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Games for School Recess

School recess is a time to get rid of pent-up energy. After recess, children are more likely to be able to sit and concentrate on their school work. Having organized games at recess curbs boredom, bullying and behavior problems and improves social skills. Recess games should be games that not only use up energy, but also encourage both fair competition and cooperation between students.

Captain's Calling
- "Captain's Calling" is based on "Simon Says." One child is the captain, and stands facing the other children, who are lined up. The captain gives a command, and the other children must pretend to follow orders, but only after the captain has said "Attention!" before the command. The commands are seafaring-based, such as "walk the plank," "scan the horizon," "mop the decks" and "dance a jig." If a child does a command before which the captain did not say "Attention!" he must sit out of the game. The last person standing is the winner.
Cooperative Tag
- Divide the children into two groups and give each member of the team special skills such as catching, picking up or throwing. Stand the teams about 50 feet from each other. The object of the game is to tag members of the other team out by touching them with a ball below the waist. Students can tag by throwing a ball or touching the other person with the ball. Each person can only do the movement he has been assigned, which forces the kids to talk to each other and work cooperatively.
Baby In the Air
- Assign a number to each child and gather all the players together into a circle, with one child holding a rubber ball. He says, "Baby in the air, number..." and then calls out a number, while throwing the ball into the air in the middle of the circle. The child assigned that number must run to the middle and catch the ball. All the other children run away. When the child catches the ball, he yells, "Stop!" and the other children must freeze. The child with the ball can take three steps toward one player and try to hit that player with the ball. If he hits the player, that player becomes the ball tosser. If he fails, then he tosses the ball again.
Four Square
- Use sidewalk chalk to make a square on the pavement about 10 feet square. Divide that into quarters. Put numbers one, two, three and four in each of these squares. One child stands in each square block, while the others wait in line outside the square. The player in square four serves the ball first. She bounces it in her square, then taps it into another player's square. That player must wait for it to bounce, then tap the ball into another person's square, and that person must tap it (after the bounce) into another player's square. Play continues in this manner until someone misses the ball, lets it bounce twice or bounces the ball out of the square.

Kids Games