activities when we’re stuck inside – it’s super simple but kids think it is a riot! Take a crib mattress and prop it up on a bed or soft chair so it creates a slide to the ground. Now your kids can climb on up and slide down over and over again (just make sure you keep a hand on it at the top so it doesn’t slip down).
Pillow Case Race: On hardwood or tile floors, sit on a pillow case (or a t‑shirt) and use your arms and legs to scoot around a “race” course.
Target Practice: Set up some targets (empty water bottles or paper towel rolls work great) and have your kids try and knock them down with Nerf guns or throwing soft objects. The exercise comes in when they have to keep going back and forth between retrieving their objects and the start line.
Wiggle Jar: Print out these inventive activity cards from Home School Share and place them in a jar for whenever your child needs to let the “wiggles” out. These cards are packed with great movements and silly actions like “pretend you’re in a band for 2 minutes: play the instrument of your choice” and “push the wall (hold it up) for 30 seconds”. Discard the few cards that have outdoor activities for when you’re truly stuck inside!
Paint Chip Color Hunt: Pick up some brightly colored paint chips from your local hardware store and ask your kids to find items that match each color as closely as possible (again, keep a timer going so they quicken their pace). Don’t have Paint Chips? Use colored construction paper instead like
ABC Hunt: Have your kids go around the house with a basket, collecting items that start with each letter of the alphabet (A for apple, B for Barbie, C for Crayola, etc) – give them a checklist to mark off each one as they go. Time them so they run!
Scavenger Hunt: Send your kids on a fun hunt around the house collecting various items that you’ve listed. Make it fun by including specific things like “your favorite bath toy” or “a pink sock” to more general categories like “something that begins with the letter T”. And yes, set that timer!
Flash Light Scavenger Hunt: If you have a room that can get sufficiently dark by turning off the lights and closing the blinds, send your kids on a Flash Light Scavenger Hunt where they have to find certain hidden items in the dark using a flashlight. Kids go crazy for this one!
More to come! Check back often
Name of Activity: Pringle Can Challenges
Grade Level: K-6 Objective: I can use my pringles can to toss and catch my tennis ball while performing various challenges. Materials: Pringles Can,1 Tennis Ball Description: Use your pringles can and a tennis ball to complete the following challenges. Remember to keep your eyes on your tennis ball as you toss and catch it to work on your hand-eye coordination. Try at least a few challenges, you do not need to do all of them, but if you want an extra challenge, do each one ten times in a row. 1. Hard Bounce and Catch 2. Toss Up High and Catch 3. Dump, Catch 4. Dump, Bump, Catch 5. Dump, Bump, Rest, Push Up, Catch 6. Throw, Catch 7. Whip Off Wall, Catch 8. Dump, Kick, Bump, Catch 9. Dump, Push Down Bounce, Bump, Catch 10. Create your own sequence |
|