Fun Outdoor Games for Kids

Some of your favorite childhood memories are of those that involved playing games outdoors with all of the neighborhood kids. Now it's your turn to create those lasting memories for your own children. Sure there are the traditional games such as Red Rover or Red Light, Green Light, but you can mix up things a bit with some new outdoor games for kids to burn off some energy and have some fun.

Kids Outdoor Game Ideas

Get kids moving with a fun Circle Relay. An ideal outdoor game for playing in a backyard or park, a circle relay is perfect for larger groups of 9 or more children. For materials to play the game you just need a whistle or something to signify the start of a relay. Split the children up into at least three groups and have them stand in a line facing the center of a circle. When the whistle blows, the relay begins.

Children at the back of their row, should face to the right. Then the whistle is blown again and the child facing right now runs around the circle. The child to return to their spot in the circle first wins a point. The runners, now move to the inside of the circle, so a new runner can participate in the relay. Repeat until all children have ran and the winning team is the one scoring the most points.

Another fun outdoor game for kids of all ages is Leap Frog. No equipment is required to play just three or more kids. Have children crouch on the lawn in as line with approximately three feet between players. The player in the bag is the leap frog and proceeds to jump over all the others in the line. If you have a group of eight or more, turn leap frog into a race. Divide the kids into two even groups and form a line for each group. Tell the kids to start and the first group to finish with all players leaping over other players wins.

Keep the fun going with a simple outdoor game of Follow the Leader. Choose a player as leader. All the other kids line up behind the leader and do anything the leader does. The leader aims to keep the line moving and should set hard tasks for the others to follow such as hopping on one leg, jumping over obstacles, walking backward, doing a cartwheel or jumping to touch a high object. Any of the players who fails to follow the leader's action drops out of the game. The final player still in the game becomes the next leader. Follow the Leader can slow be a fun way to get kids to go on a walk with you or out on a hike.

Get the kids outdoors to burn off some energy and have some fun with these fun outdoor games. Other fun games to try include kickball, tag, hide and go seek, flag football and Mother May I. Just keep the focus on fun and your house will be the one all the neighborhood kids come to hang out and enjoy some fun outdoor games.