Bowling Elimination

Number Of Players
8+

What You Need
Two cones or posts
Football

How To Play
Players line up and take it in turns to bowl a ball between two posts set out about 20ft away from the bowling line. If the players gets the ball he re-joins the back ready for the next round. If the ball touches the post or goes wide then they are out. After each round the posts get closer. Continue until you a left with a winner.

Duck , Duck, Goose

Very simple game, nothing required, great for burning off some energy.

Number Of Players
10+

What You Need
Nothing required

How To Play
The children sit in a circle, facing inwards. One child is chosen to be the 'Picker'. The 'Picker' then walks around tapping each player in turn on the head or shoulder, calling each a 'Duck' until finally picking one to be a 'Goose'. When this happens the 'Goose' gets up as quickly as possible and chases and tries to catch the "Picker", while the "Picker" tries to return to and sit where the 'Goose' had been sitting. If the picker gets back to where the 'Goose' was sitting the 'Goose' is now the new picker and the process begins again.

If the 'Goose' catches the picker then give the child a big cheer and choose another 'Picker'

Minute Monkies

Fantastic game if you need to calm things down a little.

Number Of Players
Any

What You Need
A watch with a second hand or mobile phone etc

How To Play
All the children sit down, crossed legged with their hands on their heads. Explain that after you've said 'Go' the children must count out a minute in their minds and when they think a minute is up put their hand up quietly. The winner is the one who is guesses closest to sixty seconds.

Noah's Ark

Number of Players
Any even number. Ideally 8+

You Will Need
A bowl, hat or box in which are placed cards with matching animal names on. Same number of cards as players.

How to Play
Best to prepare this game before hand. On each card write down the name of an animal which makes a distinctive noise. Each animal must have a partner so each animal should be written on two cards. Put the cards in your container. Each child then picks out a card and looks at it without anyone else looking at it. The children then impersonate the animal written on the card and try to find their partner. This game is very noisy buy great fun.

Hunt the Thimble

This is a very old classic game, but it still works and is great fun for small children

Number of Players
Any number

You Will Need
A thimble or any other small object

How To Play
All the children except one leave the room. The child left hides the thimble in the room. The others return and 'hunt the thimble'. Whoever finds the thimble has the next turn of hiding the thimble.

Round the Circle

Number of Players
Ideally 12+

You Will Need
A Ball

How to Play
Split the children into two equal teams. The first teams line up in a straight line. The second team form a circle with one of the children in the centre of this circle. On your word the game begins.

LINE TEAM: the first child of the lined up team run around the circle team and back to the next person in line and so on until all members of the line team have all run.

CIRCLE TEAM: the child in the circle team throws the ball to one of the other children in the circle and they then throw it back to the centre child. The thrower repeats this and throws the ball to the next child in the circle and so on until the line team have all run round the circle team.

For each successful throw and return the circle team score one point.

The teams then switch roles and repeat the game. The team who scores the most points wins.

The Hibernation Game

Number of Players
Anything from 10+

Required to play game
Blanket large enough to cover a child

How to Play
Children run around. The leader then shouts 'Hibinate'. The children must curl into a ball with their eyes shut and pretend to be a winter animal hibernating. The leader then covers one of the children then shouts 'Springtime'. All the children, except the child covered by the blanket, 'wake up' and have to guess who is still hibernating.

Please this a few times giving a different child a go at being the sleeping animal.