Hobbies And Interests
Pickle in the Middle
Divide a group of children into two teams. Choose one child on each team to be "it." Place two bases, which can be carpet squares, rugs or pieces of poster-board, approximately 20 feet apart. Each team stands by its own base and the children selected to be "it" stand on their bases. The teams start tossing a playground ball back and forth. The children on the bases try to run to the opposite base without being tagged by the ball. The players that are "it" can also try to catch the ball as it goes over their heads. If they succeed, then the person who threw the ball becomes the pickle in the middle.
Desert Island
Desert Island is a version of musical chairs. Place pieces of paper, rugs or carpet squares on the ground to represent the "islands." Use one less island than the number of children that are playing. Start the music and have everyone walk around the outer perimeter. When the music stops, everyone must race to stand on an island. The player that does not have a place to stand is out. Remove one island before starting the music again. Continue the game until there is one "island" and two children competing for a spot.
Capture the Flag
Split a group of children into two teams and give each team a distinct flag, such as a different colored bandanna. Send the teams out to hide their flags somewhere in the playing area. Set a timer for five minutes and call out "time's up" when the minutes have passed. While the teams are hiding their flags, they can send out spies to try to discover where the other team is hiding its flag, as well as lookouts to watch for anyone spying on them. Once they've hidden their flags, the teams return to the starting place and then go off at the same time to look for the other team's flag. Teams should be defending their own flag as well as looking for the other team's flag.
Red Light, Green Light
Designate one player as the "stop light" and have the rest of the players stand approximately 15 feet away from him. The "stop light" player turns his back to the rest of the children and shouts out "green light." This is the cue for everyone to start moving toward him. Whenever the "stop light" chooses, he can can turn around and shout, "red light." If he sees any player move after he gives the order to stop, that player is out. The first player to touch the "stop light" takes over that position.