Outdoor Play Ideas

Country Road

  • Tell children to imagine walking down a winding country road together. Use a drum or tambourine to set a beat for children to follow.
  • Direct children to walk and swing their arms, march, take a deep breath of country air, stop and smell the roses, jump over a log, run to catch a butterfly, wave to neighbors, walk up and run down a hill, and so on. Change the beat as appropriate.
  • Children may enjoy leading the walk once they are accustomed to the game.

Red Light

  • Position one child as the Traffic Light. Mark a line 30–40 feet away, and have the other children stand at the line. These children are the Cars.
  • Traffic Light turns her or his back to the Cars and counts loudly to three. While Traffic Light counts, the Cars walk or run very quietly toward Traffic Light.
  • At “three,” Traffic Light turns around and shouts, “Red light!” All Cars must stand completely still. If Traffic Light sees a Car move, that Car must go back to the starting line.
  • Continue until a Car gets close enough to tag Traffic Light. That Car becomes the next Traffic Light.

Train Ride

  • This game is a form of tag. One player is the engine. Other players scatter.
  • The engine tries to tag other players. A tagged child joins hands with the engine to form a train.
  • As more children are tagged, the train gets longer. The train can “catch” other players by circling around them.
  • The last untagged player is the winner. That person then becomes the engine.