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Traditional School Games

Traditional school games have been enjoyed by children in schoolyards throughout history. Often, these games do not require additional equipment, have simple rules and can be played by large or small numbers of children. Whether seeking time during recess or physical education class, these games are a fun way to get active at school.

Tag
- One student is chosen to be "It." This player then runs after the other players, trying to touch them. If the "It" player tags someone, that person then becomes "It" and chases after other children. This game can be adapted for younger children who cannot continuously run by having safe "bases" such as a tree or flag pole, where the child cannot be tagged if he is touching the "base." As soon as her hand leaves "base," though, the child can be tagged and become the next person who is "It."
Hide and Seek
- Hide and seek is a variation of tag, where the "It" player closes her eyes while the other players hide. Those players then try to run to touch "home" without being caught by the person who is "It." If all of the players safely reach "home" without being tagged, the person who was "It" must remain so for another round.
Hopscotch
- This is a hopscotch grid.
  
  Hopscotch is a game which requires a piece of chalk and a small pebble. Create your hopscotch field of 1-foot-square boxes by drawing them on the ground with chalk. Draw three boxes in a row and number them 1, 2 and 3. Above that put a pair of boxes side by side marked 4 and 5. Draw a single box above it for 6, two boxes side-by-side above that for 7 and 8 and finally two boxes in a row for 9 and 10. Stand with your toes against the bottom of the first box and toss a pebble onto the boxes. The box the pebble landed in, you cannot step into. Hop into single boxes 1,2, 3, 6, 9 and 10 with one foot and use both feet in box pairs 4 and 5 and 7 and 8. If the pebble landed in box 4, you must hop into box five on one foot and not touch box four. When you reach box 10, turn around on one foot and hop back. Bend down in the box before the pebble to pick it up but do not step outside of the hopscotch boxes or hop into the box with the pebble or you will be out. The person who can hop all the way forward and all the way back in the boxes without falling wins.
Jump Rope
- Rope jumping can be done by one or many children.
  
  Individuals jump rope and count the number of times they jumped without stopping or chant a rope jumping rhyme. A variation of this is for multiple jumpers. Two children hold the ends of a jump rope with enough distance between them for the rope to sag to the ground. These children turn the rope and a third child runs into the turning rope and starts jumping while chanting a jumping song. If the child causes the rope to stop, he must exit. The rope is restarted and the next child runs into the jumping rope. Occasionally, a second rope is turned in the opposite direction at the same time as the first rope so the left hand of the rope turners moves clockwise and the right moves counterclockwise. Children run into this pair of ropes and attempts to jump between them in a game called Double Dutch.

Kids Games