Call to Action

Outdoor Games

by Rae Pica

 If you’ve been reading this column you know I’m a big proponent of getting kids outside. There are just too many reasons not to! Following are games you can facilitate when your child has others to play with – in the backyard or perhaps on a play date in the park. 

Marco Polo. Often played in pools and lakes, this game is also suited to large outdoor spaces and is great for improving auditory discrimination and spatial awareness. It can even help create empathy for the visually impaired. 

Ask all of the children except one to stand and close their eyes. The remaining child, who is “It,” chooses a spot to stand, at a distance from the other players. The players then repeatedly call out “Marco, to which “It” responds “Polo.” Using their listening skills only, the players must try to find “It.” The first child to do so becomes the next “It.” 

This can also be played as a partner game, with one partner trying to find the other. 

Ready, Set, Jump. It is in the outdoors that children are best able to practice large-muscle movement and to expend the most energy. This game gives them a reason to do both, while also teaching them to follow directions. 

Select a starting point and two spots in the yard or on the playground that are somewhat equidistant from the starting point (for example, the swing set, the oak tree, and the monkey bars). These serve as markers. At your signal, the children walk rapidly toward the first marker, jump from there to the second, and then jog back to the starting point. They can then repeat these actions for as long as they stay interested, or you can substitute any other traveling skills with each round of play.