FUN GAMES GAMES WITH LITTLE OR NO EQUIPMENT These types of games can be ideal for a warm up. The warm up is an essential part of a safe activity session. It helps to prevent injury and acts as a pulse raiser to gradually prepare the body for action. Domes and Dishes Equipment - Cones for grid One cone per child A mark out a large grid Split the group into two - Domes and Dishes. Domes place their cone on the ground the right way up and the Dishes place their cone upside down. In one minute, the Dishes have to turn as many cones as possible upside down and the Domes have to turn as many as possible the right way up. At the end of one minute, count which team has won. Repeat again. Try to make sure all the children keep moving around and not just stay around one or two cones. Remind the children to look where they are running - to avoid head collisions. It is useful to use different coloured cones than the ones that form the grid. To collect the cones back in, ask the children to pick up as many cones as they can and award a point to the team with the most. Scarecrow Tag/Stuck in the Mud Equipment None Choose one or two children (depending on the size of the group) to be taggers. The rest of the group spread out in the hall/field. The tagger(s) chase the other children around and tag them.
Once tagged the children have to stand with arms out to the side (like a scarecrow). To be set free, children must run under the scarecrow s arms. Repeat the game with different taggers. Decide beforehand which way the children should run under the scarecrow s arms - to avoid head collisions. This game can be played with different equipment to make it more sports specific, e.g. with a rugby ball, taggers must tag children holding ball with both hands around the waist. Marker Cones can be used for grid. The cones can also be used to keep children away from obstacles by introducing a rule that if they step outside they will be penalised i.e. they have automatically been tug! HOOP GAMES Hoop games are a fun and safe piece of equipment for younger children to use. They are ideal for defining specific targets/areas within games and come in different sizes and colours. Car Hoop Equipment - Cones for grid - One hoop for each child Each child holds a hoop around their waist and pretends they are in a car. They run around the hall/field and the leader then calls out the instructions: Green - Means go and the children continue moving Red - Means stop Amber - Means get ready to go so children jog on the spot Roundabout - Means hula the hoop around the waist and continue Police Car moving - Means step to the left (to let the police car pass) and then continue moving When the game has finished ask the children to park their cars in the garage which will result in the hoops being safely out of the way for the next activity. Hoop Colours Equipment - Cones for grid - Assortment of coloured hoops
The leader places some hoops in a range of colours on the floor. The children move around the hoops skipping or jogging slowly. When a colour is called out, the children run and stand in a hoop of that colour. Two colours can be called at a time to encourage decision making. Also the number of children allowed in a hoop can be included e.g. Green with three. Be careful that the children don t push each other out of the hoops. BALL GAMES Ball games are easy to use with younger children as they help develop throwing, catching and rolling skills. All the games are easy to set up and promote teamwork. Target Ball Equipment - Cones for grid Large ball or balloon A number of small balls Divide the group into two and stand the teams at opposite ends of the grid. Place a large ball in the middle. Each child has a small ball and on the signal go they have to throw their ball at the large ball in the middle. The idea is to make the large ball to cross the other teams line. Children can throw as many small balls as they can (i.e. they collect the balls that the other team has thrown). A balloon can be used instead of a large ball. It will travel slower in the air and thus prolong the game. For safety reasons, if the large ball rolls out of the grid place it back in to stop the children throwing the balls out of the grid. Rollerball Equipment - Cones for grid An assortment of different sized balls.
The leader places a number of balls within the grid. Children space out in the grid. On the signal go the children must touch the balls to start them rolling. The aim of the game is to keep all balls in the grid rolling. Children must try to touch all the balls in the grid and not stay with one. Balls which roll out of the grid should quickly be rolled back in. Ensure children look where they are going to avoid collisions! PARACHUTE GAMES Parachute games are easily led group activities which allow mass participation and can be developed as far as your imagination will allow. They are enormous fun for younger children as it is a very different piece of equipment to use. Parachute games can be used to develop group activity, allow the leader to maintain close control of the group and are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Mushroom Equipment - One parachute The group stands evenly round the chute. The children squat down and hold the parachute on the ground. On the command Mushroom all the children stand and raise their arms simultaneously into the air so that the chute makes a mushroom shape. When the chute reaches it s highest point, the command Go is given, the children then release the chute at the same time. Make a Tent Equipment - One parachute The group stands evenly around the chute. The children squat down and hold the parachute on the ground. On the command Mushroom all the children stand and raise their arms simultaneously into the air so that the chute makes a mushroom shape. As the chute goes up, the players take two paces inwards, lower the chute behind their backs and sit down so that their bottoms are on the parachute and
everyone is sitting inside. Make sure the children hold on to the chute as they sit down on it. RELAYS Relays are a good way of keeping a large number of children active in a restricted area. Relays are also useful for encouraging children to support team members by developing co-operation skills. Chain Relay Equipment - Cones The leader divides the group into equal teams. The first child in each team runs up to a cone on the floor and back again. When they reach the front of the line, they turn around, bend over and pass one hand between their legs and the next person grabs it. The two of them race down to the cone and back again, pick up the third person, and so on. Children should be encouraged to co-operate with the rest of their team. Foster children should not drag the slower children along! Points could be awarded for teams who don t break the chain. Co-operation Relay Equipment - One large sponge ball per team The leader divides the group into equal teams. Standing one behind the other, about a yard apart, the ball is given to the child at the front. They then pass the ball to the second over their head, who passes it under their legs to the third and so on until the last child receives it. They run to the front of the team and repeat until the first child is back at the front or when the team crosses a certain line.
COOL DOWN A cool down is just as important as a warm up as it prepares the body to stop exercising and helps prevent stiffness. The cool down games in this section are appropriate for younger children as, whilst they are fun, they act as a calming exercise so the children are not left on an exercise high when they return to school classes - which is thankful for teachers! Wink Murder Equipment - None All the children sit down in a big circle. One child is picked to be the detective and is sent away so they cannot hear the rest of the group. The leader picks one child to be the Murderer. The detective then comes back to stand in the middle of the circle. The Murderer must wink or blink at someone in the circle who then screams and pretends to die by lying down. The detective has three guesses to determine who the Murderer is. Ensure the children do not all look directly at the Murderer for the wink, as this will be obvious to the detective. Play again with different Murderers and Detectives. Band Leader Equipment - None All the children sit down in a big circle. One child is picked as the guesser who is sent away so they cannot hear the rest of the group. The leader picks one child to be the band leader who starts performing movements e.g. clapping, tapping hand on face, playing the trumpet etc. The guesser returns and stands in the middle of the group and has three guesses to determine the bandleader.
Ensure the children do not all look directly at the band leader as this will be obvious to the guesser.