Great games to play for top Xmas fun!!

Miranda-Walker_blog_v2b

Welcome to the child care blog,
With out-of-school clubs open once again, many practitioners will be looking for fresh ideas to suit a mixed age group. And with fun on everyone’s agenda, we have some great games for you to try!
TAILS
Each player has a “tail” – a piece of wide ribbon or a strip of fabric – tucked into the waistband of their clothes. The aim is for children to run around collecting as many of the other player’s tails as possible by pulling them out, whilst simultaneously trying to keep their own tails! The game is over when there is only one player left with a tail. Children score one point for each tail they have at the end, and the one with most points wins the game.
GUARD YOUR GATE
Everyone stands in a circle with their legs apart, with the sides of their feet touching. One player starts by rolling a ball across the circle, aiming to pass it through another player’s legs or “gate”. The game continues with players attempting to guard their own gates with their hands while simultaneously, when the ball comes near them, trying to get the ball through the gates of other players. They cannot move their feet or legs! Award points for each gate scored. The game is simplest when played with a football, but you can increase the difficulty for older players by using a smaller ball or introducing multiple balls.
CATS GET YOUR CORNERS
One child or adult is an umpire, three children are appointed “it” and the rest of the children are “cats.” The cats spread out between four corners of the play space. The “its” stand in the middle with a sponge tennis ball each. On the umpire’s signal, the cats run clockwise to the next corner, while the “its” try to gently tag a cat by hitting their bodies with a ball. Any cats tagged go and stand with the “it” who tagged them (the umpire’s decision is final!) and the game continues. There are two winners, the last cat left in and the “it” with the most cats at the end.
ANIMAL TAG
The group stands in a large circle. One person is “it” and stands in the middle. When “it” shouts, “Go!” everyone simultaneously makes animals noises. Any children making the same noise must run across the circle to change places, giving “it” the chance to tag one of them before they reach their destination. If more than two players make the same noise, they must keep swapping until all of them have changed places. The tagged child becomes the new “it” and the game continues. You could introduce a signal for everyone to swap places with the person on their right – a Tarzan-style cry from one of the adults is fun! This is handy to use if a younger child finds it difficult to tag someone. If you want to make the game more challenging or slow down older players in a mixed age group, have “it” stand in the circle with the other players rather than in the middle.
Have fun, and happy holidays!
Miranda