As the end of the school year nears, parents and educators across the US are planning field trips, parties and field days for students. The warm weather and excitement of the end of the year are the perfect excuses to plan a field day. Get started on your school’s end of the year celebration with the following six ideas for play.
- Three-legged race. This partner activity requires coordination and communication. You’ll need bandanas or scrap fabric to tie pairs of people’s lower legs together, such that they have three legs for running/walking. All pairs stand side by side at a starting line, then at a start signal race to the finish line.
- 50 yard dash. Mark off approximately 50 yards–if possible using a measuring wheel–and mark start and finish lines in chalk. In small groups of 3-10, have students line up to race (you may want to discreetly group students by speed to make each race more fair). Use a whistle or start other signal to begin each race. For even more running, have the top 1-3 of each heat race again with other winners.
- A water balloon toss is a great activity for hot days. Learn how to play water balloon toss and other fun water games in this post.
- Potato sack race. With cones, create start and finish lines for the race that are not too far apart–preferably on grass. Talk about and demonstrate safely using sacks and hopping with two legs. In small groups of 3-10, have students line up to race and get in their sacks. On the start signal begin the race. When hoppers are complete, allow the next group of students to race. Find potato sacks at a party store or online or use laundry bags.
- Jump rope or hula hoop contests. In small groups, have students begin jumping or hula hooping all at the same start signal. Allow students to continue to jump/hula hoop until they make a mistake. When only one student is left, cheer for all the players and allow a new group of students to jump or hula hoop.
- A large group game, such as Multi-ball, is a great way to end a field day. In multi-ball, there are two teams, three bases and three outs as in kickball. However, instead of a pitcher and one bouncy ball, you use three pieces of equipment, such as a frisbee, a kickball and a football that the kicker must throw, kick and throw before s/he runs the bases as many times around as possible. Once the kicker has completed throwing, kicking and throwing, the other team may begin fielding. It is their job to gather all three piece so equipment and place them in a hula hoop, bucket or other designated spot at homebase–at which point the runner must stop and return to the kicking line.
What field day games do you like to play?
Are you an educator? Transform your school day with recess games!
