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Outside games for kindergarten children to play

Outdoor play is important for kids since according to the article "Call to Activity: Getting Kids Moving in the Great Outdoors," published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the increasing amount of indoor activities children partake in may have a negative impact on their emotional, cognitive, social and physical development. Games for kindergarten kids can involve physical exercise, such as racing and tag, as well as nature adventures that teach them about plants and animals.

Snakes and Worms

Snakes and worms is a game for kindergarten children that can teach them about color and measurement. You cut into small pieces 20 feet each of two types of colored yarn, one to represent the snakes and the other to represent the worms. It doesn't matter which color is assigned to worms or snakes.

Then, hide all the pieces of yarn outside without letting the children watch where you are hiding them. There are two or three teams of kids that must choose a captain for each. The captain remains in place while his team members go to search for yarn and bring it back to her while she ties the pieces together. The team that ends up with the longest piece of yarn wins, notes the website Kids Activities.

Elbow Tag

Running and chasing games will help kids release their abundant energy and maintain a healthy weight. With elbow tag you must have an even number of kids. All kids are paired up and linked by hooking their elbows.

Two of the kids are not linked and one is "it." The other kid is going to be chased by "it" as he tries to link himself to another kid. If he achieves this, the kid attached to the other side must release himself and seek another partner before being tagged.

Science Hunt

For a small group of kindergarten kids you can prepare a science hunt that will teach them about rocks, plants and flowers as well as give them practice for finding the location of objects using words such as "near," "far" and "close." You will have to go on the hike first in order to locate all the things you plan to include on the children's list of things to look for.

Take pictures or write down their description so you can include it on the list. Under each item that the kids will be looking for, you can include a brief anecdote or interesting fact about it, such as explaining how bees pollinate flowers. Give each child their own list where they can mark off the objects they find. 

 

by Molly Solanki