Hobbies And Interests
Red Light/Green Light
Find a good-sized open area outdoors. Designate one person as "it" and have him be the stoplight. Line up the other kids about 20 feet away from "it."
To begin the game, whoever is "it" will face away from the other kids and call out "Green light!" The other players will then move toward "it."
At some point, the "it" player will call out "Red light!" and quickly turn around. Any of the players caught moving must go back to the start line. The game continues until someone reaches and tags "it." That person then becomes "it." The "it" player wins if all the other players are eliminated before anyone is able to touch her.
H-O-R-S-E Basketball
This is a game for all ages. All you need is a basketball, a backboard and a hoop.
Line up the players. The first player picks a spot to shoot from, announces which shot he is going to attempt and then shoots the basketball. A hook shot, an underhanded shot and a standard jump shot are examples of types of shots a player may take.
A miss means the player goes to the end of the line. A made basket means the next player must make the same type of shot from the same spot. If the next player misses, he gets an "H," and it's the following player's turn. Whenever a player fails to make a shot that was made directly before his turn, she gets another letter until someone has spelled "H-O-R-S-E."
At that point, the player is out. The game continues until only one player is left. He or she is the winner.
Four Square
You can have your kids play this one in the driveway. Use chalk to draw a 10-foot square, then divide that into four even squares. Number the squares 1 through 4, going clockwise. Assign each player to a square.
The No. 1 player serves by bouncing the ball into any of the other three boxes. The player receiving the ball must hit it into another square. The ball can be hit in the air or after one bounce. Play continues until a player fails to return the ball. At that point, that player has to move to the No. 4 spot, and the other players advance.
The objective is to advance to the No. 1 spot and stay there as long as possible. The winner is whoever spends the most time in the No. 1 spot throughout the game.
Concentration
Shuffle a deck of cards and lay them out randomly. Have one of the children turn over two cards. If she finds a pair, she keeps them and takes another turn. If they are not a match, then they are turned face-down in their original positions and the next player goes. The game continues, with each player taking turns. The winner has the highest number of pairs.
I Spy
Have a child identify any object or person. He then recites characteristics of the object until someone guesses what it is. Whoever guesses the most objects correctly wins.