Cooperative Games for Children

Body Letters

• Call out a letter and have all the children work together to create the letter using their bodies standing up or sitting down. If you have a large group, divide the children into smaller groups. If you have two groups, call out two-letters words and have the children make the word. If you have three groups, call out three letter words. Other variations include numbers and objects. Objects include things like a sun, star or a tree.

Balloon Games

• Hang a string or rope between two poles or use a volleyball net. Have all the players stand on one side of the net and give one player a balloon. That player must hit the balloon in the air and crawl under the net. The next player must bump it in the air and go under the net. The last player to bump the balloon has to bump it over the net and the players will begin the process again, working their way to the other side. For another balloon game, have all the players stand in a circle and give them two or three balloons to hit in the air. Tell the players to try not to let the balloons touch the ground. Keep adding one or two balloons make it harder for the children.

Knot Games

• Get a long rope and tie a knot every three feet. You need one knot for each player and no more than six players to a rope. Have the players place one hand on either side of their knot. When you say “Go,” the players must untie the knots by working with only their free hand and working with others. Another knot game is "Human Knots." The games works best with 10 or fewer people. If you have more than 10 players create groups of no more than 10 in each group. Have all the players stand in a circle and place their hands in the middle. They must reach out and grab the hands of two different players across the circle. The players must untangle themselves without letting go of each other’s hands. The players will have to go over and under each other to "untangle" themselves. Some players may be facing in and some facing out after everyone is untangled.

Straw Games

• Pour a box of straws on the ground. Tell the children to take turns trying to remove a straw from the stack without disturbing the other straws. The children can help each other out and give each other hints on which straw to move. For another straw game, have teams work together to build a straw structure using only straws. Give each team a box of straws to use to build the structure. The first team to build a structure that stands on its own for 30 seconds wins the game.