Playing Together: Group activities to try

 

Children and adults can enjoy these games and activities. Build social skills and get bodies moving!

  • Take a walk or hike together.
  • Walk the dog (if you have one) or offer to walk a neighbor’s dog.
  • Play in a sprinkler.
  • Play hide and seek.
  • Have a family track meet (run, skip, jump, hop, race).
  • Have scavenger hunts.
  • Play in the water at a nearby river or lake. Be sure that children wear life vests for safety.
  • Play games you remember from when you were a child. Some examples are Simon Says, tag, or freeze tag. Here are instructions on how to play these example games.
  • Make a hopscotch grid with sidewalk chalk.
  • Play kickball with a large, soft ball.
  • Go roller skating or bicycling around the neighborhood or a park.
  • Younger children can have fun with four-wheeled scooters, tricycles and big wheels.
  • If you live in an area that is not safe for riding or is too hilly, go to your local school parking lot on a weekend. Those are usually open and flat. 
  • Make up and play your own family version of an outdoor game.
  • Create a "carwash" for kids' toys.
  • Make homemade bubbles, then chase, catch, and pop them. To make your own bubble solution, mix 1 cup no tears baby shampoo with 3 cups of water.

A scavenger hunt is a fun searching game. All you have to do is make up a list of items to find. For younger children, keep this list simple, fun, and short! For example: Find a rock, a flower, a fire hydrant and the tallest tree. Children do not need to collect these item, only point to them.