Games for 6 Year Old Children

Hide and Seek

• Hide and Seek is a good game for children of all ages. To play, one child is "It" and the rest run and hide. "It" hides his eyes at "Home" and counts to a pre-determined number, usually 100. He shouts "Ready or not, here I come," and tries to find the other children. When he finds one, he touches her shoulder and says "Found you." The hiding children watch for the opportunity to run "Home" and be safe. The round ends when all children are found or safe. The first child found becomes "It" for the next round.

Hot Potato

• The game Hot Potato can be played with several children and only requires a ball or beanbag. Have the children sit or stand in a circle. The children pass the ball or beanbag as quickly as possible. The child who drops the ball is out. The winner is the last person remaining.

Go Fish

• Go Fish can be played with a "Go Fish" deck of cards or with any other deck that includes pairs of cards. The object is to get the most pairs of cards. The first player asks another player if they have a specific card. If the other player does have the card, she must hand it to the child who asked for it. If she does not have the card, she says "Go Fish." The first player must then draw a card from the draw pile. The game ends when all cards have been matched.

Observation

• Observation is a good memory game for 6-year-olds. The game requires a number of different objects, a towel or sheet, paper and pencils. The objects are placed together on the floor or on a table and covered with the towel or sheet. Have the children gather around the covered objects so that everyone can see. Remove the towel and let the children study the objects for one or two minutes. Cover the objects back up and have the children write down all of the objects that they remember. The winner is the child who remembers the most objects.

Grid Game

• To play the Grid Game, you need a large piece of paper or old sheet at least 3 feet by 3 feet, a marker and a beanbag. Draw a grid five boxes across and five boxes down on the paper or sheet. Label the horizontal boxes with an adjective and the vertical boxes with a color. Lay the grid on the floor and have the child toss the beanbag onto the grid. Have the child find an item in the house that matches the two characteristics corresponding to the box the beanbag landed in.