Exciting Games for Kids

Popcorn

• Popcorn is an unusual game for kids. For this game, you will need a parachute with a hole in the center of it. The parachute should have not strings. You will also need enough lightweight balls for each child to have one ball. Place a piece of tape on each ball. Have the children write their names on the tape. Spread out the parachute flat on the ground. The children should surround the parachute and place their balls on top of it. All together, the children pick up the parachute and pump it up and down. The balls will move in a "popcorn" motion, slowly falling through the hole in the middle. The child whose ball is the last one to fall from the parachute wins.

Ghost in the Graveyard

• You will need three or more children to play this game. Gather together the children and have them assemble at a home base. Once there, the kids will choose a ghost. The ghost stays at the home base while the other children run and hide. The ghost then counts, saying "One o' clock, two o'clock, three o'clock . . .," until he reaches 12 o'clock. At midnight, the ghost runs to find the other players who are hiding. The players all try to make it back to the home base before being found. If a player is found, she becomes the ghost in the graveyard.

Red Light, Green Light

• In this game, the children are trying to make it to the stoplight (the person who is yelling the commands). They start in a line at the end of a field or gym. The person who is playing the stoplight stands at the opposite end of the field and yells commands. When he says, "red light," they must stop completely. "Yellow light" means to go slowly, and "green light" means that the children should run. If a child is caught running when she shouldn't be, she is out. The stoplight wins if all of the children are out before touching him. If a child touches the stoplight, she is the stoplight for the next turn.