Little-Known Games You Can Play with Your Kids
The summer is the perfect opportunity for families to get outside and enjoy playing some fun games together. But which games?
If, like many parents, you’ve found yourself quickly running out of new ideas’beyond the usual suspects like sardines, croquet or badminton’we’ve got a few activities you might not have considered; interactive games that are not only fun, but that also improve motor skills and develop hand-eye coordination. From creative ways to cool off on a hot summer’s day, to ‘koekhappen’ (a Dutch children’s game), there are plenty of activities that parents can enjoy with their kids. And most require nothing more than some simple household items’¦and a little imagination.
Water Limbo
Nothing beats a water sport in the heat of summer.
With water limbo, all you need is a hose and a nozzle that provides a steady, straight stream of water. Use the stream of water as a limbo stick. With their knees bent and their backs arched, have your kids attempt to maneuver their bodies under the stream of water without getting wet. Take turns and continue lowering the water stream until you reach a point where the kids can no longer get underneath without getting soaked.
Take precautions to make sure that the ground isn’t too slippery for the kids to safely get under the water stream without falling. Placing rubber matting on the ground beneath the stream can help with this. It’ll provide traction for feet and a cushion in case anyone tumbles.
Koekhappen
A cookie (or other food item) is affixed to a thread and suspended from a tree branch or other high structure of some sort. Each player takes their turn trying to eat whatever is hanging from the thread while keeping their hands clasped behind their backs.
One can substitute healthy snacks for this game, too. Try cutting an apple into segments, drilling a hole in each segment and then running the string through that hole to suspend the fruit.
Glow Stick Tag
The sun has gone down, it’s twilight, but for whatever reasons everyone is still full of energy and looking for a simple, fun, active game to play together. How about glow stick tag? It’s a new wrinkle on an age-old favourite.
What you’ll need for this game are, of course, some glow sticks. If you don’t have any lying around at home, they’re inexpensive and easily obtained in bulk at retailers like Canadian Tire or other hardware stores. Play the game the same way you would play regular tag. The person who is ‘it’ has the sole red glow stick. The person with the red glow stick must tag another player. When someone is tagged, they become ‘it’ and carry the red glow stick. Play continues until everyone has had a chance to be ‘it.’
Interested in more games you can play with your family? Click here for five more activities.
Robert Falconer is a lifelong communicator whose career has spanned the fields of writing, content development, photography and voice narration. Working primarily in business, media and entertainment, his clients have included such organizations as National Geographic Channel, Metro News and Paramount Television. He lives in Vancouver.
