Games for Elementary School Fall Carnivals

Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe

• Gather 20 pumpkins, 10 of which you have spray painted black the night before the carnival to allow time to dry. Use ropes to make a tic-tac-toe grid on the ground. Mark a standing line about 5 feet away from the board. Two players can play tic-tac-toe at a time. Give one player black pumpkins and the other player orange pumpkins as markers. The players must toss the pumpkins onto the grid to try to get a tic-tac-toe. The first player to get a tic-tac-toe wins the game.

Spider Web Toss

• Make a large spider web using black rope and hang it up from the ceiling using clothespins. Be sure there is room behind the spider web because players will try to toss plush bugs through the web. Place two containers behind the spider web and mark a line about 10 feet away from the web. Give each student three plush bugs to try to toss through the spider web. Award prizes to each student who makes two of the three bugs through the web and into the containers.

Candy Corn Toss

• Paint a plywood board with fall-themed items, such as autumn leaves, pumpkins and gourds. Staple or nail six small baskets to the board in random order. Lean the board against a wall and mark a line about 7 feet from the board. Give each child 10 pieces of candy corn to try to toss in the baskets. In order to win a large prize, the student must make one candy corn in each basket. Award a small prize to each student who makes at least one piece of candy corn in a basket.

Floating Leaves

• Take several large, artificial autumn leaves and mark a small silver dot on the bottom of a few of the leaves. Float the leaves face up in a tub of water. Have each student select a fall leaf from the tub. Each student who selects a leaf with a silver dot wins a prize.

Gourd Toss

• Scatter several gourds on the ground and mark a line about 6 feet from the gourds. Use embroidery rings from your local craft store or make your own rings using rope and duct tape. Students must toss the rings onto the gourds. If they ring a gourd in three rings, they win a prize.