Grumpy Dumpling
Ili's kindergarten blog
Police Officer, Thief
Age: 3-10 y.o.
Number of players: more than 5.
The kids sit down in a circle, with one exception. One child is the thief. She walks around the circle (on the outside, clockwise direction), touching each child on the back/head and saying either “police officer” or “thief”.
The first child who is called a police officer has to run, so that she catches the thief. The thief is safe once he gets back to his place (after running in a clockwise direction).
Tip: Use chairs or sitting pads, so that the kids don’t forget their places.
Movement game: Up, down, down
Materials: a ball (a soft one, not too large), a “magic” wand, stickers
Age: 4-7 y.o.
Instructions: The children all stand in a circle. They start throwing a ball from one to another. If a child drops the ball, he has to pun one knee on the ground, and continue playing like that. If he drops it twice, he will put the other knee on the ground, as well. If he drops it three times, he will put one elbow on the ground and continue playing.
If a child is out of the game (when he has no hands left), he will be a referee/judge and supervise the game.
At the end, everyone gets a sticker for participating, if they played by the rules.
The child who begins the game will be chosen with the “magic” wand and a funny rhyme.
Where Are You, Billy?
Materials: scarf
Age: 3-6 y.o.
Instructions: The children stand in a circle, holding hands. Two children will be chosen to stand in the middle. One of them will be “the blind person” (blindfolded), and the other will be Billy.
The rule: the blind person will ask: “Where are you, Billy?”, and will try to catch Billy in the circle. Billy has to answer every time “I’m here”, and clap his hands (once) whenever he says it. The blind person will try to follow the sound.
When Billie is caught, the children change.
Movement game: Ball in the tunnel
Materials: a ball (easy), 2 or 3 (more difficult).
Age: 3-8 y.o.
Instructions: All players form a circle: they have their legs open and a hand behind their back. The aim of this game is to throw a ball (or also two or three balls to make the activity more difficult and interesting) in between the opponents' legs and, at the same time, to protect yourself by making a shield with your free hand.
Elimination can be direct or on the second, third attempt; throwing the ball out of the circle can count as a penalty. With very young kids, no penalties should be used.