The best outdoor games to keep kids entertained

Chalk is a wonderful medium for creativity, and while kids love drawing with it, there are also many ways they can use it for interactive games. One fun way is to play Story. Choose a large sidewalk or driveway, and give one child some chalk. Ask them to draw the introduction to a story while saying it. For instance, “Once upon a time there was a puppy…” and draw a puppy. The next child takes the chalk and adds onto the picture story—”…who got lost in a forest.” Each child continues, adding onto the picture and the story and creating a fantastical tale as they go.

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Hopscotch is another classic game to play with chalk. Have the child or children draw a hopscotch board on a flat, paved surface. The board should be made up of connected basic shapes with numbers showing the order they should be jumped on. You may need to help kids who are younger or who have never seen a hopscotch board before. Once it’s completed, each child chooses a token (usually a small rock or wood chip). They take turns tossing it onto a space, in order. If the token lands on the space, they jump the whole board but skip the spot where their token is. The first child to complete the whole board wins.

Jacks is a great game to play when it’s hot or the kids are tired from running around. It’s best played with one to four kids, but you can add more children if you purchase more than one jacks set. Seat the children in a circle on a flat, paved surface. The first child tosses the jacks into the middle, then takes the bouncy ball, bounces it, and grabs one jack before the ball hits the ground again and catches the ball after its second bounce. The child replaces the jack and passes the ball to the next player, who repeats the action. In each round, one jack is added to the number that must be grabbed before the ball bounces, until they are scooping the whole pile of jacks at once. If a child misses, they are out. The last child wins. You can also play this one inside when the weather isn’t great.

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This playground classic works best with large groups of children—the more kids, the better! Identify one child to be a “shark,” and the rest are “minnows.” The shark stands in the middle of an open space, and the minnows line up at one end, facing the shark. When the shark says, “Fishy, fishy, come out and play,” the minnows walk slowly around the field. When the shark yells, “Shark attack!” all the minnows try to run to the opposite end of the field. The shark chases the minnows and tags as many as he or she can. Every tagged player is now a shark. Repeat the round until all players are sharks.

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School-age kids will get a kick out of this classic outdoor game that’s like tag but played on playground equipment. Start with at least four children, and designate one to be “it.” The child who is “it” starts on the ground, counting to 10, while the rest of the kids climb up on the playground equipment. “It” then tries to tag another player. If “it” is on the ground, they can keep their eyes open, but if they climb on the equipment, then they have to close their eyes. If “it” thinks another player is on the ground, they can yell, “Groundies!” and that player becomes “it.” A child can also become “it” if they are tagged by the current kid who is “it.”

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This old-school bean-bag toss is a fun outdoor game for kids and grown-ups alike, and it’s easily adjusted for different skill levels by moving the goals closer or farther apart. It can also be played solo or with others. Start by setting up two cornhole boards (buy online or make your own), spaced as far apart as you need. Children play one at a time, and when it is their turn, they can throw three bean bags at the board, aiming for the hole. Each bag in the hole earns a point. It’s fairly simple to make your own cornhole game or you can get this starter set, which comes complete with boards, bean bags, and official rules.

Keep it simple by setting up wooden poles and letting kids toss plastic rings on them, or up the ante with another creative version of this game. Use inflatable pool rings and have kids toss them onto people. You can also change the difficulty by using different items for the rings, like plastic bracelets, hula hoops, rope rings, or pool diving rings.

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Create a list of items that can be found around your home or neighbourhood—some easy to find and others a little more challenging. Gather two or more children and give each one a list. Whichever kid collects all the items on the list first is the winner. If you have a large group, divide children into teams with one list per team.

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Source: RD.com