Games That You Can Play in School

Hopscotch

• Hopscotch is among the oldest playground games but one which is still regularly played by children all around the world. Some school playgrounds will have a hopscotch court painted on the ground, but one can easily be drawn using chalk. The game is played by throwing a marker into the first square, then hopping methodically through the course and back to pick up the marker without stepping on the lines or going wrong in your hop. The process is then repeated with the second square and so on until the marker has landed in each square. The game helps teach rules and balance and can be played alone or in competition with others.

Soccer

• Although less popular than the other major American sports, soccer is nonetheless a good game to play in school because it can easily be played on a variety of surfaces and is dependent on teamwork. Whether the playground has goalposts or makeshift goals using schoolbags or sweaters, soccer is a skillful and tactical game which can be rewarding to experts and inviting to newcomers.

Tetherball

• Originating in the United States, Tetherball is a popular playground game for which simplicity is the key to its success. A ball on a rope or tether is hung from a stationary metal pole, and two combatants must try to hit the ball back and forth until one player manages to wrap the ball tight around the pole. Deceptively simple, Tetherball is a real test of one's reactions and hand-eye co-ordination.

Basketball and Netball

• Basketball is one of the most popular games in the world, and luckily it is also one which has humble roots in many school playgrounds. Although the professionals are generally no shorter than six feet tall, basketball can be played by children of all heights and skill levels.

  Netball is a more accommodating and less physical derivative of basketball usually played by women. The rules are the same except that the players remain stationary when they are in possession of the ball. Similarly, other players cannot physically steal the ball except by intercepting it when it is in the air. Both games require teamwork, good communication between players and good reactions and insight.

Jump Rope

• Jump rope is another simple playground game which requires a surprising number of skills to be performed properly. Not only is this game good exercise for children, it also helps to develop motor skills and multi-tasking as some variants of jump rope involve reciting rhymes or poems while also focusing on jumping over the swinging rope. Bigger ropes allow more than one person to jump at a time, and different swinging techniques add to the difficulty.