Spring is here! Here are some outdoor educational games that can not only enhance the parent-child relationship but also exercise children’s abilities.
For 1 – 2-year-old children:
[Kicking the Ball]: Game purpose: Accurate short-distance running. Game method: Stand three to five meters away from the baby. First, the father or mother kicks the ball to the baby, and then the baby kicks the ball back to the parents in the same way. The baby may kick the ball in the wrong direction due to insufficient or excessive force. At this time, let the baby pick it up to make them run more. As the baby’s “skills” improve, the distance can be gradually increased and the difficulty can be increased, such as deliberately kicking the ball off target to exercise the child’s quick reaction ability.
[Mother Kangaroo and Baby Kangaroo]: Game purpose: Train the baby’s agility and control ability, and cultivate the coordination between parents and the baby. Game method: The baby plays the role of the baby kangaroo and stands in front, and the mother plays the role of the mother kangaroo and stands behind, with her hands on the baby’s shoulders. The mother and the child jump forward in unison. When the big bear played by the father appears, the mother kangaroo and the baby kangaroo must stand still. The big bear circles around them, making various strange faces. If the mother kangaroo and the baby kangaroo can (resist laughing and moving), they win.
[Rain Song]: Game purpose: Understand and feel nature. Game method: When it rains lightly, take the baby to the green space in the community or the yard downstairs, and let the baby see how the raindrops hit the umbrella and the small splashes on the ground. After the rain stops, let the baby step in the small puddle, pull down the rain from the flowers, grass, and leaves, and dig a small ditch to let the accumulated water drain into the gutter.
[Catch the Shadow]: Game purpose: Agile running and jumping. Game method: The person who steps on the other person’s shadow first wins. On a sunny day, in a large open space, let the baby find their own shadow, then let them turn around, walk or run around, and see what changes happen to the shadow. Let the baby chase the shadow – and then get rid of the shadow. When playing the “Catch the Shadow” game, the person who catches the shadow must find a way to step on the other person’s shadow. In this way, the person whose shadow is stepped on becomes the person who catches the shadow.
For 2 – 3-year-old children:
[Bug Hunting Trip]: Game purpose: Understand insects. Materials: A clean small jar with a lid, tweezers, clips, gloves. Game method: Take the baby to the park or the woods, bring tools such as a small jar, tweezers, clips, etc., and look for bugs while walking, especially under the stones, such as ants, spiders, earthworms, snails, etc. Use tweezers, clips, or fingers and gloves to gently pick them up and put them in the jar with a lid. Teach the baby to recognize insects that can bite or sting, and help the baby identify harmless insects.
[Looking for Little Ants]: Game purpose: Love exploration. Game method: Take the baby outdoors to look for ants, and you can bring a magnifying glass to let the baby see the body structure and walking route of the ants, and further understand the living situation of the ants. Parents need to ensure the baby’s safety during the activity and guide the baby to recognize dangerous behaviors and behaviors that affect the ecological environment of nature, and establish the baby’s concept of respecting and caring for nature.
[Walking the Line]: Game purpose: Agility and balance. Game method: Mom writes a big “field” character on the outdoor open space, and lets the baby run on the stroke lines. When the baby runs, Mom should chase and block on the lines, and require the baby to run on the lines. Mom should adjust her chasing and blocking speed according to the baby’s running speed.
[Back and Forth Running]: Game purpose: Speed and endurance. Game method: Choose an open space in the forest, let the baby roll, crawl, run, and chase freely. Let the baby choose a big tree as the finish line, run to it, touch the tree, and then run back. Mom and the baby compete to run to it together and see who runs back first.
[Selling Mutton Kebabs]: Game purpose: Make hands more dexterous. Game method: Mom leads the baby to take a walk outdoors, guides the baby to observe the scene of leaves falling, and teaches the baby to recognize various leaves. Let the baby step on the leaves, then let the baby pick up the leaves and string them up with a branch to play the game like mutton kebabs.
For 3 – 6-year-old children:
[Carp Jumping through the Dragon Gate]: 1. Dad (or Mom) holds the swimming ring upright in the water, and the ring is submerged in the water; 2. The baby drills through or swims through the circle. Game description: Develop the baby’s swimming, holding breath, and coordination skills of hands and feet.
[Water Competition]: Find a small stream or flowing water, select the starting line in the upstream and the finish line in the downstream. Put floating objects (sticks, leaves, branches, etc.) in the water at the starting line and see which objects can reach the finish line first. The baby will soon find out which objects drift faster in the water.
[Treasure Hunting in the Water]: 1. Throw some items into the swimming pool; 2. Mom, Dad, and the baby compete together to see who finds the most items first! Game description: Train the baby’s ability to dive and hold breath, and enhance the baby’s lung capacity.
[Close-up of Tree Bark]: Take the baby to observe the various trees nearby, and carefully observe the texture of the tree bark with a magnifying glass. Let the baby close their eyes, touch the texture of different trees with their hands, and describe it in words. Trace the texture of the tree bark on paper: Press the paper tightly against the tree bark and trace the texture of the tree bark with a crayon to compare their textures.
[Drawing Shadows]: Parents draw the outline of the baby’s shadow on paper. Then let the baby pose in various interesting positions and draw their outline. After drawing, you can also let the baby draw the shadows of adults and then color within the outline of the shadows. You can also take the baby to draw the shadows of trees, leaves, flowers, branches, and bushes.
[Observing the Changes of Clouds]: Clouds have various changing shapes. Let the baby make various associations by observing its changes. In addition, you can also observe the changes of the lawn, rice fields, or nearby trees and flowers in the garden after being blown by the wind, and let the baby’s imagination run wild and express it.
For 8 – 12-year-old children:
[Fanning the Cup]: Prepare disposable paper cups and 2 fans, and mark the cups and fans into 2 different groups. Find a clean and open space, and stick tape in the middle as the dividing line. Put the same number of paper cups in the two camps, and use the fans to fan the cups to the opponent’s camp. Whoever fans all the cups to the opposite side first wins.
[Push-up and High-five]: Parents and the child lie on the floor, support their bodies with their hands, and keep their bodies flat. At the same time, parents and the child draw out one hand to high-five. This game can train muscle strength and endurance, and is very helpful for the child to maintain a good sitting posture.
[Crossing Obstacles]: This game is suitable for playing at home. Find a corridor and stick some adhesive strips or paper strips on both sides as obstacles. The children need to cross the obstacles without touching them and pass through smoothly. The game is full of excitement, and the children can play for a long time.
[Three-legged Race]: Parents and the child stand behind the starting line side by side, and then tie the inner two legs of each person with a rope. After the referee gives the start command, the parents and the child start together, bypass the markers, and return along the original path to compete with other groups. The group that runs the fastest wins.
[Cooperative Basketball Transportation]: Parents and the child each hold two wooden sticks, and then one person lifts the basketball on one side and transports it from the starting point to the finish point. Compete with other families to see which group transports it first. Pay attention to safety during this process.
[What Has Changed?]: Everyone first memorizes the things and positions in the living room. One person hides things or swaps items, and the others close their eyes. After hiding, they open their eyes to observe what has changed in the living room. Take turns.
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