Playing together helps children in their social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. When children play outdoors games that involve moving their bodies by running, walking, jumping or other physical activity it also helps them develop healthy, active habits.
There are wealth of outdoor activities that have stood the test of time and that children for generations have adapted and perfected for the most enjoyment, passing down the knowledge to their children as they grow. Some of the rule of these games can be changed to fit the circumstances or number of people that are playing and can be made to fit for children or adults.
Fox and Geese
(Fox and Geese was often played on snow-covered fields, but can be laid out with chalk on a large driveway or parking lot, or with tape on a floor.) A large wagon wheel shape (roughly 20 to 30 feet wide) is drawn or is made by stamping down the snow. A small circle is drawn in the middle – a few feet in diameter – then six to ten spokes are drawn leading out from that circle connecting to a large outer circle.
In the middle of the circle stands one child who is the "fox" for that turn. "Geese" stand on the outside circle of the wheel. Players can only move on the lines that form the wagon wheel. The geese begin to move and try to make it to the center circle. The fox guards the circle and tag the geese. If a child makes it to the circle without begin tagged he becomes the fox for the next round. If a goose gets tagged she is out of the game for that round. If the fox tags all of the geese, she gets to be fox again.
Red Rover
Red Rover can be played with 10 to 40 players and is best played on an open field. It can also be played in a gymnasium, playground or other large play area.
The players are divided into two teams which line up at opposite ends of the field, facing each other. The players on each team link hands to form a human chain.
The first team – decided by coin toss,"paper,rock,scissor" or other such game – calls out, "Red Rover, Red Rover, let (choose a child's name) come over", calling out the name of one of the players on the other team. That player runs across the field and tries to break through the chain. If he is successful he chooses one of the two players that he broke through to join him on his team. If he is not able to break through, he must join the team that called him over. The game is played until all players are all on the same team.
Hens and Wolf
Players sit on the “nest”, which is any space that is designated and can be plainly distinguished by the players. One player is designated as "Mother Hen" and another as "The Big, Bad Wolf". The rest are "eggs". The Mother Hen secretly assigns each egg a color, whispering it in their ear so the others cannot hear.
The Big Bad Wolf says, "Mother Hen, give me your eggs!" to which she replies, "No, you have to guess their color!". The Big Bad Wolf guesses colors until he says a color of one of the eggs. Without a word that colored egg jumps up and runs around the house (or the area that has been designated the house) and tries to get back to the nest before the wolf. If an egg gets caught, they trade places with the Big Bad Wolf and everyone is assigned a new color.
Among other old fashioned games is Hide 'N' Seek which has developed many variations over the years, but no matter what children play, getting outside with their friends, socializing and keeping active is the most important part.
Robin Lewis - A Graphic Designer by day, artist, writer, gardener and researcher by night, Robin "Bodecoa" is eclectic, artistic and on an endless ...
Join the Conversation