Direction Games for Children

Follow Me

• Even very small children can begin learning to follow directions by following others. Line up your children and their friends or your students in a long line. Tell the children they must stay in line and do exactly as the person in front of them does. If they step out of line or don't perform an action, they're out of the game. Ask the first child in line to march forward. The child may walk or run in a zig-zag pattern, wave her arms or begin to hop. The rest of the children must do the same as they travel to a secret destination. The line's destination should be some sort of reward, like a playground or a table filled with tasty (and healthy) snacks or an arts and crafts project.

In the Middle

• You can play this game with all of your family members or with a classroom full of kids. Everyone stands in a large circle with one person in the center. Each person in the circle gives the person in the center a command. It may be "touch your nose," "hop four times" or "spin in a circle." When everyone in the circle has given a command, the person in the center chooses someone new to stand in the center. Alternatively, the person in the center may give everyone in the circle a command and everyone must perform the action in unison.

My Space

• This game works well for a single child or a large group of children. Each child must first follow directions by creating a square outlined in tape on the floor. If in a classroom, you may move the desks out of the way and each child can create a square where his desk was. When the squares are finished, give the children action instructions. The children may have to hop in and out of the square four times, dance inside it for 30 seconds, tiptoe around the edge twice or stand on one foot inside it for 10 seconds before hopping around the edge on the other foot. Start with easy directions and then make them more complicated as the children complete the directions successfully.

Directions Relay

• This game is not only fast-paced, it's also a way to encourage your children to clean up their rooms or your classroom. It also gives kids some exercise. Set out several colored baskets or bins. Outline a square, a circle, a triangle and a star on the floor in tape. Give the children specific directions for putting away specific items. For instance, for each car a child grabs, have him hop once into the circle, run to the star and drop the car in a blue bin. For each doll he grabs, he may need to dance in the triangle, jump into the square and drop the doll in the red bin. Continue until the space is clean.