Fun Games to Play With Young Children

Duck, Duck, Goose

• Have the children sit in a circle and pick one to be the tagger. The tagger walks around the circle touching each child one at a time on the shoulder while saying "duck." The tagger will then choose a child and shout "goose" as he touches her. The tagger needs to run as fast as he can around the circle while being chased by the goose. If the tagger reaches the space left by the goose and sits down before he is caught, he is safe and the goose becomes the new tagger. If the goose catches the tagger, the tagger has to sit in the middle of the circle and stay there until someone else is caught. The new tagger caught has to take the place in the middle, and and the child already there goes to his old spot.

Red Light, Green Light

• Have children stand in a straight line side-by-side. Pick a player to be the "traffic light." This person stands in front of the line of children at a good distance away from them. The traffic light starts by facing the line of players. At the start of the game, the light is considered to be red, and the players have to remain still without moving. The traffic light turns her back and yells "green light!" The children all move toward the traffic light; after a few moments, the traffic light yells "red light" and turns around facing the players. Anyone caught moving after the light turns red has to go back to the beginning. The first child to touch the traffic light---or to cross a predetermined line---becomes the new traffic light.

Simon Says

• Line children up side by side to start the game. Have a grownup or older child be the leader, or "Simon." Simon stands facing the line leaving enough room between him and the players. The leader then gives commands for the children to move a few steps ahead or to perform a specific action (jump up and down; clap hands, etc.). If the leader says "Simon says," then the children must perform the command. If the leader does not say anything before the requested action, any child caught performing that action is eliminated. The last child left is the winner.

Musical Chairs

• Set chairs up in two rows back to back, leaving out one chair less than the number of children who are playing. Play music while the kids walk around the chairs. When you stop the music, the players have to find a chair to sit on. The player left without a chair is eliminated. Remove one more chair and continue to play, starting and stopping the music. Each time, remove an additional chair; continue doing this until there is only one child left, who is declared the winner.