Fun Games to Play Outside or in a Gym With Afterschool Age Kids

Kickball

• This perennial favorite is great for any size group and requires only a ball and four items to use as bases for equipment. Set up your playing field and choose teams. There are several ways to make choosing teams less traumatic. Have the first person chosen choose the next and so on to keep one child from having all of the power on a team. Make the two children likely picked last captains and allow them to choose, or have each captain pick players for the opposing team.

  Game play follows basic baseball rules with one major exception. The pitch is actually a bowl toward home plate with a rubber playground ball, which the ̶0;batter̶1; kicks. Use a Nerf soccer ball or other foam ball for younger players. Establish a maximum run rule for each inning in addition to the traditional three outs to prevent runaway scores. Limit long balls to three bases. Don't eliminate competition, just slow it down a bit. If it gets too lopsided, have the teams switch scores midway. Remember the main goals are fun and exercise.

Sharks and Minnows

• Choose two or three volunteers to be sharks, depending on the size of the group. Establish a "playing field" with boundaries on each side and safe zones at each end. Have the sharks stand in the center of the field. Have the remaining players, "minnows," stand at one end of the field. The goal for the minnows is to reach the opposite safe zone without getting tagged. The goal for the sharks is to tag as many minnows as they can.

  Minnows repeat the trip back across the field as many times as they can until they are tagged. When a minnow is tagged, they join the sharks. The challenge to avoid the growing pool of sharks becomes harder and harder as the game progresses. Have the last two minnows tagged start the shark pool for the next round. Minnows may not run outside the boundaries. A minnow out of bounds becomes a shark. Establish a penalty for unsportsmanlike tagging and enforce it calmly and fairly.

Freeze Tag

• Start with one or two taggers. Establish boundaries and a base for players to take breathers, such as a tree or park bench. Players on base cannot be tagged. Once tagged, a player must freeze until he or she is tagged back in by another unfrozen player. Change taggers when all players are frozen at once or at an agreed upon time limit. Variations include singing one verse of a song to unfreeze fellow players, or reciting a poem, etc.