Education
SCHOOLYARD GAMES Schoolyard games provide a great way to make friends, find shared interests, and have fun! Do you remember any of these from your own schooldays? It’s time to teach new kids old tricks!
GOOD GAMES TO PLAY AT SCHOOL OUTSIDE Here are some games to play outside. Which one is the BEST game to play at school? We will leave that for you to decide!!
HOPSCOTCH
One of our favourite games to play at school is Hopscotch. Use a piece of chalk to draw a hopscotch pattern on the ground. A simple grid is a ladder of numbered squares alternating one square followed by two squares up to the number 10, or you can start 3 single squares before the first double. Each player has a marker such as a stone, bottlecap, shell, button, etc. For younger children simply hopping across the single versus double squares can provide hours of fun. The first player stands behind the starting line to toss his or her marker in square one. Hop over square one to square two and then continue hopping to square ten, turn around, and hop back again. Pause in square two to pick up the marker, hop in square one, and out. Then continue by tossing the stone in square two. All hopping is done on one foot unless the hopscotch design is such that two squares are side-by-side. Then two feet can be placed down with one in each square. A player must always hop over any square where a maker has been placed.
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Getting out: A player is out if the marker fails to land in the proper square, the hopper steps on a line, the hopper loses balance when bending over to pick up the marker and puts a second hand or foot down, the hopper goes into a square where a marker is, or if a player puts two feet down in a single box. The player puts the marker in the square where they will resume playing on the next turn, and the next player begins. This is one of the best games for school!
ITTA
A game you probably haven’t heard of before is Itta. Itta is a fun schoolyard game which combines teamwork, communication and speed. The kids form two teams and mark two bases roughly the same size. Pick one person to be known as ‘The Itta’. This person must try and make it to the enemy’s base before being tagged by the enemy. If ‘The Itta’ is tagged by the enemy, the person who tagged him is now ‘The Itta’. The game then continues until someone makes it into the enemy base. That team will receive one point.
Your Local Families Magazine February / March 2022 www.familiesmagazine.com.au