ART, MUSIC & LANGUAGE ARTS

GROUP GAMES
What are Group Games?
In a good game for preschoolers, the children are playing together according to conventional rules which
specify:
what the goal or purpose is,
what the players should do, in roles which are complementary or opposed, or
interdependent.
Criteria of Good Group Games
To be educationally useful, a group game should
suggest something interesting and challenging for children to figure out how to do,
make it possible for children themselves to judge their success,
permit all players to participate actively throughout the game.
Educational Value of Group Games
Educational Goals:
suggest something interesting and challenging for children to figure out how to do
logical thinking, problem-solving and strategizing
decentering coordinating different points of view
language having to express themself, understand others, exchange ideas
Social Goals:
feelings of group belonging
decentering as children decide on rules, handle conflicts about rules, etc., they are forced into
realizing that others may not necessarily have the same ideas as himself
cooperation even competitive games require children to assume complementary roles, or the game
would fall apart
Basic Guidelines for Playing Games with Rules
Keep participation voluntary.
Select a variety of games that offer opportunities to master Social, Cognitive, and Motor skills.
Avoid offering prizes or placing undue emphasis on winning.
Keep games fun and challenging Match game to Developmental Level of children; this includes the
size of the group.
Be flexible about rules Remember, rules are arbitrary, and as long as all agree, any rule is
acceptable.
Reduce adult authority Remain, as much as possible, a player in the game; avoid making all the
decisions, enforcing the rules.
Keep introductions brief and to the point.
Active Games

1. Back-to-Back Players are in pairs. It gives a direction, such as back-to-back and the pairs touch
each other on that body part. Other examples would be, foot-to-foot or nose-to-nose. When It
says, CHANGE! everybody, including It finds a new partner.

2. Kitty Wants a Corner Four players occupy the four corners of a square marked, for example, with four

pads or bases. It (a fifth player) tries to get a vacant corner as the four other players exchange places.

3. Ducks Fly The leader calls out, Ducks fly, birds fly, horses fly . When s/he names something that

flies, players flap their arms. When s/he names something that doesnt fly, they must keep their arms at
their sides.

4. I Say Stoop The leader stoops or stands, saying with each action either, I say stoop, or I say stand.
Occasionally, he stoops when he says to stand and vice versa. The players must do what he says rather
than what he does.

5. Mr. Wolf One child is Mr./Ms. Wolf, who stands at quite a distance from the players. The players call

out to Mr. Wolf Mr. Wolf, Mr. Wolf, what time is it? He then answers, for example, One oclock.
The players then take one step forward. They ask again and move accordingly, until, one time, Mr. Wolf
answers, Its midnight! and runs to catch one of the players, who then either becomes the new Mr. Wolf
or joins him.

6. Old Mother Cat Children (kittens) sit in a circle, with one player (Old Mother Cat) sitting in a chair in
the center, eyes closed. The kittens hide while they recite the following verse:
Old mother cat lies fast asleep
Her babies, too, make not a peep.
But little kittens like to play,
So they softly creep away.
When all have found a hiding place, they say:
Old mother cat wakes up to see
No baby kittens. Where can they be?
Softly she calls, Meow.

Kittens must answer once each time the mother cat meows, until they are all found. As mother cat finds
each kitten, she says, I found you, ___________(childs name) and each child then returns to the circle.

7. Up and Down and All Around We all walk around on our two feet, but there are other parts of the

body that could support us. This activity starts by the players marching around the play area chanting,
Up and down and all around. Then the leader calls, Freeze! Three! (or any number up to 10). All
players stop and touch the floor with three body parts possibly two feet and one hand, for example.
Then the leader calls, Melt! and all move around again with the same chant, until the leader calls
Freeze!
Variation When the leader calls, Freeze! have the players pair up and, in combination, put down the
specified number of body parts. With the call of two, how about one player standing on one foot,
helping her partner stand on her hand by holding her feet? Interesting test of number
comprehension and cooperation!

8. Frozen Bean Bags All the players balance a beanbag on their heads and move around the play area.

If the beanbag falls off, the player is frozen and cannot move. To be defrosted, another player must
pick up the fallen beanbag and place it back on top of the players head, while keeping the beanbag on
his/her own head. If it falls off while trying to help a friend, both are now frozen.

9. Red Light, Green Light This can be played in the traditional way, only instead of running, the leader
chooses a method of locomotion, such as crawling, tiptoeing, etc.

10. Charades Animal charades is very popular. The child who will act out an animal should come up and

whisper in the teachers ear what animal he/she will do; this way, the teacher can provide some
guidance if necessary, and be assured the child doesnt switch animals midstream! In the beginning, it
may be a good idea to have pictures of animals up by the teacher and the child could choose one of
those to act out. Variations Summer or winter activities have lots of potential for charades:
Summer swimming, skateboarding, bike riding, picnicking, gardening, fishing, canoeing, baseball, etc.;
Winter ice skating, ice fishing, skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.

11.

Other charade ideas: occupations, tools.

bell that any player can come up and shake to be the leader. Also, the players could continue to touch
the first color while doing a second, getting everyone all tangled up!

12. Charlie, the Tuna Fish Children form a circle with one person in the middle (Charlie). Walking

around the circle, they chant: Charlie over the water, Charlie over the sea, Charlie caught a tuna fish,
But cant catch me! On me!, all stoop quickly while Charlie tries to tag someone. If Charlie catches
someone, that person is the next Charlie.

13. Musical Carpets Carpet squares (1 per child) are placed randomly on the floor. These are stones in
the river. When the music is played, the players hop from stone to stone, but must freeze when the
music stops. As a transition idea, you could, prior to the game, tape a picture to the bottom of each
carpet square, and ask each child, one at a time, to turn over their carpet and talk about the picture;
then go on to the next activity.

14. Chase the Rabbit The players stand or sit in a circle. A stuffed bunny is started around the circle,

being passed from hand to hand as quickly as they can, until it gets back home. After they have
practiced this a while, announce that the next time a hound will chase the rabbit. Start the rabbit and
then start another stuffed dog as the hound. Players pass both the rabbit and hound as quickly as
they can, seeing if the rabbit will get caught.

15. Fruit Basket Upset Children are seated in a big circle, on chairs. Each child is holding a picture of

some kind of fruit. One child, in the middle, has a fruit but not chair. The object is for the child to
get a chair. When the chef in the middle calls, apples and oranges, for example, all the children
holding either an apple or orange must get up and change chairs, while the chef tries to get a chair. If
the chef calls out, Fruit Basket Upset! all the children must get up and change places.Variation Can
be done with any kind of pictures, such as shapes, etc.

16. Barnyard Children are seated on the floor in a circle formation. Each child is given a card with a

picture of a farm animal on it. With eyes closed, the animals try to find other animals of the same
kind by repeating their animal sound (mooing, baaing, etc.) When they find one another, they should sit
down together. While you may have four sheep, it is easier for the children to have them only search
for a pair and end up with two pairs of sheep rather than trying to find the whole group They are
not able to keep their eyes closed that long!

17. Magic Blanket (Actually more of a creative movement activity as there is no real goal). The teacher

has a magic blanket, which is used to cover the children, who are crouched in the center of the circle.
The teacher recites the chant:
Magic Blanket What will I see?
Twenty (or however many children) hopping frogs Croaking as can be!

The teacher then lifts up the blanket and the children act out being the frogs, until the teacher gives
the signal to come back. (I use a wand with a couple of jingle bells for sound. This control should be
practiced ahead of time!) New animals are chanted about and acted out.

18. Movement Dice Have two large dice, one with either dots or numerals and one with a different

picture on each side, depicting actions such as jumping, hopping, tiptoeing, leap-frogging, arm swinging.
Each child gets a turn to throw dice and do as directed. A good transition idea.

19. Pin the Tail on the Donkey Modify this traditional game by having the animal on the wall cut out of
corrugated paper, so the children can use their tactile sense and problem solving to figure out where
the animal is. Also, include several pieces to be taped on the animal ears, tail, eyes, so that more
children play in one round to complete the funny-looking animal.
20. Bowling Played with homemade pins (such as dish soap containers) can be great for counting,
scorekeeping, problem solving (What is the best configuration for setting up pins to maximize the
number that will fall?) Dont tell children how to keep score, they will come up with their own ideas,
which then will clue you in to their number concepts!

21. Race Many kinds of races are possible and preschoolers thoroughly enjoy them without any

consideration of who won. In fact, most often, four-year-olds will all say theyve won! Winning is not
stressed, enjoyment of the race is. Examples: spoon races (carry a tennis ball on a spoon to the finish
line, three-legged race, blowing objects race, etc.

22. Half-a-Heart Cut a bunch of homemade cardboard valentine hearts into halves. On one half, write

a numeral and on the other half, draw that number of small shapes. Distribute half of a heart to each
child; then have them skip around to music. When the music stops, each child tries to match up his
half to its pair. Redistribute hearts and try again. This can be modified to suit any theme.

23. Heart Islands You will need four large cardboard hearts and some music. Place the hearts around

the floor. Start the music and have the children skip around the room. When the music stops, each
child tries to place a toe on one of the heart islands. Each time the music restarts, another heart is
removed until all the children are trying to get their toe on a single heart. This inspired cooperation!

24. People Classification Begin by making paper shapes (circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles), or

have the children make them. Altogether you need two of each shape in four different colors (red,
yellow, blue, green) so that each child will have one and there will be another child also with that shape.
Place the shapes on the floor. Play some music and have the children skip around. When the music
stops, each child picks up a shape and finds the other child with that shape. Next time have them find
someone with the same color, or all the kids with the same shape regardless of color (a larger set), etc.

25. Puzzled Partners Pair up the children, and when the music is played, they must go away from their

partner. As soon as the music stops, both partners rush toward each other, join hands and squat down.

26. Alphabet People Teacher calls out a letter and children raise hands if they think they can make this
letter with their body. Child comes to center of circle, and if necessary, asks for a partner (or even
more!) to help form this letter. This makes for some kinesthetic learning!

27. Rubber Band Fun Give each child (only a small group) a wristful of rubber ands. One child tosses a

rubber band onto the ground, and the children then take turns throwing one at a time, trying to hit any
other rubber band on the ground. Any child who is successful gets to pick up all the bands and
redistribute them. Can be played with stones, paper clips, etc.

Quiet Games

28. Picture Poster Guessing Game Have a poster board that has glued to it several different

interesting scenes cut from magazines. One child is chosen to come up to the front, think of two clues
about one of the pictures, and the others guess. Child who guesses correctly then comes up to the
front.

29. Police Officer While the police officer is out of the room, the rest of the group decides who will
be the lost child. When the officer is invited back, he calls for someone to describe that person
without naming him. After each clue, the officer has a chance to take a guess. The player who gave
the last hint becomes the new officer; or the officer chooses the next person.

30. Squeak, Piggy, Squeak! All the children are seated in chairs in circle formation. One child is in the
middle and blindfolded (I use a Halloween mask with the eyes covered over). This child is turned
around and led to sit on someones lap. He then says, Squeak, piggy, squeak! and the child on whose
lap he is sitting must squeak. The blindfolded child then guesses who it is.

31. Whos That Knocking (This is more of a musical activity than a game; a good beginning of the year

activity). The children are seated in a circle on the floor. One child is given two wooden spoons, and
another child across the circle from the first is given a metal spoon and a metal cup of some sort.
Every one sings a song, Whos that tapping on my window? Whos that knocking at my door? Child
with the metal spoon taps while every sings his name, Tommy is tapping on my window Sarah is
knocking on my door. (Meanwhile, Sarah is knocking with wooden spoons). Then the spoons get
passed to the next person so everyone will get a chance with one set.

32. Doggy, Doggy, Wheres Your Bone? While the doggie covers his eyes in the middle of the circle,

a hider takes his bone (a block or some such item) and hides it in the immediate area of the room, say
the block area where circle time is. All the children chant:
Doggie, Doggie, wheres your bone?
Somebody took it from your home.

With this signal, the doggie begins to search for the bone, while all the children tell him if hes hot
or cold.

33. Mystery Bag One child picks an item from an assortment of objects, which is then placed in a

mystery bag. He then gives each child in the circle one change to feel and guess what it is, seeing how
many children it takes to figure it out. The child who guesses correctly then chooses the next object.

34. The Orchestra Conductor It goes out of the room while the rest of the group, sitting in a circle,

selects a conductor. After It returns, the conductor does a variety of actions for the other
children to imitate, such as waving hands, clapping, etc. By watching the children, the guesser tries to
figure out who is conducting.

35. Name Call Ball Children seated on floor in a circle. Teacher rolls a ball across the circle, calling the
childs name to catch it. Child then rolls the ball and calls out the name of the child it is going nearest
to. This is a good beginning of the year game to learn everyones name.

36. Cobbler, Cobbler, Mend My Shoe Circle formation One child, in center, gives an old shoe to a
child in the circle and then closes his eyes while children in the circle pass the shoe around behind
them, chant:
Cobbler, Cobbler, mend my shoe.
Have it done by half-past two.
Stitch it up and stitch it down.
Now see if it can be found.

Children keep passing it around while the cobbler guesses.

37. I Spy One child hides a small object in the room, somewhere it could be found without touching

anything else. Other children remain outside of room until hider tells them to come in and search.
This is also fun with a wind-up musical toy, so that the searchers use their ears.

38. What Sound Is That? Set up some kind of screen, perhaps a sheet hanging down, so that a person

can be behind the screen making some kind of noise that the others will have to guess. Possibilities are
endless, such as:
tearing paper
pouring water
dropping a block
bouncing a ball

rattling keys
sweeping the floor
cutting with scissors
crumbling paper

Whoever guesses gets to go behind the screen and make the next noise.

39. Shape Outlines Place an object on the overhead projector, using a screen to block the childrens
view, so they must figure out what the object is by its image on the screen.

Resources:
Kamii, Constance Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic, Teacher College Press, Columbia University, 1985.
Kamii, Constance Group Games in Early Education, National Association for the Education of Young
Children, 1979.
Orlick, Terry Cooperative Sports and Games Book, Pantheon Books, 1982.
Rogers, Crosby and Sawyers, Janet Play in the Lives of Children, National Association for the Education
of Young Children, 1988.