Fun elementary games

My group begs to be able to play with the Lincoln Logs and tinker toys. They like using the ereaders. I made a card game for them Go Fish Sight Words.

They really enjoy playing the game while at the same time working on vocabulary and sight words. My husband and I are Noon Aide at a small Elementary school when we have an indoor day grades get to play in their classroom but Kindergarten has to watch a movie now when you get year olds in one room that show no interest in watching a movie it can get crazy we are looking for some activity ideas that we can do with them its only a 20 minute recess and were all in one classroom together any Ideas would help.

If you have a Netflix or Amazon Prime account you can have students watch the show R. The episodes are only 25 minutes long. BTW, if anyone wants to do this idea, I recommend knowing your age group. My recommendation is to let the kids vote on what they want, as long as its school appropriate. Also, if the video of the winner of the vote is blocked on school computers, then just choose the 2nd most popular option. Your Website. By Angela Watson. If you are a teacher who is interested in contributing to the Truth for Teachers website, please click here for more information.

Click above to copy the link. Home Articles 15 fun indoor recess games and activities. Four Corners This classic indoor game is simple to teach and easy to play. Charades Both younger and older students will enjoy this indoor recess activity. Start or end with a Freeze Dance Party Most kids love to dance or just be silly with their friends, so this is a great way to get kids moving indoors. Small Group Indoor Recess Ideas I love this approach, because I think choice is a really important element for kids and I want them to have some control over how they spend their break.

Computer and app games On your classroom computers or tablets, create a folder called Indoor Recess Games and fill it with the sites or apps that are okay for use during indoor recess. Randomly stop the song and the students must sit down. Keep playing the game always choosing a new tempo and taking away a chair every round so that there is always one less chair than players. Enjoy the laughter and the fun!

Learning the scales in music theory can seem daunting…but Scale-ing the Marshland is a game that will naturally reinforce the scales as they make their way safely across the marsh with the help of their scales! Each player takes a set of cards and when the teacher calls out the key signature, each player needs to set out the right cards to make a complete scale. The sharps and flats can be placed next to the cards if need be. Once they have the scale down on the ground, then they can cross the marshland and make it safely to that side.

The first player to do this, wins! This is based off of the popular game of Pit — an exciting, fast paced, competitive game that just about anybody can play! To help build sight reading skills by reviewing notes on the staff and learning to quickly recognize note names.

With the ring of a bell , the game begins! Each player is wanting to get a full set to win the round. You can only bid same card sets. I then evaluate which new cards I have and which cards I may still need to get.

You continue to bid until you have the whole set. Since others are likely to be getting a set just as quickly as you, you will want to be the first one to declare yourself the winner by hitting the bell or grabbing the selected item. This is a fun, fast paced game, and it can get a little noisy too! Click on Musical Pit for more details and for access to the game cards. They love the challenge of the game, and I love that they are making connections with musical terms and concepts!

This is a musical spin off of the popular game Codenames. I like that version, but of course this has become a favorite for me, too. This is such a fun game and it really causes you to think! Created for grades pre k-2nd, this activity helps learn finger numbers for the piano and strengthens finger muscles and independence.

The hands also develop the curved finger hand position used in playing the piano. Using a small ball, the students place their hands on the ball and sing along to the song, Where is Thumbkin?

Using finger numbers instead of naming the fingers. For an example of how to do this, visit Where is Thumbkin Finger 1? Go, Chord, Go! Is a game that I love to play with my students because it causes them to review and know the basic major and minor chords by sight without them even realizing it!

This game is a variation of Go, Fish! The students are trying to get as many matches as possible. The students take turns.

The first player asks any other player for a card that matches a card in their hand. They can look in their hands to see if they have the C chord. If they do, then they must give that card to me. Chord, Go! Any time someone gets a match, they lay their match on the table and then they can go again. I love how this game causes them to review all those chords and get to know them by sight.

They are constantly looking at their cards in their hands and trying to figure out which chords they are holding in their hands. It gives them a lot of repetition. For downloadable cards, go to Go, Chord, Go! Chords Snakes and Ladders is a fun teaching piano game for reviewing chords. The game play is just like the original Snakes and Ladders games, but this time with a musical twist. The cards are chords and they must be able to identify the chord before they can advance on the game board.

But watch out — there are snakes and ladders that may change your course! The players draw a chord. They can move their marker, or game piece up to the place on the game board. For example, if they draw the C chord image, then they need to be able to identify the chord, then move their game piece up to the C chord on the game board.

The player ends up at the top of the ladder. They are set back quite a ways when this happens. If a player lands anywhere in between the head or tail of a snake or the beginning or end of a ladder, then nothing happens. A c-a-b and so on. Another idea I found on another music site was to give the kids a product for which they are to write jingles.

They do this during the class and then play them on instruments for each other. The best jingle wins. I love all of these games! Thanks for sharing these activities! Play a rhythm on a hand drum for your students. There are two ways they can get out. Keep going until there is one child left standing.

The rhythm cake walk is definitely one of my favorite elementary music games. Find your Instrument Twin I already talked about two instrument of the orchestra games in this blog post. Create musical words A really fun game to play with your students, especially upper elementary, is create musical words. Share this:. Just add more cups if you want to have more than two kids compete at a time.

What You Need -5 Solo cups and 10 ping pong balls per player, masking tape. This is a Minute to Win it Game for Tweens so try this with older 4th or 5th graders. Each player or a team of two players together is given 10 ping pong balls.

When the timer starts players need to roll their ping pong balls and try to get all their balls to land in a cup in 1 minute. If you roll all your ping pong balls and still have time on the clock players can pick up balls that fell on the ground and keep going.

What You Need — box of plastic spoons, 24 ping pong balls, 8 small paper bowls —. This game is for four kids at a time.

Give each a spoon and two bowls. In one bowl add six ping pong balls. Kids have one minute to try to transfer the ping pong balls to the other bowl using only the spoon in their mouth. They may not use their hands. For Winter Parties pretend the ping pong balls are snowballs. What You Need — box of straws, and items to race, blue painters tape. This game can be customized by the time of year the party happens. For Halloween get some spider rings cut off the ring part and you have a spider to race.

On the other side of the table have two kids line up with a straw and they have one minute to race their spider to the finish line by blowing on the straw. TIP: If you want to stay socially distanced have each child at a different table with two people watching to see when they cross the line with their spider. I hope that you have found a few easy indoor party games for kids that will be perfect for your next school party. I hope your kids will love them too. Overwhelmed by the idea of throwing the class party?

Make it easy on yourself by ordering the My Classroom Party Box. So there is nothing to plan just open the box at the party and play. Plan a fun family game night at home or play these games once a month in the classroom. Need more fun ways to keep the kids busy both at school and at home? If you have some great indoor party games for kids and want to share them please leave them in the comments for us all to see. I love to learn from my readers.

Did you try these games?