planning some games

@tessl87 (126)
Singapore
August 4, 2009 1:30pm CST
I am trying to plan some outdoor games for a group of children from ages 4-12. Looking for some suggestions of games which you enjoyed during one of your camps.. Best if there is some moral behind it=D thanks cause i really need alot so any suggestion would be welcomed.
3 responses
@patgalca (18181)
• Orangeville, Ontario
4 Aug 09
My daughter has been organizing my younger daughter's birthday parties the last couple of years. I am birthday partied out and just can't stand having a bunch of kids in the house. Thankfully we were able to keep them outside. They had a blast this year with games we learned from The Ellen Degeneres Show. We played blindfold musical chairs. We made whipped cream pies with candies buried in the bottom. The first one to eat all their candies (5) won. I didn't count on the pie fight afterwards but it was all in good fun. My daughter hung a white sugar donut from a string and hung it over the top deck and the kids had to try and eat that with their hands behind their back. And the other game was a game my kids have been playing at home. My husband and I used to be on the Slimfast diet and saved all the cans. You can use coffee tins. We put strips of paper in each tin, each with a prize written on it (you can do something else like write in a dare they have to perform or even a question they have to answer). They tossed poker chips until one landed in a tin and they got whatever was in the tin. One other year my daughter had them play an Amazing Race scavenger hunt type of game. TV reality shows have some great game ideas, just make sure they are safe. Without using actual board games it is hard to come up with games that have morals, especially with large groups of kids.
@patgalca (18181)
• Orangeville, Ontario
5 Aug 09
Any yard games like soccer, softball or bean bag toss and horseshoes (a child safe variety), same with lawn darts. There really are tons if you do a search online I'm sure you can find some.
@tessl87 (126)
• Singapore
5 Aug 09
Think i wasn't clear.. Actually i was looking for games which encourages sharing, teamwork or.. so that it is suitable for a school activity which will run every week. But some of your games sound fun and with some changes to the rule, it can actually fit the purpose. Thanks for your nice suggestions.
• United States
4 Aug 09
I always enjoyed capture the flag. I think you might only be able to play that with the older kids though. And there isn't much of a moral behind it. We also used to play a game with sprinklers. We would set up several sprinklers in a line and you would have to time it so you wouldn't get wet. Whoever got the farthest won. Neither really have a lesson, but you could probably think of one. Hope that helps.
@tessl87 (126)
• Singapore
5 Aug 09
It is quite difficult to get a sprinkler since its on tight budget. But i would love to know how is capture the flag played?
• United States
5 Aug 09
There are several variations so you can change it to how you like it. What we would do is pick two sides of a field or area with boundries. Its best if there are trees or a building with hiding spaces around. Kids would be split into two teams. Each team has 15 minutes to decide where to hide their flag. The flag must be visible, but it doesn't have to be completely in the open. You then set a neutral area and the two team areas. Inside the neutral area noone can be taged. If a team member passes into another teams area, then they can be taged. You can use some sort of cloth to make it like flag football if you think the kids will argue. If someone is caught in "enemy" territory, then they are brought to jail for 5 minutes or some time. They can also be released by a "jailbreak" where another team member goes to the enemy jail to free their teammates. A jailbreak occurs by touching your teammate; however, the person breaking them out must yell "jailbreak" or they cannot leave the jail. This alerts everyone that it is going on. The first team to find the enemy flag and bring it to their own flag in its original place wins. If someone is carrying an enemy flag, he can be tagged at any time by a enemy player and the flag is returned to its original spot. If in enemy territory, he goes to jail. If in neutral or home territory, he just loses the flag. Flags must be visible at all times (they cant stuff it in their pocket to hide it). The game is a lot of fun and there can be a lot of strategy involved. The more space there is the more fun it is. You don't want an area where everyone can see everyone, because there needs to be some sneaking around. We played on a large field with a building on one side and trees on the other. It was like an open forest. One team could hide their flag around the building, and the other team could hide theirs within the trees. Its a lot of fun. You can add a rule that noone can be within 30 feet of their own flag for more than a minute if flag guarding becomes a problem. Hopefully you can get a good enough field where they can hide the flag and leave it alone. You can also leave it open as to whether you let them rehide the flag if someone is caught after capturing it. This adds more time to the game so it is up to you. I hope that was a good description of how to play. It isn't as complicated as it sounds, and it can be very fun. Girls and boys can be very useful, and the teams can split up how they want to play offense and defense. Its interesting to watch what plans teams come up with. We used to send out groups of two to search for the flag so if someone on defense came one could lure the defender toward neutral while the other ran deeper into enemy territory. Let me know if you have any questions.
• United States
8 Aug 09
Hmm if willing there is the multiple legged racexD.Of course someone might get hurt but basiclly you pair some up by tying their legs together(only one each). and you jump to the nearest thing. It can be fun but be careful