Active Outdoor Games for Kids
Traditional Summer Fun for Boys and Girls
Back in the 1950s, the worst punishment most children could imagine was having to stay indoors after supper on a warm summer evening. Those twilight hours were time for the games that made summer the best time of year. The games were active, energetic, and exhausting. When little heads hit their pillows at eight-thirty or nine o'clock, sleep came quickly, and dreams were sweet.
Isn't it time for neighborhood kids to get together again, outdoors? The more kids involved, the more fun it will be for all. Here are a few traditional games to help the fun get started:
Ringalevio
Choose up sides. Choose one team to be the runners, and one team to be the chasers. The chasers all touch an improvised "base," and count to 100 by fives while the runners scatter. A chaser catches a runner by grabbing hold long enough to say "ringelevio one two three." When runners are caught, they must go to the base, which now has become the "jail."
The chasers keep chasing until they catch all the runners – but if a runner can reach the jail without being caught, all the prisoners are freed. When all the runners are caught, the teams switch roles.
Capture the Flag
Choose up sides. Divide the playing field into two equal parts. At the extreme ends of the field, place two "flags" – towels, perhaps, or old t-shirts. In two corners of the field, mark off two "jails." The object for each team is to capture the opponent's flag and bring it back to its own side of the field. The team that does that first is the winner.
Players who are tagged in the opponent's territory go into the opponent's jail. If a teammate reaches the jail without being tagged, all the prisoners are freed.
Johnny on the Pony (Buck-Buck)
Choose up sides. One side is the "pony." Those players form a line, bent over with their backs parallel to the ground, each one grasping the legs of the one in front of him. The first in line may brace himself against a wall or a tree. The "riders" line up behind the "pony," and take running leaps onto the pony's back. If the pony team crumbles, the riders win. If a rider fails to mount, or slips off, the pony wins. This is one game where the overweight kid might be picked first!
Making Old-Fashioned Games Cool Again
Suggest Capture the Flag as a follow-up to a league soccer or baseball game – it's a game where nobody has to sit on the bench. Play Ringalevio at an outdoor birthday party, where there will be plenty of kids to join in the fun. Try showing your kids this video of college boys playing Johnny on the Pony. If college kids do it, it must be cool!
Despite the inevitable scrapes and bruises, outdoor games are much healthier than sitting in front of a screen, killing alien invaders or watching sitcom reruns. When your kids begin to organize and play these games by themselves, they will develop their autonomy, self-confidence, and social skills. All you have to do is get them started – and allow them the freedom they need to carry on.
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