Games for Active Children

Egg and Spoon Race

• Set up an egg and spoon race for children to compete in. Arrange a few courses, depending on how many teams or individuals will be racing. The course can consist of items like lawn chairs that the kids can maneuver around. Have each team or child stand in a line behind their course. When you say "Go," kids will have to make their way around the course while carrying a spoon with an egg on it in their mouth. Once one team member completes the course, the next member can go. If a child drops the egg, he has to start the course over again. You can reward the winning team in the end.

Red Light, Green Light

• Red light, green light is a classic school yard game. Designate one end of a yard as the starting line and the other end as the finishing line. Have one child stand at the finish line with her eyes closed, while the others remain at the start. When the child with her eyes closed says "green light," the other children begin to run toward the finish line. As soon as the child says "red light," and opens her eyes, the other children must stop running and freeze in place. If anyone is caught still moving, that person must return to the starting line. The end goal is to reach the finish line first, without getting caught moving.

Tag

• A simple game of tag can be a great game for active children. Simply designate one child as the tagger and have him chase the others. Once the tagger touches another player, they switch places and the game continues. You can also create variations on the traditional game of tag, such as triangle tag. Team children up into groups of four, and have three of them link hands. Designate one of the linked three as the one to be tagged. The fourth person, outside of the triangle, will try to tag the designated person. The group will have to work together, moving in unison, in order to protect their team member from the tagger. If the tagger is successful, the tagger switches places with the person that he tagged.

Capture the Flag

• Capture the flag is a team game that calls on a child's fitness and intellect. Separate children into two teams, and give them each an area, such as the front and back yard. Each team will have around five minutes to hide their flag in their area. Both teams call out when they are done hiding the flags, and then go out to try and capture the other team's flag. While in the other team's territory, if they are tapped by a member of the other team they must go to a "jail" area. They can only be freed from the jail if they are released by one of their own team members while the other team isn't looking. Kids can really get involved in this game, developing strategies and roles for each member of the team if they choose to. If a child captures the flag, and brings it back to her own side without getting tagged, her team wins.