Home >> Games & Cards >> Kids Games

Kids' Yard Games

When you're young, you can find fun in many different locations---in a classroom, on the beach and, to the dismay of many parents, near the train tracks. Most often, kids enjoy the sanctity of their own backyard when they play their games. With the right equipment, children can come up with games that occupy them for hours before the sun goes down in the evening.

Big Foot Relay
- If your kids are in the mood for a fun-filled, goofy game, try the Big Foot Relay on for size. To prepare for the game, you can grab some empty shoe boxes, and tape the lids and the bottoms together. Then, cut out a hole big enough for your kid's foot to fit inside but small enough to keep the box from falling off the kid's foot. When all of the kids have their own sets of shoe boxes on their feet, set up a small obstacle course that they can maneuver their way through. Have them start at a certain point and make their way through the course as they race against each other in their silly feet apparel. Whoever gets to the finish line first wins the game.
Wacky Croquet
- Regular croquet just doesn't cut it when you can add more fun with some simple lawn tools. Grab some lawn care stakes, as AmazingMoms.com suggests, and have the kids adorn each with an actionable word, such as "Hop," "Skip" or "Sing." You can then have the kids decorate each stake in any way they choose. Once the kids have decorated their stakes, you can arrange them around the yard with two stakes, "Start" and "Finish" the first and last in the course, respectively. You can then assemble the kids behind a line and have them each take turns trying to hit the stake closest to them with bouncy balls, volleyballs or tennis balls. The kids cannot go forward to the next stake until they hit the stake closest to them. When they hit a wacky stake, they must perform the command written on it. The kid who hits the Finish stake first with the ball wins the game.
The Stalker
- The Stalker, a game played by Cub Scouts, allows your kids to test their sense of hearing when other players stalk them for their possessions. Divide a group of kids so that half of the kids get blindfolded and the other half become stalkers. Put a rock between each blindfolded kids' feet without the rocks touching them, and scatter the stalkers around the blindfolded group. Once the entire blindfolded group has rocks between their feet, the stalkers can then begin to try and grab the blind kids' rocks without getting caught. If a blindfolded kid hears a sound and can point directly to a stalker, the two kids switch places. The game ends whenever the kids get tired.

Kids Games