Board Games
Many classic board games are popular with kindergarten-age children. Candy Land, introduced over 50 years ago, is a suitable choice for a child's first board game since it requires no reading skills. Players move their gingerbread men to the colored spaces matching the colors on the cards they draw. Whoever makes it to the candy castle first wins the game. Chutes and Ladders is another board game that's good for kindergartners. Children use a spinner to determine how many spaces they can move their game pieces. Along the way, players encounter chutes and ladders that will either allow them to advance or force them to go back. The first person to make it to the 100 space wins the game.
Outdoor Games
Outdoor games are a big hit with most little kids. Tag, a classic chasing game, has many variations. One twist is to have the children chase the player chosen as "it" instead of the traditional way of "it" chasing the other players. Games such as Red Light, Green Light and Mother, May I? are other classic outdoor children's games. Games played with a ball, such as Kickball and Four Square, are fun but also improve hand/eye coordination and fitness. Relay races bring out the competitive spirit in children and promote team work.
Educational Games
Around the World is a game that works well in a classroom to practice basic skills. Two students sitting next to each other stand up. The teacher shows a flash card of a number, math fact, alphabet letter or phonics blend. The first student to shout the answer wins the round. He moves to the next person and play begins again. He continues his journey "around the world," until another student beats him to the right answer. He then takes the seat of that student while she begins her journey "around the world." Play continues until time is up or one person makes it all the way around the room. Other games, such as I Spy, can also take on learning twists by adding variations with the alphabet, numbers or colors.
Indoor Games
Four Corners is an indoor game for a large group of children in a classroom setting. Each corner of the room gets a number assigned to it. One child puts his head down, closes his eyes and counts to 10, while the other students quietly walk to a corner of their choice. At the count of 10, the child calls out one of the corner numbers and anyone standing in that corner must sit down. Play continues until there is only one child left standing. Other traditional indoor games for kindergarten-age children are Hide and Seek and Charades.