Farmyard Games for Children

Animal Hunt

• Pretend that farm animals have escaped from their coops and you need the help of the children to find them. Print out images of different farm animals and hide them around the area where the game is being played. Inform children of the calamity, divide them into teams and provide each team with a paper bag. Send the teams off to find the animals and upon finding them, they should place them in their bags. After an allotted period of time, blow a whistle to signify the end of the game and have children reassemble together. Count the total number of animals each team has found and the team that found the most wins.

Pin the Tail on the Donkey

• This classic children's game is very befitting for a farm-themed game. Purchase a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game from a party supply store or print out an image of a donkey and hang it on a wall. Provide each child with a tail. One child at a time is blindfolded, spun in three circles and directed toward the picture of the donkey. Children place their tails onto the donkey and the child who places his tail closest to the right location wins.

Bailing Hay Relay

• The bailing hay relay has children compete to see which team can transport a pile of hay the quickest. Place a strip of masking tape on the ground to indicate the starting and ending of the race -- about 12 feet apart is ideal. Divide children into two teams and at the starting line, place a pile of hay for each team. On your mark, one player from each team grabs as much hay as she can, runs to the ending line and places the hay in a new pile. The game continues, with each player grabbing a pile of hay and running it to the new pile. The team who transports all of the hay to the ending line wins the game.

Name the Animal

• Have children try to identify different farm animals in a game of charades. Select one person to go first and that person must act out the motions of a farm animal. The first person to correctly guess the animal being acting out gets to go next and act out another farm animal. To make the game competitive, divide children into teams and award a point to the team who correctly guesses the animals.