Home School How to play games and get your Kids Moving (Activity games for Kids)

You played these games in PE class, now teach your kids how to play games in Home School. 

Here are rules for 6 activity games for kids that don't take up too much space. Preschoolers love them, so do older elementary students. For a real hoot, play them at a Teen Birthday Party! We've added a little twist to some of these kid's activities so don't let the names send you away. Enjoy!

Kids PE Activities: Simon says, "Bark like a dog!" 
Change an old game up by digging in a costume trunk.

Musical Chairs
To play you will need chairs (or carpet squares); one fewer than the total number of players, music you can stop and go easily (for a twist designate someone to sing). Start with the chairs in a circle. When the music starts, the players will walk in a circle around the chairs. After a few seconds, the person who is controlling the music shuts it off, and all of the players scramble to sit. The player left standing is out of the game. The remaining players stand up again, one more chair is removed, and the music starts again. Repeat until there is one player left in the game. If you have a large number of children, as they get out move them to an inner circle, and let them play inside around a single chair to heighten the action moving in the opposite direction of the outer circle.


Duck Duck Goose
Who doesn't love a game of duck, duck, goose? We change it up for the seasons and play Ghost Ghost Goblin or Bunny Bunny Chick (Must hop around the circle) Have the participants sit down in a circle facing each other. One person is "it" and walks around the outside of the circle gently tapping each player on the head and saying either “duck" or “goose." When a person is tapped on the head and called “goose,” they  stand up and chases the person who is “it” around the outside of the circle, trying to tag “it” before the player can sit down in the spot where the "goose" was sitting. If the "goose" is able to tag "it," then the "goose" can return back to his seat.  "It" repeats the same procedure again. If "it" is sits before being tagged by the "goose," then the "goose" becomes "it" and the game starts again. 

Balloon Volleyball
Blow up one balloon, and locate a divider to serve as a net. A doorway, some kitchen chairs, a jump rope on the floor, or a fence make great 'do not cross lines'. Players hit the balloon back and forth across the “net” until someone misses. When one misses the balloon, the other scores one point. The first team to reach 10 points wins.

Simon Says
Mark a line on the ground (jump ropes work great or sidewalk chalk) and another line about 10' in front of the first. "Simon" stands on one line; and the players line up on the other line. "Simon" calls out directions to the players telling them actions or movements to make to move forward. For example, if "Simon" calls out "Simon says bark like a dog," then all of the players who bark like a dog get to move forward one step. If "Simon" does not start with "Simon says," then the players should not move. If a player does move, he has to return to the starting line and begin again. The first player to cross over the line where "Simon" is standing is the winner. For a fun twist, have a costume trunk nearby so the players can get in character. For example, for hop like a bunny everyone must grab bunny ears.

Red Light, Green Light 
Mark a line on the ground and another line 15-20' in front of the first. The person who is the "traffic light" stands on one line, and the players line up on the other line. The "traffic light" faces the players when it is a red light. When the "traffic light" turns his back to the players it is a green light, and the players can move towards the finish line. As soon as the "traffic light" turns back to face the players the light is red, and all of the players must freeze. During this time, no players are allowed to move. If a player does move on a red light; he has to go back to the starting line and begin again. The first player to cross over the line where the "traffic light" is standing is the winner. For a twist, add a yellow light where players must move slowly (they could even be required to crawl) or a blue light where players must walk backward. We always just shout out the light color.

Cherry Pickers
This stretching exercise requires the players to stand with feet shoulder-width apart and arms at sides. Then, the player will bend forward at the waist, reaching down and touching fingertips to the ground in front of his feet. He will then move his fingertips back so they are between his legs, and then back farther so they are through his legs. This movement should resemble picking cherries. The players stands back up, claps hands, and repeats the movements again. Pair two children back to back, and have them try to touch each other's fingertips.

Recommended Reading:

Great Big Book of Children's Games: Over 450 Indoor & Outdoor Games for Kids, Ages 3-14*

Games for Parties

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Playground Games for Kids

Outdoor Games for Playground

Everyone has warm memories from the playground. That’s where we played tag, made new friends and shared our secrets. Now it's our responsibility to encourage our kids to play more outside, especially in today’s technology-driven times. These ideas for outdoor playground games for kids are sure to get kids moving!

This post contains affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I get a commission.

A lot of kids are glued to their phones and laptops, and it has a negative impact on their development. Not getting enough physical activity leads to obesity. Let’s not forget that kids addicted to the Internet are more likely to struggle with socializing.

Take your child to the playground to play this weekend. You will see, it's more than just a fun place. First of all, your child will be able to burn off energy. Swinging and climbing will do its work, and your angel will get tired and fall asleep faster. Physical exercise can also help to cope with stress, to develop strong bones, and to do better at school.

Secondly, kids can enhance their social skills and make new friends. So, don’t be afraid to take your kid to a new playground. Once your child starts playing with others, they feel excited and more confident. Teach your kids different outdoor playground games, so they will never get bored!

Playing outdoor playground games can encourage kids to cooperate and boost their creativity. So, play with your children and have fun!

Recommended:

Outdoor Games from Amazon

Outdoor Game for a Group

Playground Jokes

6 Travel Tips for traveling with Kids

Looking for Tips for Traveling with the Kids?

Road Trip! Tracey shares 6 travel tips for traveling with 6 kids in a van for 16 hours (and making it out with your sanity). Aside from these tips, make sure you have lots of family, car games ready to roll out!

Kids Travel Tips: Entertainment is essential!

First of all, you may already be insane for attempting such a feat, but with careful planning, and a LOT of patience (and potty stops), you can make it happen!

#1 – If one person pees, we all pee!

 Don’t miss out on the chance to empty all the bladders at once! With any luck, you can get everyone on the same schedule and won’t have to make 6 stops everyone hour for all the kids to pee. There’s also the added incentive that “we will get there quicker if we make less stops!”. This helped a lot on the way home when we were getting down to the final hours of the return trip.

#2 – Distractions are the key!

Long car rides are the worst when you’re short on patience. Let each kid pack a small ‘carry on’ (grocery sack) with their own activities – crayons/coloring book, video game, books, cars, dolls, you get the picture. You can always fall back on the classic car rides games – ABC signs, license plate states, etc.

#3 – Pain in the neck!

Naps are inevitable when you are on a road trip, and I don’t know about you, but I cringe every time I peer back and see my kids asleep and contorted into painful looking positions. We bought inexpensive neck pillows for each of the kids (so there was no fighting!) and there were no complaints! If they were tired, they just threw on their Neck Pillow, settled in, and were out like a light. Some of the kids even wore their neck pillows for the majority of the trip, just for the fun of it. We also brought a small blanket for each of the kids to keep cozy with.

Everything is a pillow...zzzzz.

#4 – Pass the trash!

Typically, when we reach our destination, the kids pile out of the vehicle and leave a field of destruction inside the car. From snacks and drinks to lunch stops and miscellaneous rubble that appears from who-knows-where, the floor is littered with a layer of trash. To counter this, we made it a little more fun to keep things clean by having the kids pass their trash up, each time they had any, and each person in the passing line yells “trash!” as they hand it on down the line. They got quite a kick out of this and would look around for things they could send up to the front. For the most part, all that made it to the floor were toys from the ‘carry on’ bags, which is another battle all on its own.

#5 – Limit fluids!

There are always snack stops when you are on the road and it’s tempting to grab something when you make a pit stop, but the more the kids are drinking and eating, the more they are going to have to use the restroom, and the more stops you are going to have to make. Give the kids each a beverage, but have designated times they can have a drink instead of letting them drink freely. This greatly reduced our stops on the journey home!

Awww look, they're not fighting!

#6 – Be patient!

Remember, you are traveling with kids. They are going to act like kids. Kids fight, bicker, get tired, whine, get hungry, and have to pee…a lot! So try to remain calm and level headed and if needed, make an unscheduled pit stop so the kids can stretch their legs and reset their attitudes (if you are lucky!). While you are handling all there is to handle, you might want to consider that a nearby destination would be just as great for the next family road trip!  

Recommended Reading:

The Everything Kids' Travel Activity Book: Games to Play, Songs to Sing, Fun Stuff to Do - Guaranteed to Keep You Busy the Whole Ride!*

Girl Scout Travel Tips

Our 50 States*

Fun PE Games for Kids: PE Activities Gym Exercise

 PE Games for Elementary Homeschoolers

Getting PE time in as a homeschooler is difficult. Sometimes, you have to get creative. Kids love to play tag! These physical education games for elementary focus on old favorites, but each one has a new twist. Learn the country of origin of many pe activities for kids. Kids will love to play these fun PE games indoors or outdoors. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Fun PE Games for Kids: PE Activities Gym Exercise.

Thanksgiving Activities: Turkey Game and Craft for Children

Family Friendly Games for Thanksgiving

You've heard of Reindeer Games, so why not, Turkey games? This is an easy, fun activity for Thanksgiving get togethers. 

Family friendly crafts and games for Thanksgiving day party feasts.

Mayhem loved playing this turkey game.

Here are a few ideas to brighten up your Thanksgiving Family Feast:

• While you're preparing Thanksgiving Dinner, have your kids make turkeys out of paper plates and construction paper.

• They can create it anyway they choose or follow these instructions:

Cut two - 3" slits 2" apart in the bottom of the plate.

Lift and fold this flap out and fold it into a triangle or tent shape.

This is the turkey's head.

Turkey tutorial.

Add googly eyes or draw your own. 

Don't forget to draw his gobbler :-)

 
Cut feathers from colored construction paper.  Using a glue stick connect them to the top of your plate, or draw them directly onto the plate with brightly colored markers. You can go all out and use real feathers from a craft store too, it's all good. Or trace your foot onto paper for extra fun and a SENSORY ELEMENT. Now poke a 1/4'" hole in the center of your turkey (the plate).  Get yarn, kite string, Christmas ribbon, etc... remember, it's all good. 

My kids tried it with a shoe string. Cut the string about 6' in length. (Shorter or Longer depending on your spatial restrictions.)  Thread the string thru the hole and knot it in the back of the plate. 

Do this twice - that's two turkeys... 

Set up two chairs and tie one turkey to each chair. Stretch the string taut and lie it flat on the ground with the turkey opposite the chair. This is the starting line, divide into two teams and start the turkey races with kids standing at the opposite end of the chairs.

"Ready, Set, Fly!"

On the signal kids begin gobbling and lifting the string in the air trying to get the turkeys to fly to the chairs. (You are essentially shaking the plate down the string.) If your turkeys refuse to "fly" have the kids race by pulling their turkeys down the line as fast as they can while someone else holds the opposite end taut.

Last kid to reach the chair is a Turkey!

The latter methods works best with smaller children.

HAVE FUN and remember, it is what it is, so make it fun and don't fret.

Post variations and; pictures of your turkeys in action.

We got this idea from an old 1970's  party book that used bats.  You can change anything to fit the theme. 

Recommended Reading:

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks (Reading Railroad)

Fun Thanksgiving Activities for Kids! 25 Fun & Educational Thanksgiving Activities for the Whole Family (Activity Books for Kids)

Holiday Games for Parties

Kids Games that get You Moving: How to Play Disc Golf

Disc Golf is a Game that gets Kids Moving

Frisbee Golf or Flying Disc Golf isn't very complicated, but the professionals take it very seriously. Since we blog about kids' activities, we've adapted this fun, family game into an easy to play (and explain) game to get children moving. If you're lucky, you have a disc golf course at your local park, but you probably don't even realize it. Enjoy!

This post contains  Amazon and other affiliate links for your convenience.

Fun Indoor Activities for Kids

Indoor Activities To Do With the Kids

When we leave summer behind and approach the colder months, kids want to stay inside. That means, it’s time to pull out the indoor activities to keep the kids entertained after school and on the weekends. Just because you’re stuck inside doesn’t mean the day has to be wasted! There are loads of great family-friendly activities to do indoors.

This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.

Be sure to click through the links to find all the fun indoor kids activities we've discovered.

If you're looking for great ways to keep kids entertained when the weather’s got you stuck indoors, look no further! Some or these activities, you might do regularly, others you may never have tried before, but they’re all great ways to keep the kids entertained while encouraging them to learn new skills. 

Baking 

How can you not love an indoor activity where you and the kids get to eat a tasty treat at the end? When the weather isn't very nice, baking is a great way to bring the family together, and you can learn some amazing new skills while you’re at it. 

Don’t worry if you’re not a great cook, the fun is in learning the new skill, and there are some great recipes for beginners out there. Even if you are a beginner, these recipes will have you baking up a storm!

Everyone wins when you get to do a fun family activity and eat some tasty baked goods at the end of the day.

Kid-Friendly Recipes from our Blog

Arts and Crafts

Keep everyone entertained for hours on end with a few well-planned arts and crafts projects. These might take a little bit of pre-planning on your part, but they’re sure to give your family an amazing day of creating things with their hands and bonding with each other. 

Any project with epoxy resin is bound to get the kids excited, and the results you can get with this product are awesome and perfect for a cold or rainy day.

Don’t worry if you’re not an arts and crafts pro, there are plenty of beginner projects to get you going like a pro. 

Kids CRAFTS from our blog.

Board Games

In the modern world of ultra-realistic video games, the old-fashioned board game still has its place. In fact, the classics are often the best, and there’s no better time to pull out the board game collection that when it’s raining outside. 

No matter how much technology moves on, the likes of Monopoly, Cluedo, Jenga, and Uno are always family favorites for a good reason. Once you get everyone together and involved in a game of Monopoly, you’ll find the time just flies by, and you won’t even remember that the weather is terrible outside. Make sure you’ve got a trustworthy banker, and you’ve got an afternoon of fun indoor activities for everyone. 

Indoor Sleepover Activities for Kids

Rainy Day – Don't Worry

As we approach Fall, the weather might not allow for as many outdoor activities as usual, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to end. There are lots of fun indoor activities that you can enjoy with your family on a rainy day.  For more inspiration, check us out on Pinterest!

What looked like a boring weekend stuck inside, might just turn out to be a weekend full of joy and family fun. You can eat, drink, create, and play games with your family and friends while bringing everyone closer together. Just do a search in our blog for games, crafts, kids recipes, family field trip ideas, and fun indoor activities for kids. Stick with us, and you'll never run out of fun things to do!

Recommended:

Indoor Camp Songs & Games

Futuristic Space Indoor Activities for Kids

Fun PE Activities for Outdoors

Stay in your Car Holiday Activities

FREE Preview of Kids Creative Chaos Cooks: Holiday Treats Cookbook

Fun Seasonal Games and Edible Holiday Craft Activities 

Our new kid's cookbook, "Kids Creative Chaos Cooks ~ Holiday Treats" offers holiday recipes and edible crafts for kids to make and mix. The easy instructions allow kids to surprise Mom and Dad with special treats from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. Celebrate family get-togethers with cute group games that get everyone moving. 

Happy Holidays! 

COOKBOOK for KIDS ~ Kitchen Kids ~ RECIPES
Holiday Treats is a collection of easy mixing and making recipes made up of simple ingredients. Kids of all ages can follow the directions and make tasty holiday treats. In this issue enjoy Mini Snowball Treats, Peanut Butter Turkey Treats, Christmas Cranberry Muffins, indoor holiday games to get your family moving, and more.

Edible Crafts for kids to make.

Recommended Reading:

Holiday Games for your Family Party

Kids in the Holiday Kitchen: Making, Baking, Giving

Kids Creative Chaos Cooks: Kitchen Kids Series: Holiday Recipes

Free Educational Games and Videos for Kids

Online Educational Games and Videos

We've all seen those kids with their faces glued to the tablet in their lap. What are they doing? Generally, they're watching some silly and possibly inappropriate video on YouTube. Even if it's just a cartoon, kids' time could be better spent doing something educational. Playing an online educational game, a game that sharpens hand eye coordination, or watching educational videos, keeps kids entertained while they're learning. If you or your kids enjoy learning online, read on for some fun, free ways to add to your classroom curriculum.

Math and English educational games tend to be the most fun when it comes to educational online gaming, These games are more fast paced, but there are also history, science, and foreign language games too. I prefer to watch educational videos to learn about history and science but you can pair educational videos with online games for a lesson students will enjoy.

Our favorite history videos  are from the  Crash Course in U.S. History series on YouTube. Now, they offer Crash Course Science videos too.  Below, I've shared a few science videos that I think your students will enjoy. 

Educational Science Videos From Crash Course

What's a Species?

 

Organic Chemistry

 

Here are 10 more educational videos for teens

Plays.org is a site full of all kinds of games. You don't have to load apps on your phone or tablet and take up extra space. All of these games are played right in your browser, just add it to your favorites for easy access.

To navigate this free gaming site, scroll down to the bottom page footer where you'll find all of the categories of their free online game collection. As you scroll through the alphabetical list, you'll see the education tab.

Here are my picks for fun educational games from plays.org. 

Defense Math

This site has detailed instructions and tips on game play. Here's a sample description:

Defense Math starts out easy, but gets more difficult as you play. This is a fast and challenging addition, subtraction, multiplication and division math solving game for kids and students. Players must answer an infinite amount of questions to send projectiles to the enemy horde. Players must prevent them from reaching their defense tower. Get the highest score you can get. 

Freaky Math is a fast paced game that works like flash cards. I think this game is great for all ages and it's a great game to play to keep your brain sharp.  You'll be surprised how long it takes to solve some of the problems. Think fast!

Younger children will enjoy this grocery store cashier game from plays.org. The items come across the conveyor belt and you add them all  together, press total and choose the correct amount of cash to pay.

If you need worksheets and other printable curriculum to pair with these free online educational games videos, check out my store on TeachersPayTeachers.

Recommended:

Science Games from PBS

Physics Games from Plays.org

More Free Educational Online Games from Adventures of Kids Creative Chaos

How do you Keep Kids Happy on Rainy Days?

A Guide to Keeping Your Kids Happy on Rainy Days

For adults and teens rainy days are great: you have the perfect excuse to stay inside, curl up on the couch and catch up with your favorite TV show or video game. Yet for little ones, rainy days force them to face the prospect of one more dreaded day stuck inside the house. When you use this guide to keeping your kids happy on rainy days for tips and tricks, rainy days don’t have to equal boredom for the kiddos!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Howdy Partner! Mayhem in a Cowboy Costume.

Boredom Busters for Rainy Days

Click through the links below for fun activities on how to keep kids happy on rainy days.

Get Creative with Painting

Painting doesn’t have to be just painting anymore; try some fun ideas, like painting with spaghetti, or paint rocks to look like ladybugs (on a drier day before the rain started, of course) or try finger painting in a fun new way. If you're up for it, let the kids try face painting with you as their model!

Maybe you have a designated kids' playroom and you want to get creative with a spare bit of white wall that's just begging for a splash of bright color. You can always paint your wall like a chalkboard and let the kids go wild!

If you're organized, you can prep for rainy day activities during the summer by collecting interesting seashells at the beach or walnuts in the yard, and saving them for a rainy day when you and the kids can paint the shells all kinds of creative ways!

Entertain All of Their Senses

As you know, younger kids are receptive to nearly anything entertaining, so don’t underestimate the power of visual and aural stimulation. Whether it’s a colorful cartoon on the TV or sound waves making the floor vibrate with their favorite childhood tunes, you can use this stimulation as a spin off for a drawing activity like this cartoon anime lesson.

Oh, how times have changed!

Also, you may want to consider investing a little more in home tech equipment for a true all-round experience; for example, thewireszone.com has a great range of audio and video equipment, including amplifiers to really fill up the house on those gloomy weather days. With all those beats pumping though the house, you'll be up dancing on the ceiling! Seriously though, dancing with your kids is the best rainy day boredom buster ever!!

Use the Furniture to Your Advantage

If you have a large living space with plenty of couches and chairs, consider building a lion's den or a makeshift maze for the kids. You can move the furniture around and even drape the furniture in towels and bed sheets to create a cozy tent or tepee area for the kids to crawl into and stay quiet for a while. Ask Alexa to read a story while you catch up on some chores.

Decorate with Fairy Lights. Photo Credit: Amazon

Add a sensory element by placing toys and books inside the blankets and light it up with funky fairy lights to make it a space the kiddos will never want to leave (until the sun comes out, of course.)

Catch up with Chores

It doesn't sound like the most fun thing to do, but if you have a whole bunch of household tasks you need to catch up with – and a rainy day just so happens to present an opportunity to do just that – then make the kids pitch in and get all those chores done together.

Need some motivation? Here are some printable chore charts for kids to help you keep track of their progress and work toward rewards!

Turn ‘matching up odd socks’ into a fun game with a prize, or maybe get creative in the kitchen if you have food that needs prepped, and let the kids help whisk up dinner!

You can also turn chores into competitions! Promise a special treat for the winner of ‘who can tidy the front room the fastest!’

How cool is that? Using chores as rainy day boredom busters is a great way to teach kids that helping around the house can be fun!

Play Dress Up in Costumes

You don't need a trunk full of costumes to play dress up with kids and keep them happy on a rainy day. No Ma'am, just raid your closets for old clothes, ties, and bandannas. In the picture above, we raided Grandma and Grandpa's closets for an old vest from the 70's, a gun holster, and an Australian Outback hat. Voila! Instant cowgirl costume.

Making costumes can keep kids busy for at least an hour on a rainy day. Once the costumes are complete, it's time for some good old fashioned pretend play!

• Use Cotton Balls to Make a Sheep Costume
• No sew Nativity Costumes
• Ideas for Easy Halloween Costumes
• Pretend Play as a Doctor or Nurse
• Make Costumes from Cardboard Boxes
• Dress up like a Chef
• Pretend Play at a Bakery with a Cool Cardboard Stove

Recommended:

Easy Non-Toxic Face Paint Recipe

Get Fairy Lights on Amazon

Games for Kids from Kids Creative Chaos

Cool Socks for Kids

Do Cool Dr. Seuss Theme Activities on a Rainy Day