Presented by:
Beth Soles
Raleigh Parks and Recreation
Youth Programs Manager
And
Polly Allegra
Wayne County 4-H
Afterschool Assistant Program Director
Introduction- This is an Active Games workshop (Are you in the right place?), Who we are,
restrooms, cell phones, name tags and sign in sheet
Planning for your group
 Safety
1. Make sure you’ve played or at least seen the game your introducing to your children
2. Examine play area
3. Do not encourage rough play
4. Encourage there’s no “I” in TEAM
5. First Aid- use fanny packs
 Age and Abilities1.
Always know ages and abilities of children
2.
Select games that all age groups can play
 Ordering your Activities1.
Visualize as a Wave (Icebreaker, team buildings, relays, active games, then move to
quiet, passive game)
 Leading Your Group
1. Enthusiasm is contagious! Have fun and SMILE!!
2. Get groups attention before you speak
3. Assemble group in formation required
4. Clear, concise directions
5. Demonstrate
6. “Dry Run”
7. Encourage children to participant (But don’t force them)
8. Remember most important, Play Safe, have fun!
Blindfold Tag
Grade 3rd and higher
Equipment- Blindfolds and squeaky toy
Pair up participants and have one team member put on the blindfold. The other team member
guides his blinded team away from the squeaky toy/”it team”. Only one team is “it” and one of
the “it” team is blinded and the other has the squeaky toy guiding his member to another team
to try to get them to be it.
The rest of the other teams are trying to get away from the “it” team and the squeaky toy.
Chief
All Ages and Abilities
All players sit in a circle but one. The player not in the circle hides their eyes or turns around
so he does not see or hear what is going on. Then one player in the circle is picked as the
“chief”. Everyone knows who the “chief” is except the player with their eyes closed. The
“chief” starts an action (snapping, clapping, etc.) and everyone must copy it. When the person
with their eyes closed opens them he walks into the middle of the circle. He then has three
guesses to decide who the “chief” is. The “chief” must vary their actions occasionally. Leaders
may need to remind the “chief” of this.
Scrabble Scramble
Ages 7-13
Equipment- 31 sheets of paper for each team and markers
Make 2 sets of alphabet cards. Print one large letter on each sheet. Give each
team 2 sheets of A, E, I, O, U. Divide the group into 2 teams. Teams line up at one end of the
room and the 2 lettered stacks are placed on the opposite end about 10 yards away. The
leader calls out a category like sports, TV, fast food, etc. The teams huddle together to agree
on a word to spell that relates to the category. For example, if the category is “tree”, one team
might spell “maple” and the other “elm”. Teams run to the alphabet stack and scramble to find
the necessary letters. Team members grab letters and run back, arranging themselves in the
proper order. The 1st team to spell a word receives a point for each letter. The team with the
most points after a predetermined number of rounds is the winners!
Dodge Ball
(Star Wars or Jedi)
All ages
Equipment- 2 Hula Hoops and Gator Balls
This game is played like traditional dodge ball with a few modifications. One person on each
team is the “Jedi”. Place a hula hoop in the back of the gym floor on each side. This is the
Jedi’s Safety Zone. The “Jedi” cannot get out when he is standing inside this safe zone.
When participants are hit by a ball, instead of sitting on the sidelines they sit down right where
they were hit and cannot move. The “Jedi” has the ability to get his team members back into
the game by tagging them. If the “Jedi” is hit by a ball when he is outside his safety zone he
becomes a regular player. That team no longer has a “Jedi” (therefore no one can come back
into the game on that team). The object of the game is to get all the members on the opposite
team out.
Krazy Kickball
10 to 12 per team
Equipment- Kickball and four bases
Divide the group into two teams. The object is for the kicker on one team to kick the ball and
run around the bases as many times as possible before the team in the field stops the kicker.
The ball can be kicked in any direction within bounds. The fielders are scattered throughout
the playing area until the ball is kicked. After the kick, they quickly form a line behind the
person who retrieved the ball and pass it over and under to the last person in line, who then
yells, “STOP!” The fielding team attempts to pass the ball to this last person as fast as
possible in order to stop the kicker from moving around the bases. One point is scored for
each base touched by the kicker. After everyone has kicked on one team, all the points are
added together, and the team change sides. Repeat the process with the new kicking team.
Best Of
All Ages
This game works best with a large group of participants. Divide participants into at least three
even groups. The counselor will call out a topic such as tallest. Each group has a certain
amount of time (decided by the counselor) to decide who in their group is the tallest player.
When the counselor calls time up the group must send someone up front to the counselor to
represent their group. The counselor then decides who of the representatives is the tallest and
that group earns a point. The object is to gain the most points. Counselors can come up with
many categories such as biggest/best smile, smallest nose, biggest foot, best laugh, best wink,
longest hair, etc.
On Your Mark
All Ages
Equipment- Coin, color marker, ball, etc.
Have participants sit in two evenly divided lines facing one another. Ask team members to
hold hands and close their eyes (or turn their hands opposite end of coin toss), except for one
person at the start of each line. Place the colored marker (whatever else you have) upright at
the end of each line. If the coin is tossed heads up, play can begin.
The first player in each line immediately squeezes the hand of the player next to them. The
player at the end of the line whose hand is squeezed first grabs the marker, signifying a win for
the round, and moves up to the start of the line to begin another round. Replace the object for
the next round. If a player accidently starts the hand squeeze when the coin toss is tails, the
opposing team advances one player to the head of the line. The goal is to rotate all players
through the line and return the first player to the start of the line.
The Club Game
All Ages
All participants but one sits down in a circle. The person not in the circle is the “club chair”; this
person is “developing a club” and stands in the center of the circle. They will pick one thing that
they have in common with some of the people in the circle, such as wearing red. The “club
chair” does not tell anyone but a counselor what the club is about. The rest of the group will try
to guess what the club is about.
The “club chair” then picks someone in the circle with their hand raised who asks “May I Be in
Your Club Please?” They must ask this question in this polite form. The club chair then looks at
the person and if they fit the description (in this case wearing red) he says, “Yes you may be in
the club.” If a player is picked to be in the club he then joins the “club chair” in the middle of the
circle. If he is not picked to be in club he remains sitting in the circle. If the player who asks
does not ask in the correct form, that is saying may and please, the club chair responds, “I am
sorry you may not, you did not ask correctly.”
When a player thinks they have figured out what it is that links the players in the club together
they raise their hand. When the “club chair” picks them they ask, “I have figured out the club.
May I please guess?” The “club chair” must respond, “Yes you may.” If the player guesses
correctly then he is the new club chair. If he guesses incorrectly he is out of the game and may
watch but may no longer ask questions or make guesses.
For younger participants it is best that the “club chair” pick something that the other
participants can see easily such as, wearing blue shoes, brown hair, blue eyes, and shorts.
Older participants can do something less noticeable such as a necklace, ring or school that
some people in the group attend etc.
Have You Ever?
All Ages
Have the group stand in a circle with spot markers. One participant stands in the middle of the
circle and asks a, “Have you ever…?” phrase (example: Have you ever been horseback
riding?). Every participant who has been horseback riding has to find another place in the
circle and it cannot be the place next to their spot. The participant in the middle has to find a
spot in the circle. Whoever has not found a spot is the next participant in the center. The object
is to see who can be in the center the least amount.
100
Grade 2nd and Up
A piece of paper for each participant, pen, a pair of dice
Have youth sit in a circle or around a table and give each a piece of paper. Place the pen in
the middle. A youth starts the game by rolling the dice and then the next player rolls the dice
(continue around the circle rolling the dice.) If a player rolls double (the same number on both
dice) they pick up the pen and start writing to 100. The other players continue to roll the dice
until someone else rolls a double. When they do they take the pen from the other player and
they start writing to 100. The first person to write to 100 wins!
Blob
All Ages
Begin by numbering the four corners of the room (1-4). Pick one player who will be the “blob”
and have them stand in the middle of the room. Split the remaining players by placing them in
one of the four corners of the room. The blob will then say a command such as “everyone
wearing green go to corner 2”. As those who fit the criteria try to get to the corner, they must
not get tagged by the blob. If they do, they must join the blob in the middle and holds hands to
form a bigger blob. As the blob gets bigger, only the players on the outside of blob are allowed
to tag. If someone gets tagged and the blob is not complete (everyone holding hands), then
that player is safe. Players can only get out if all blob members are holding hands. The last
player standing wins.
Hog Call
Grade 3rd and higher
Equipment- Blindfolds
Find a large open area, like a gym or field. Have the students get into pairs. Ask each pair to
create two words that go together, like salt and pepper, or fire and hydrant. Ask students to
share their words out loud to make sure no two pairs are alike. Tell students that they will be
split up and that they must all find their partners without using their sense of sight. They can
only call the “name” of their partner. Split the pairs up so that one person from each pair is
lined up on one side of the large space and the other person from each pair is lined up on the
other side. Explain that everyone will have closed eyes or be wearing an eye covering, and
that your job is to make sure no one runs into a wall. On a signal they start calling their
partners name. Continue until all partners are reunited.
Sock Wars
Grades 2-6
Equipment- Black and White Socks and Beach Balls
This is a wild and goofy game but it is great fun. Divide group into 2 equal teams. Give each
team socks (one team is White and the other is Black). Put each team on each side with their
socks rolled up, like baseballs. On the signal, the children throw the socks over the divider line
as fast as they can. This round only lasts 45 seconds, so they must throw fast. While they are
throwing, toss in 2 beach balls and tell them they are worth double points. Give them a 10
second warning and say “stop”. Count the socks on each side. The team with the least
number of socks and beach balls- wins! Second round is 1 minute, their round is 90 seconds.
The object is to have as few socks as possible and no beach balls on your side.
Fire on the Mountain
All Ages
Have the group lay flat on their backs. When you say “Fire on the Mountain” the group is to
stand up as fast as possible. The last one up has to sit out until the end or do 10 jumping
jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. When the group is on their backs they are to lie perfectly still. If
you say something other than mountain (Mickey Mouse, Montana, Mazda, etc) and they flinch
or begin to get up then they sit out or do the task assigned.
Ball Around the World
All Ages
Equipment- Gator Balls
Have the participants lie on their backs in a circle. The group must pass a gator ball around
the circle using only feet. The ball cannot touch the ground. Have the group strategize the
best way to accomplish this goal.
Variations: Set a time goal and see how many times they pass the ball around in a set time.
Split large groups into two or more teams.
Field Trip
All Ages
The counselor starts out saying to the group: “We’re going on a field trip, and I’m taking
(something that starts with the first letter of your first name, and the first letter of your last
name)”. Example: Let’s say that my name is Bob Nemo, so I would say “My name is Bob
Nemo. We’re going on a field trip, and I’m taking a Ball and Napkins”. You then want to say to
someone, “what are you bringing?” Some players will catch on quickly, but some may need
the counselor to give them other examples. Emphasizing your first and last name and what
you are bringing can help. The counselor can also switch the title. Instead of a field trip, you
are going to a birthday party, picnic or on a cruise. The counselor can also change the “trick” to
an item of a specific color (all red objects), shape (all round), or beginning with the same letter
(all start with M).
Guess Who
7 Years and Up
It is like the board game “Guess Who.” The counselor divides the group into two teams
standing or sitting in rows. One player from each team is picked to guess who the judge has in
mind from the other team (the judges must write the name down as proof). The pickers switch
off asking yes or no questions (i.e. does he wear glasses). Anyone who doesn’t fit the answer
must sit down until the picker guesses who the judge has picked. That team gets a point and
two new players are picked to do it all over again.
Group Juggling
All Ages
Divide class into small groups (6-10 people per group). Slowly start with one object and throw
it around the circle in a specific pattern. (If Billy throws to Ted and Ted throws to Cindy, then
Ted needs to remember that he will always get the object from Billy and throw the object to
Cindy). Repeat pattern until well established then add another object. See how many objects
the group can keep moving successfully simultaneously.
Question Challenge
All Ages
Participants stand in a circle. Participant asks the person to their left a question and that
person asks the person to their left another question. For example, Bob ask Sam, “why do you
wear glasses?” Sam then asks Mary, “why is the sky blue?”. This goes on and on around the
circle. If someone pauses or doesn’t ask a different question then they are out. Continue
around until there are only two people left and they have a question off.
Variation: You can play the next round by giving participants the option to ask the person to
their right or left a question. Same rules apply otherwise; it just keeps them on their toes
because they never know if they are going to get the question. In this version you can ask
another question right back to the person that just asked you.
Turn Stile
All Ages
Two people turn a large rope as if for jump roping. Each participant attempts to run through
without being hit by the rope. You are trying to get your entire group through to the other side.
Each time someone is hit, the entire group must start over. As participants continue to get hit
and you are not able to get your entire group over you can team them up with one other
person. Attempt to get all teams through the rope again. You can continue to add people to the
team each round until the “team” is the entire group. You will find it is easier to get all through
as a team then trying to get one person at a time. Lesson learned: It takes a team to get
through obstacles some times.