PALs Playground Games & Ideas
Here is a list of games and ideas for your school Playground Activity Leaders to use!!!
Contents:
- What’s Time Is It Mr Wolf
- Duck, Duck, Goose
- Wheelbarrow Race
- Simon Says
- Statues
- Hopscotch
- Freeze Tag
- Rock, Paper, Scissors
- Hula Hoops
- Farmer, Farmer May We Cross Your Golden River?
- Bulldog
- Donkey
- The Great Wall of China
- What’s Time Is It Mr Wolf
One child is the Wolf. He or she stands facing away from the rest of the children who are some 20 paces away from the wolf in a line.
The children chant “What’s the time Mr Wolf?” The wolf chooses a time and says “Three o’clock” or whatever time he/she wants. The children then all take that number of steps forward (three steps forward towards the wolf for 3 o’clock). The wolf keeps her/his back to the approaching children.
The game continues with the children getting nearer and nearer to the wolf. The aim of the children is to get past the wolf, by having taken enough steps. However, at any time in answer to the question “what’s the time Mr Wolf”, the wolf can say, “It’s dinner time”, and so saying, turn and run trying to touch one of the children – who all try to run back to the safety of the starting line.
The children who get back to the starting line are safe for the next run of the game. Any children who are caught are out just for the next go – after which they can re-enter the game from the start line. The first child who gets across the finish line next to Mr Wolf wins and becomes Mr Wolf.
In the game, the wolf can decide to call out high numbers (“It’s 9 o’clock etc”) and risk getting the children over the line. Or the wolf can call out low numbers and keep the children away from the line, but that will make it harder to catch them when the wolf proclaims, “it’s dinner time”.
- Duck, Duck, Goose
The children sit or stand in a circle facing each other. One is elected to start and this child walks round the outside of the circle touching each child on the head in turn saying “duck, duck, duck…”
While the child says “duck” everyone must stand still but if the child changes to “goose” as he/she touches a head, the child whose head has just been touched must run round the circle, racing against the child who has been walking around the outside. The first child back to the place left vacated takes that place and the other child walks around saying “duck, duck…”
Normally speaking of course, the child that touches has the advantage because he or she knows when to start running. This means that the child walking around the outside will invariably get one go and then re-join the circle.
You might also introduce a rule which has them running in opposite directions – or leave that to the children to work out – otherwise the action of overtaking the front runner makes it impossible to get back first.
As an alternative the child walking around the outside might have to run the circle while the selected child must run a different route (to a nearby wall, for example).
- Wheelbarrow Race
Wheelbarrow races are fun but need to be kept an eye on to avoid unacceptable rough play if the racers start to indulge in pushing and bumping in the style of stock car racers! Obviously, the race is infinitely safer on grass, not tarmac, to avoid injuries when the barrow collapses.
In an ideal world the children start with no restrictions other than the race, but then introduce rules to prohibit dangerous behaviour, false starts, etc. What they all have to learn is that the person holding the legs cannot drive the barrow faster than the barrow can plod along with the hands.
An interesting variant involves the wheelbarrow going from the start line to a finish line, at which point the driver and barrow change places and then continue the race back to the start line. This then gives both children the experience of both parts of the game.
- Simon Says
The leader of the group calls out “Simon says put your hand in the air,” and all the children must do it. The leader then says, “Simon says hop on one foot,” and the children do it.
After a few goes the caller says, “Pat your head with your hand”. The children must not do this it because the command did not begin with “Simon says”. In this case, the children stand dead still – anyone who moves before the next command is out – or takes over as Simon.
Older children who want to be very sophisticated with this game can try a version in which commands which do not begin with “Simon says” must be complied with in the opposite. Thus, when the command is “Stand on your left foot” the children must stand on their right foot. “Hold one hand up” is answered by holding both hands up.
This puts an extra demand on the caller because the caller must give commands which have an opposite.
- Statues
There is a group of children and a Leader.
Everyone in the group moves around in an exaggerated way. They can choose how they want to move individually, or the leader can nominate a way to move. The options for methods of moving might include pretending to dance to music, they might be doing a “silly walk”, they might be jumping on pogo sticks, or making slow exaggerated movements as if “walking on the moon.”
The leader suddenly calls out “stop” and everyone has to stand dead still in the position they are in at that moment. The leader now has the job of walking around the statues to see if any move.
The leader can do anything to encourage them to move except touch them. Making a statue laugh is certainly allowed. The child who moves is out for the next two rounds. The winner is the last child left on the floor.
It can be helpful to put a time limit on the activity of the Leader walking around – possibly by having all the other children count slowly from ten down to one. Movement of the mouth in counting is not a way to get that child out.
Limiting the number of goes that a child who is caught moving is out for reduces the time that those caught out early on are removed from the game. But it also makes it harder to end the game by getting everyone out except one child who becomes the new Leader. It is therefore helpful to say that the Leader only has three goes to get everyone out. The Leader can get several children out per go – but if there are two or more left after three rounds then one of the remaining children becomes Leader next time around.
- Hopscotch
Draw a pattern of boxes with chalk on the ground. Number the boxes from 1 to 10. Each child must throw a small stone onto the boxes in order – number 1 first, 2 second etc. After throwing on to the first box the child hops onto that box, picks up the stone, and hops back before throwing again into the next number. If the stone does not land in the right box, the next player gets a turn.
The traditional hopscotch pattern involves one square directly in front of the child throwing the stone. This is numbered 1. The squares numbered 2 and 3 are beyond that, touching the box number 1, and next to each other. 4 is a single square beyond 2 and 3. 5 and 6 are beyond 4, again next to each other. 7 is on its own, followed by 8 and 9, and then 10.
The child hops with one leg onto 1 in the first go, then returns to the base line and throws again in the second go the child hops onto 1, and then again onto 2, using the same leg. However, for 3 the child throws the stone onto square 3, hops onto 1, and then uses both legs to straddle 2 and 3 together.
This makes it easier to get to 10. In this game the normal reason for not getting to a number is a failure to throw the stone on to the square rather than a problem with hopping.
In some versions of the game the child who fails to get the stone into a particular number has to start again. In others the child goes back down one number. In yet others the child tries for the same number next time around.
The children take the throwing in turn until one successfully gets to 10.
- Freeze Tag
One child is the leader and calls out FREEZE. Everyone else stands still. The leader then calls out a character and everyone moves like that character.
The characters should be recognisable to the children from real life (a very old lady, a little baby…) or television (Superman) or just general concepts (a pop singer).
If the children get good at this, they can make it more complex, such as “a pop singer with a headache”, “a pop singer who can smell something nasty”, “a pop singer who doesn’t want to sing any more but has to”.
There are no winners or losers, everyone just has a chance to be leader – but of course there is no point in being leader unless you have a good idea what to choose.
Where this works well the children might take the idea home and discuss it with parents to find other people to nominate when they play the game at school again.
- Rock, Paper, Scissors
Two children play together, facing each other.
Each child clenches the right fist behind the back. Together the children chant “1 2 3” and then bring their fists out in front.
The children can choose one of three forms for their fists to be in:
- Stone – this is a clenched fist.
- Scissors – this is represented by the forefinger and middle finger being held out and apart like a pair of scissors, with the thumb and two remaining fingers tucked in.
- Paper – this is represented by a flat hand.
If the two children bring out the same shape the contest is a draw and they, do it again. Otherwise, the following rules apply.
- Stone blunts scissors – stone wins
- Scissors cut paper – scissors win
- Paper wraps stone – paper wins
Many children just like to play for a few minutes and leave the game at that, but they might like to score and keep a total of the number of wins. Or they might like to try and get three wins in a row. In this scenario a draw does not count as a go, so the sequence Win, Draw, Win, Draw, Win is three wins in a row.
In this game, leaving the draws as not counting as a go, the children have an even chance of winning once, a 1 in 2 chance of getting two wins in a row, and a 1 in 4 chance of getting 3 wins in a row.
- Hula Hoops
Each child has a hoop. The children throw their hoop and run after it, jumping into it, picking it up, moving it over their head and then throwing it again. The winner is the first to the finish line.
The children quickly learn that throwing the hoop so that it rolls on its side is not a good idea – it slows their progress down completely.
- Farmer, Farmer May We Cross Your
Golden River?
All the children except one stand in a line. Some distance away facing them is the farmer who guards the golden river. The river can be defined as the distance between the farmer and the group. One easy way to play the game is for the farmer to have his/her back against a wall, so that crossing the river is easily defined as reaching the wall.
The farmer’s job is only to let certain people across.
The children call out together “Farmer, farmer, may we cross your golden river?”
The farmer answers something like, “Only if you are wearing blue…”
The farmer can choose anything that is likely to separate out the children. Where colours are chosen, they only apply if they are immediately visible.
Those who meet the classification’s requirements can walk across the river, those who don’t have to try to make it to the other side without being caught.
Of course, this does mean that a child might try and walk across even if he or she does not have that attribute, in an attempt to fool the farmer.
To catch a child the farmer just has to touch the child. But if the farmer touches a child who is free to cross, then the farmer loses.
Children who are caught stay to one side and the remaining group are challenged again. Depending on the number of children the farmer might have 2 or 3 goes to catch them all. After those two or three times the farmer joins the group, and a new farmer gets a turn. At the end of the game the farmer who caught the most children are the winner.
- Bulldog
This is a potentially rough game that involves many players running from one side of the playground to the other.
One player stands in the middle and the others line up against one wall or one edge of the area. Together they count down from five to one and then shout “go” at which time they try to run to the opposite wall or marker. The child in the middle tries to touch as many as possible who then join the child in the centre for the next run.
Each time the number of children in the middle rises and the number running across goes down. As the number of children in the centre exceeds those running so tactics begin to emerge as children try to find alternative ways across.
But because of the large number of children running at speed that this game involves, there are dangers to the participants and to any children who get caught in the way.
- Donkey
The children stand in a circle and pass the ball around and across the group. The first child to get the ball says D, the second child to get the ball says DO, the third DON and so on until the sixth child says DONKEY.
As an alternative the first child can say “D – Do” the second says “D – Do, O – On,” the third says “D- Do, O-On, N-Nothing,” and so on to D-Do, O-On, N-Nothing, K-Keith, E-Even, Y-Yellow – and then everyone shouts DONKEY.
It is of course possible to change the key word.
- The Great Wall of China
All the children except one line up at one end of the play area. At the other end is the Great Wall, and they must get there. The guardian of the wall must try and protect the wall by touching any of the children running to the wall. As the wall is long the guardian will only touch a few and the majority will get across.
The child or children who are touched then become the guardians. In one version of the game the original guardian will stay with those he or she has touched and so gradually the number of guardians increases and the number of children getting through decreases, until there is one person who survives, and she or he is the winner.
In the alternative version the guardian goes back into the troop trying to reach the wall after one go.
This game has the potential to disrupt the play of others and so needs to be set up in a specific area where the rushing for the wall will not cause any problems.
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