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Children's Gym Games

Gym games keep kids active in an entertaining format. The kids often don't realize what they are doing is considered exercise. Games played in the gym often involve running and other physical activities that take a lot of room. The games work well as a break from the regular classroom routine, for birthday parties and with playgroups who have access to a gymnasium.

Parachute Play
- Parachutes offer an entertaining tool for gym play. This popular piece of gym equipment lends itself to a variety of games. Popcorn is a parachute game played with foam balls. Place the balls on the parachute. The kids shake the parachute to make the balls pop up like popcorn. The goal is to keep all of the balls on the parachute. Another option is to divide the students into teams, one on each half of the parachute. Each team has one ball on the parachute. Use different colored balls so they are easy to identify. The students shake and manipulate the parachute to try to get their own team's ball through the hole in the middle while preventing the other team's ball from going in.
Obstacle Course
- An obstacle course uses various objects set up in a loop around the gym. The kids navigate through the obstacle course as fast as possible. Common gym equipment works well as obstacles. Have the kids climb over a high jump mat, crawl under hurdles, weave through cones or jump in hula hoops. If you have access to an inflatable ball pit, set it up and make the kids crawl through it. You can also add challenges into the obstacle course that the kids have to complete before continuing. Ideas include doing 10 jumping jacks, shooting a basket or walking across a balance beam.
Hula Hoop Tag
- This game requires one fewer hula hoop than players. If you have 20 players, you'll need 19 hula hoops. Spread the hula hoops throughout the gym. Leave plenty of space between the hula hoops for more of a challenge. The one person without a hula hoop stands in the middle of the gym. She calls out "Switch." All of the players must run to a different hula hoop. They cannot go back to the same hula hoop that they were just in. The person in the middle who is "It" tries to get inside one of the hula hoops, leaving someone else without one. The person who ends up without a hula hoop is in the middle for the next round.
Scooter Races
- Gym scooters offer a different way to race in the gym. The plastic or wooden squares have four small wheels underneath. Students sit on the squares and propel themselves across the gym with their feet or arms. Line up the contestants for each race on a particular line on the gym floor. Tell the students how they must race on the scooter. Examples include kneeling on the scooter and using hands to move, only using feet, only using hands or going backward on the scooter. The first person to race to the opposite end and back to the starting line wins that round.

Kids Games