Outdoor Play and Game Ideas

For the younger set:

Make mudpies. Get out the hose and let your child get muddy in a garden corner. Provide cups and square containers to make shapes out of the mud.

“Paint” the house/fence. Get a bucket of water and some old paintbrushes. Have your child dip the paintbrush in the water and “paint” the side of your house or your fence. You will be surprised at how much fun kids find this activity. Older siblings often want to get in on it too.

For the older set:

Jump rope. This is a classic kid activity—did you know that it was originally practiced by boys? About the end of the nineteenth century, girls’ clothing became less restrictive and they joined in too. Here’s a classic jump rope chant: Salt, Pepper, Vinegar, Mustard.

When you chant “Salt,” jump slow; when you chant “Pepper,” jump fast; when you chant “Vinegar,” jump high (the rope doesn’t touch the ground); when you chant “Mustard,” jump normally.

Chain Tag. Tag games have been around as long as there have been people. This is one of the many varieties of the game. Mark off the playing area—about 50 by 50 feet. Choose one person to be “It.” Play begins when “It” tries to tag others within the area; anybody who steps over the boundary line is automatically tagged. When a player is tagged, he or she joins hands with “It.” As new players are tagged, they add on to the chain. Each end of the chain tries to tag the players. When everyone has been added to the chain, the game is over. The first person who was tagged is “It” for the next game.

Stop & Go Dance. This is a variation on a game played by the Plains and Northwest native tribes. You need a drum (an oatmeal box works admirably well). Choose one child to be the drummer (it helps if s/he has a good sense of rhythm). The players dance around in a circle to the beat of the drum. When the drum stops, the dancers must freeze—an alert player may stop with a foot in the air. Dancers must stay that way until the drum starts up again. Any player who continues to move after the drumbeat stops is out. The drummer may change the speed of the rhythm, but may not pause to trick the dancers.