Spending a beautiful day at the park provides many opportunities to bond as a family. While kids and their parents can always enjoy playing on the playground, it is also fun to have a few activities in mind that encourages more interaction. These five games are ideal for people of all ages, and we know that you will love spending hours engaged in a little family friendly competition.
Play Follow the Leader
This classic game is great for teaching younger kids how to follow directions. Help with your kids gross motor skills by encouraging them to follow you as you perform movements such as hopping and skipping. Older kids will love it if you throw in a few challenges such as scaling a rope ladder or running across an obstacle course. As you play, take turns having each person in the family being the leader.
Go On a Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are one of the most adaptable games that you can play at the park. While it can be played as a single player game, it is also a lot of fun to divide your group up into teams. Try having kids play against the parents, or you could pair each kid up with an adult. You can also make scavenger hunt lists based upon a theme such as having to find seasonal items. With younger kids, you can have them bring back small items from the list such as a leaf, but older kids may prefer using their cameras to snap proof that they found things such as a squirrel climbing a tree.
Stay Off the Hot Lava
The sheer excitement of this imaginative game is bound to have all of the kids want to get involved. Many parks have playground safety surfacing that mimics the look of hot lava, or your local playground may have different colored areas for the children to play. Start the game by pointing out exactly where the hot lava is and have everyone try to get from one point to another without “falling in”.
Capture the Flag
This game is always great at parks where the playground designer used a nautical theme, but you can also play it anywhere. The rules for this game do involve a little set up and a larger group since you need enough people to hold as the “prisoner” if they get caught, without ending the fun. However, this is one of the best games for getting kids to work together on strategizing and teamwork.
Freeze Tag
This is another classic game that your family can easily pick up at any park. Designate someone to be “it”. They will then have to run around and tag as many people as possible. Once someone is tagged, they are “frozen” until a teammate comes along and “unfreezes” them.
Some games are just so fun that they’ll be played for years to come! In fact, teaching your kids to play these games now could potentially spark a family tradition that they’ll pass down one day. Whether your group loves freeze tag or pretending that they are in the prehistoric days of volcanic danger, you’ll all get a healthy dose of exercise while also having a whole lot of fun!
