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Outside Kid Games

Children love to play outside, especially when it is warm. Some of the outside games have been around for many years and kids can make up other games on the spot and all the kids can have a say in how to play them. Some of the classic outside games are Hide and Seek, Tag, Duck-Duck-Goose, and Red Light-Green Light.

Hide and Seek
- Hide and Seek is an all-time classic outdoor kids game. The children can come up with a way to choose who will be the seeker first. The remaining children will run to find a hiding spot nearby. The seeker begins counting to 10 or whichever number the kids decide on. When finished counting, the seeker leaves the designated "base" to find the hiding kids. If the kids can reach base before the seeker finds them, they win. If the seeker finds them before they reach base, the seeker wins. There can be more than one seeker when playing with a bunch of kids.
Tag
- Tag involves a great deal of running and moving. The kids will decide who will be "it" to begin the game and then everyone else runs away. The kid who is "it" will begin to chase the other kids in an attempt to touch or "tag" another kid. If another kid is tagged, he will now become "it."
Duck-Duck-Goose
- Duck-Duck-Goose is a good game to play with elementary school children because of the size and simplicity of the game. Have the kids sit in a circle. Choose one kid to start walking around the outside of the circle. As the kid is walking around the circle, she lightly taps each sitting child on the head and says "duck." When she decides, she will say "goose" when she touches someone's head. The "goosed" kid will now have to stand up and chase the kid who touched his head around the circle. If the goose kid catches the kid he is chasing, he gets to walk around and choose who will be ducks and who the goose is.
Red Light, Green Light
- Red Light-Green Light involves having all the children line up in a long line. A moderator, usually a teacher or grown-up, will stand at the finish line on the opposite side. Once the kids are ready, the moderator says "green light". At this point, all of the kids race toward the finish line. The moderator then will say "red light." When she says "red light," the kids must stop right where they are. If they move at all, they must go back to the starting line. The object is to run as fast as you can while the "green light" is on. The first to make it to the finish line wins.

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