Hobbies And Interests
Pumpkin Games
Pumpkins can replace balls in traditional games, adding fall flair to old favorites. Set up an obstacle course in your yard or home--make sure children have plenty of things to climb under and over. Children take turns rolling a pumpkin through the obstacle course until they reach the end. Pumpkins might break, so make sure you purchase plenty of replacement ones. Gather any seeds from smashed pumpkins and let kids try to throw them into baskets set at various distances throughout the yard. Assign points to each basket (higher points for ones further from where the child is standing) and award a prize to the child with the highest score.
Set up bowling pins (fill up empty plastic bottles with a bit of water and sand) and let children use a small pumpkin to knock them down.
Games With Turkeys
Incorporate turkeys into Thanksgiving and harvest celebrations with these fall-themed games. Start the festivities with a game of "Pin the Tail Feathers on the Turkey." Pin up a giant poster of a turkey missing his tail feathers. Give each child a feather cut out of construction paper. Blindfold the child, spin her around and let her try to put the feathers in the correct place.
Go on a turkey hunt. Draw pictures or put a sticker of a turkey on index cards--a dozen or so works well depending on the number of children involved. Appoint one child "leader" and instruct him to hide the cards throughout the house or yard while the remaining children go to another room. When they return, they can hunt for the turkey cards. When a "turkey" is found, the child brings it to the leader, who places it in various piles--one for each hunter. At the end of the game, the child with the most cards becomes the leader who hides the cards in the next round.
Harvest Games
Celebrate the fall harvest with relay races designed to help kids burn off excess energy. If playing outside, try a popcorn relay. Organize children into teams and place one full tub of popcorn at the starting line and an empty bowl about 10 feet away. Teams must take turns using a measuring cup to move popcorn to the empty tub. The first team to empty its tub wins the game.
Race to see which team can fill up their cornucopia first. Place several baskets of (real or artificial) fruits and vegetables, such as apples, mini-pumpkins, squash and gourds, in the middle of the playing area. Place an empty "cornucopia" basket in front of each team's starting line. Team members take turns racing to the full basket, grabbing an item and returning to the starting line, where they place their item in their cornucopia basket. Play for a predetermined period of time and then declare the team with the most fruits and veggies the winner of the game.