Family Fun Activities
Wheelbarrow Races
Divide kids into pairs for some classic wheelbarrow racing fun! If you have two real wheelbarrows to use, the rules are simple enough: just have one kid from each pair sit inside and let the other push as they race to the finish line.
No wheelbarrows? Play the old-fashioned and create a human wheelbarrow. Have one child get on their hands and knees, and another lift them by the feet. The two have to work as a team—one with their feet and the other with their hands—to get to the finish line as fast as they can.
Divide kids into pairs for some classic wheelbarrow racing fun! If you have two real wheelbarrows to use, the rules are simple enough: just have one kid from each pair sit inside and let the other push as they race to the finish line.
No wheelbarrows? Play the old-fashioned and create a human wheelbarrow. Have one child get on their hands and knees, and another lift them by the feet. The two have to work as a team—one with their feet and the other with their hands—to get to the finish line as fast as they can.
Ready, Set, Recycle!
Recycling is an important lesson that kids can learn at any age. It's something that they can put to use the rest of their lives and making a game out of it can create a lot of fun memories.
To set up this game, you will need to line up a few empty bins and label them for different types of recyclables (e.g., glass, plastic, metal, etc.). Gather two collections of recyclable items that include at least one thing to fit each category.
Divide players into two teams and give each team one set of recyclable materials. Have them line up several feet away from the bins.
To play the game, have one player from each team select an item, run it to the bins and drop it into the correct one. They must then run back and tag another player in line who then grabs the second item and drops it in a bin. This continues until all of the items have been sorted into the correct bins. The first team to finish wins.
Recycling is an important lesson that kids can learn at any age. It's something that they can put to use the rest of their lives and making a game out of it can create a lot of fun memories.
To set up this game, you will need to line up a few empty bins and label them for different types of recyclables (e.g., glass, plastic, metal, etc.). Gather two collections of recyclable items that include at least one thing to fit each category.
Divide players into two teams and give each team one set of recyclable materials. Have them line up several feet away from the bins.
To play the game, have one player from each team select an item, run it to the bins and drop it into the correct one. They must then run back and tag another player in line who then grabs the second item and drops it in a bin. This continues until all of the items have been sorted into the correct bins. The first team to finish wins.
Nature's Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a simple, traditional outdoor game. It usually requires a piece of chalk and a concrete surface on which to draw the board. This version of the game, however, is inspired by nature, and therefore uses natural elements to form the board.
To start, have the kids collect a bunch of sticks, rocks, and leaves. Help them arrange the materials in the pattern of a hopscotch board. Once the board is done, they can use a rock to toss and play hopscotch as usual.
Hopscotch is a simple, traditional outdoor game. It usually requires a piece of chalk and a concrete surface on which to draw the board. This version of the game, however, is inspired by nature, and therefore uses natural elements to form the board.
To start, have the kids collect a bunch of sticks, rocks, and leaves. Help them arrange the materials in the pattern of a hopscotch board. Once the board is done, they can use a rock to toss and play hopscotch as usual.
Earth Day Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is a great group activity that kids of any age will enjoy. You can play in your backyard or take this game to a park.
Before they head outside, have the kids make a list of natural elements that are commonly found in nature such as twigs, leaves, blades of grass, stones, flowers, etc. Make two copies of the list, divide the players into two teams and hand them each a list along with a basket for their found objects.
The first team to return with all of the items on the list wins the Earth Day scavenger hunt.
A scavenger hunt is a great group activity that kids of any age will enjoy. You can play in your backyard or take this game to a park.
Before they head outside, have the kids make a list of natural elements that are commonly found in nature such as twigs, leaves, blades of grass, stones, flowers, etc. Make two copies of the list, divide the players into two teams and hand them each a list along with a basket for their found objects.
The first team to return with all of the items on the list wins the Earth Day scavenger hunt.
Bottle Bowling.
Set up bowling pins made from 2-liter soda pop bottles, small bleach bottles, or tall dishwashing detergent bottles. Tip: Put about an inch of sand in the bottom of the bottles; the pins will still be easy to bowl down, but the bottles won't fall as easily as they would if there was no sand in them.
Set up bowling pins made from 2-liter soda pop bottles, small bleach bottles, or tall dishwashing detergent bottles. Tip: Put about an inch of sand in the bottom of the bottles; the pins will still be easy to bowl down, but the bottles won't fall as easily as they would if there was no sand in them.
Waste No Water.
Fill a clean open-topped non-breakable container (a plastic spaghetti sauce jar or a soup can work well) with water for each team; be sure the containers are the exact same size and filled to the brim with water. Set a start and finish point. At a signal, the first runner heads for the finish line, walks over the line, turns around and heads back to his or her team, and passes the container to the next person in line. At the end of the race, the team with the most water still in the container is the winner.
Fill a clean open-topped non-breakable container (a plastic spaghetti sauce jar or a soup can work well) with water for each team; be sure the containers are the exact same size and filled to the brim with water. Set a start and finish point. At a signal, the first runner heads for the finish line, walks over the line, turns around and heads back to his or her team, and passes the container to the next person in line. At the end of the race, the team with the most water still in the container is the winner.
Tumbling Towers.
This activity can be done one team at a time. Provide a recycle bin full of clean aluminum cans (for example, soda pop cans). At a signal, students have 2 minutes to stack the cans one atop another. Each student takes a turn at building a tower by stacking cans one atop the other. The student on each team who builds the tallest tower then represents his or her team in a final team-against-team stacking competition.
This activity can be done one team at a time. Provide a recycle bin full of clean aluminum cans (for example, soda pop cans). At a signal, students have 2 minutes to stack the cans one atop another. Each student takes a turn at building a tower by stacking cans one atop the other. The student on each team who builds the tallest tower then represents his or her team in a final team-against-team stacking competition.
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