kids playgrounds

Taking your kindergarten class outdoors for playtime is among the students favorite parts of the day in most classrooms. Planning games that the class can play together in groups is an effective way to be sure they are all socializing, cooperating and working on motor skills. There are several options for safe and enjoyable games for the playground that the class will ask to play again and again.

Keep The Potato In The Oven

• Keep The Potato In The Oven is a game that the entire kindergarten class can play together. The only supplies needed are the children and a soft soccer ball to kick.

  Use a diplomatic way to choose one person to be the potato kicker and gather the rest of the class and form a circle around the kicker. The object of the game is for the kicker to “get the potato out of the oven.” The object for the rest of the players is to keep it in. The kicker may not kick the ball into the air and must try to find a space between the legs of her classmates to squeeze a shot through. Once this happens, the kicker goes to the circle and the person closest to the spot where the ball got out becomes the kicker.

Mr. Wolf

• Mr. (or Ms.) Wolf is simply an elaborate game of chase on the playground. One student is designated the “wolf” and everyone else is trying to get away from him or her. All of the non-wolves line up at the same spot on the opposite end of the playground from the wolf and they yell out, “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?”

Dragon’s Tail

• Dragon’s Tail is another game that the entire class can take part in together. It is sure to get the class laughing and scrambling to win. This game requires cooperation with the other children lined up close to one another to be successful.

  Line up the class randomly in what amounts to a conga line. The student places his hands on the shoulders of the student in front of him. This is repeated throughout the line. The student’s may not break contact or the game ends and must be started over.

  Tuck a handkerchief or ribbon into the back pocket of the dragon’s tail (the last student in the line). The object is for the dragon’s head (front) to maneuver the line in a way that will allow him to grab the ribbon from the tail. Meanwhile the rear end of the line is trying to move in a way that will prevent this from happening. When the head catches the tail, the head becomes the tail and the next person in line takes over the dragon.

• The wolf answers, “One o’clock” and holds up one finger, the question is repeated and the wolf answers two, then three o’clock with the appropriate number of fingers showing, then on the fourth question he answers, “It’s lunch time!” The kids run, screaming around playground as  the wolf chases them down one by one, tagging the kids  outdoor playsets
  

  
  
  until there is one survivor remaining. His reward is that he gets to be the wolf in the next round.