As I head back to teach in a school, we need to come up with creative Games to Play while maintaining social distancing.  Many traditional games you are used to doing with students no longer work.   Here are some games to play both in the classroom and outside to get the wiggles out of your kids

GAMES TO PLAY INDOORS while Social Distancing

 

Word Bingo

Line Bingo is a great alternative to traditional bingo and this game can be easily played while social distancing.

To play this game, each student would need a set of word cards. You can make your own or have the kids make them based on a list of words you provide them. 

Give one set of cards to each student and ask them to arrange them in a horizontal line in any order they want. Then, the game can begin.

The teacher should call out one of the cards and then the students should check their line of cards. If the card that the teacher called out is on either end of the line, then the student can turn that card over. If the card is in the middle of the line, the student can not turn it over.

Next, the teacher would call out another card and the students would again check if they can turn it over or not.

The first student to turn over all their cards is the winner.

 

Hot Seat

This classic classroom game can be easily adapted so students can play while social distancing.

Ask one student to come to the front of the class and stand / sit at a safe distance from other students. Then on the TV / Board behind the student show the rest of the class a word.

Next, the students should try to describe the word on the TV / board without saying the word, and the student at the front of the class should guess what it is.

 

• SIMON SAYS at desks
• Charades
• FREEZE DANCE
• HEADBANDS GAME
• Hangman
• BUST A RHYME

First person says a word, then each person in circle/ classroom has to think of a rhyming word.  If you cant you do three jumping jacks.  Then start over with a new word/ leader

 

SOCIAL DISTANCING GAMES TO PLAY OUTDOORS

LIMBO— using a 6 foot rope. Teachers hold it

RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT

 

NAME AND MOTION (good for first week of school

 

• Players form a circle and stand 6 feet away from each other. One player will say his or her name and do a motion or gesture. 
• The person on the right of that player will repeat the first player’s name and motion. 
• The first player’s name and motion will be repeated by each person in the circle. 
• When it gets back to the first player, everyone will repeat his or her name and motion as a group. 
• After the name and motion is said as a group, the cycle starts again with a different player.  

ANIMAL RELAY

• Players line up standing 6 feet away from each other. The leader will split players into teams 
• of three and use cones to mark start and end lines. 
• The leader calls out an animal (cheetah, shark, elephant). When the leader says, “go,” the first students in line will act like the specified animal as they move toward the end cone. 
• They act like the animal on the way back to the start line. Once the player sits down at the end of his or her line, the next player goes. 
• The first team to have all players sitting down wins! 

 

TWIZZLE

• Form a circle and stand 6 feet away from each other Listen for the commands.
• When you hear:
  • ‘Go’ – walk in the direction you are facing
  • ‘Stop’ – freeze
  • ‘Turn’ – do a half turn (180 degrees) and freeze
  • ‘Twizzle’ – do a full jump (360 degrees) and freeze
• If you make a mistake, do five jumping jacks, and rejoin the game.

NOODLE TAG

TAG WITH POOL NOODLES

Jump the River

 

• Lay out 2 jump ropes parallel to each other to represent the river.
• Kids take turns jumping the river.
• After each child has had a chance, widen the river.
• If the child doesn’t clear the river with their jump, they’re out. 
• Last one left is the winner!

 

Directional Jumping/Hopscotch on Blacktop

 

Use sidewalk chalk to draw arrows for children to jump down a line in different directions.  You can also make laminated feet, bear, penguin, etc and tape them down in different directions for children to jump.