Games to play with children in a gym

Every toddler loves to be chased, and as they get older tag becomes a new favorite game to play. For many kids, this love of play blossoms into involvement in sports, and with each positive experience the joy of moving continues to grow.

And team sports can be great in gym class, but only when skills have been developed and ability levels among the students are even. How can we motivate students to meet both our goals for them as well as their own needs as kids? Here are five games every PE teacher should have in their repertoire that are highly engaging to all students and playable with large groups and varied ability levels.

Sharks and Minnows: The classic tag game where one student the shark chases the rest of the class the minnows. Every tagged student becomes a shark. Teachers like the fact that it has students running back and forth time and time again. With no equipment or setup needed, this game is perfect to fill a few extra minutes and fun enough for a full class period. I've sweated through my shirt after playing one round for 15 minutes.

If you were a kid in the eighties, you probably remember being excited about the original Pac-Man arcade games. This is the live version that's played out in a gym. It takes advantage of something almost every indoor gym has: painted basketball court lines.

Pac-Man is good practice for kids to follow directions and rules. Dodgeball is a gym game favorite, but there are many variations and many rules that can make the game more or less fun.

Taking it too seriously can make it too rigid for little kids, and not having enough structure can lead to a chaotic free-for-all.

Watch the video for the directions, and then read the tips. Relay races are not technically games, but they are great to do in a gym with kids. The options are only limited by your imagination. You can get creative with what equipment you have to challenge the kids and increase competition.

A ring toss with hula hoops can be done with just a couple hoops and cones. This is a good game when you have less than 10 kids who aren't into physically active sports like full-court basketball. All you have to do is set up a line and have the kids alternate throwing a hula hoop onto a cone. There's no need to go into detail about the rules. This is really a tailgating game, but it can easily be done in a gym, hallway, or anywhere. Here's a video proving that just about any age can play this, have fun, and master it.

If you don't have the corn-hole board, you can easily set up some type of marker on the ground. Hula hoops, tape lines, cones in a triangle shape, or even a chair can be used as the goal.

Kickball is a classic game to be played outside where a pop fly of a ball can soar, but in a gym, it gets a little crazier. It's basically like baseball, only you kick a kickball and run the bases. You have limited space, so the bases are closer together and the walls are fair game when playing in the gym.

Be careful with this action-packed game because the kids will likely slide and collide. Allowing throw outs will usually result in someone getting a red mark somewhere on his or her body, which just adds to the fun. Little kids require simple games with little explanation required.

Here is a short list of games you can play with preschool-aged children. Click the links to find the instructions! Here are even more games you can play with kids in the gym. Many can be modified to fit the number of kids you have and their ages. It may be beneficial to show the kids these videos as demonstrations in addition to giving verbal instructions.

Let the kids choose what games to play and rotate them so they don't get tired of playing the same one over and over again. If you need ideas for a great icebreaker for your youth group, look no further than this list. You'll find 16 that are good for all group sizes and ages and are sure to get your group together in no time. What is the most important rule for the summer camp prankster? In recent decades there has been a significant rise in the number of youth groups and worship ministries.

Keep score of whoever has the most wins. Then the game continues. The two other people need to tag the frozen person at the same time and count to five. Play as with dodge ball or gaga ball , but instead of sitting out to the side— players sit down where they are tagged by the ball. From their sitting position, the octopus tagged kids help with tagging any players who get close enough to be touched.

If a player is caught this way, they also sit down where they have been caught. One player is designated to be the lighthouse. All the other students become ships and boats of various sizes. Equipment :3 Balls Beach Balls Players scatter over the playing area and a ball is tossed into the air. The objective is to keep the ball in the air using any part of the body. Once one ball is up, get two or three balls going at the same time.

Keep count of the number of times the ball or balls is kept up in the air before it hits the ground. Youth try and better the number next time around. Give each team a blanket.

Have one player from each team lie down on the blanket. The teams must drag the body on the blanket from one end of the gym or yard to the other. Whoever crosses the finish line first, wins. Players form pairs within their teams. They can also switch at the half-way point. Each pair repeats the process— until all have had a chance to drag and be dragged. Supplies: Ball of any type, Large area for play Something for a goal desk, basket, trash can.

Practice kicking with more kicking games. First, hold a broom or baseball bat in the air, looking at the top of it. Keeping your eye on the top, spin in a circle 10 times. Now try to run to the finish line. Players stand and hold a bed sheet on opposite ends. A ping pong ball is placed onto the sheet. The sheet is then raised or lowered. Body part freeze tag is just like regular freeze tag except once tagged, you are NOT completely frozen.

Children are divided into teams. Each team selects one child from their team to be the prisoner of the other team; the two prisoners are placed in jail. This can be a designated area or a chalk box if playing outside.

The teams each line up and the object of the game is to free the prisoner from the other team. If tagged, that child then becomes a prisoner too and must go to jail. If a child makes it to jail, he or she is safe as long as he is inside the prison. Required: Brooms, rubber ball, and goals boxes or buckets Players: 2 or more This game can be played in any size room. Kids form partners. Try and make it from one side of the playing area to the other.

Several pairs may try to maneuver at the same time…. Need Flags or a strip of cloth to be used as a tail. Players with the most tails collected in a specified time are the winners.

When two pieces of popcorn meet, they stick together. Once stuck together, they continue to pop around together, sticking to even more pieces, until they end up in a big popcorn ball. Required: Playing cards preferably larger size playing cards and activity slips-two of each directive be creative Players: Small to large groups.

Sit ups, push ups, right sideway leg lift, left side-way leg lift, run in place, shoulder rolls, jumping jacks, hop on right foot, hop on left foot, jump up and down, scissor jump-steps, siwmming from waist motion, jump rope in place-without a rope, etc. Everyone walks around with their eyes closed in a small space. This is the clue to join onto their hand and open your eyes. The fun comes when there is only one person left to find the Pruie!

All the children line up on the other side of gym. Object of game: The first one to make it to the stoplight wins and is now the stoplight.

It gets tricky when the stoplight changes…. Scatter out several hula hoops around the floor. Assign taggers to freeze the other players. Students inside a hula hoop can not get frozen, but can only stay long enough to count to Only one child per hula hoop is allowed. This game is played like traditional tag.

Players try to tag others. Other players can be immune from the tag by holding their nose with one hand and their toes with the other. They can only hold this pose for three seconds. They must immediately start to run after stopping in his manner. All the children line up side by side except the player who is the caller. The caller stands at a distance from the lined up players. He calls on each player in turn to take a number of steps toward him.

The steps allowed are: baby steps, giant steps, and scissor steps like forward jumping jacks. If the player forgets to ask permission after they get directions— and takes steps toward the caller— they are sent back to the starting line.

The first player to reach the caller is the winner and new caller. Idea: Change the name to the season: Teacher May I? Santa, Snowman, Cupid, Leprechaun, Bunny, etc.