Fun Outdoor Recess Games for Kindergarten Kids
For children to be happy and healthy, they must engage in physical play on a daily basis. Their play should be a combination of structured and unstructured activities, sometimes guided by a teacher and sometimes just supervised without interference. Physical activity and fresh air are a vital part of a child's school day, and if kids do not have outdoor recess, they may feel unsettled, rebellious and over-energetic. Kindergarten children are between 4 and 6 years old and enjoy being silly, being active and interacting with other children. Planning recess activities for children this age is easy if you keep these things in mind.
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Fitness Games
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Fitness games focus on keeping kids active and burning off their excess energy. Building fitness habits early in life is important because it is easier to stay active as we grow into adulthood if we have been exercising all our lives. Recess is a great time to get kids active and thinking about fitness. In the Heart Health game, the teacher states an activity and children respond by jumping or standing still, based on whether the activity is heart healthy or not. For instance, if the teacher says "eating a cheeseburger," children respond by staying still. If the activity is "going for a walk," children respond by jumping. Traditional recess games that are great for keeping kids active and fit include hopscotch, jumping rope or Pickle, which is a simplified variation of baseball.
Adventure Games
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Kindergartners love learning new things and having adventures, and recess is a great time for them to experience both. Scavenger hunts and treasure hunts require a bit of advanced planning but are a lot of fun for kids. A nature scavenger hunt allows children to explore their surroundings and learn about the natural world. A treasure hunt is similar to a scavenger hunt, but children dig for treasure instead of just spotting or gathering assigned items. Smuggling games, requiring children to divide into teams and transport an item from one area to another while competing against the other team, are a great way to get kids working together. The games also allow for imaginations to run wild. If you give kids a story to begin the game, they will create elaborate scenarios to keep the game going for a long period of time. These games are played outdoors when the temperature begins to rise and everyone wants to enjoy the spring sunshine.
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Mind Games
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A variety of games get kids thinking and moving, bringing many of the lessons learned in classroom outdoors. A traditional recess game that enables kids to use their minds and listening skills is Simon Says. Kids are given directions and have to keep track of whether the teacher stated "Simon says" before the direction. The direction should only be followed if this is the case. Builders and Bulldozers is a game that combines movement and math. Children knock down or pick up small traffic cones, keeping track of how many their team touches. At the end of the game, the team with the most builds or bulldozes wins. Eagle Eyes is a variation of hide and seek, requiring that some children hide in a relatively open space and the non-hiding children seek them out from a vantage point without moving.
Safety Games
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Safety lessons learned in the classroom can be reinforced during recess. Kids can practice activities such as fire safety and stop, drop and roll. Safety scenarios also can be created, giving children a chance to play-act situations. Tell children they have to rescue one of their peers or turn a jungle gym space into a hospital. Kindergartners will have no problem letting their imaginations run wild, once you have given them some general focus and direction.
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References
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