These games are for groups of kids, so they work well when your children have lots of friends over, or during parties and picnics.
Mark off a giant checkerboard on your lawn. Pick captains and let each one choose teams and line up his or her “checkers.” You can give each child a piece of black or red construction paper or fabric to put on his or her shirt. The captains will move children around the board. The fun part comes when a player reaches the back row and says, “King me.” The children will then have to piggyback. Be sure to have your camera handy.
Another fun idea is to make giant dice by painting two boxes. Create a giant game board on the lawn, with bright yarn. If you want to get fancy, use poster board to create the pathway for traveling around the board. Have children take turns rolling the dice and moving pieces. Create giant game pieces, or let children act as game pieces and move around. This is always good for giggles.
Capture the flag is another great group game and works well for parties. Choose two captains and let them pick teams. Each team will create a unique flag from fabric, cardboard, or paper attached to a stick or dowel rod. They will then create forts. The teams will attempt to take each other’s flags. Each team will strategize to keep their flag safe by hiding it or keeping it moving. Be sure to set up specific boundaries. Children will need to come up with passwords, to keep members of the other team from invading their forts.
Scavenger hunts are also fun. Divide children into two teams and give them a list of items to collect. Again, set boundaries wherein the children must remain throughout the game. The first team to collect each item on the list (or as many as possible in a certain timeframe) wins.