Recommended outdoor games and recreational activities for lower elementary school children
Here are some recommended outdoor recreation activities for lower elementary school children.
We’ve gathered popular games ranging from easy activities you can play casually in parks and open spaces to group recreation everyone can enjoy during campfires and camping trips.
Some games have more elaborate rules, so if you’re thinking, “I’m getting bored of simple games,” feel free to use these as a reference.
Each game has standard rules, but it’s totally fine to tweak them to suit your own style!
Play plenty outside to not only build physical strength but also strengthen bonds with your friends!
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Outdoor games and recreational activities recommended for lower elementary school children (11–20)
Loud Voice Showdown
It’s a simple game where you face each other, shout, and compete to see who was louder.
You can make it more exciting by choosing the right situation—like starting with a campfire between you or playing at the end of the day—and encouraging everyone to express how fun the day was with all their energy.
The words you shout also matter: you can simply say how you feel, or set a common phrase so it’s easier to judge the winner.
To boost the mood even more, it might be fun to run the game in rhythm.
Cops and Robbers
A tag game played in groups as Thieves vs.
Police, with a hide-and-seek element.
First, choose the jail location.
While the Police team counts to ten, the Thieves team should run away or hide.
When the counting ends, the police set out.
Thieves who are caught are put in jail, but their teammates can rescue them.
If a thief who hasn’t been caught touches a teammate inside the jail, the jailbreak succeeds.
Tag
Tag is a classic game that just about everyone played at least once as a child.
Whether you’re running away or playing It and giving chase, not knowing where the others are hiding makes your heart race and amps up the excitement! And when you play in a large area, it gets even more thrilling if you add a rule where the runners set off a personal safety alarm once every few minutes, deliberately revealing their location to the chaser.
Give it a try!
UFO Dance
“The UFO Dance” is a playful activity where people act out villagers being startled as a UFO descends to Earth, all set to a humorous bon odori-style rhythm.
It’s perfect for events where everyone gathers around something, like a campfire.
The strange dance, the quirky lyrics, and the sight of classmates or coworkers performing it earnestly…
it’s bound to make everyone burst into laughter as they watch each other! Once you get the hang of it, it could be fun to make up your own verses—like “aliens coming down from the UFO”—and keep dancing.
Treeing
Treeing is an outdoor activity where you enjoy climbing trees using special ropes.
Because your body is securely supported by the rope as you climb, you can let go with your hands without worrying about falling and reach scenic spots you would never normally be able to climb to.
Dribble & Stop
A recreation activity that uses a soccer ball and accommodates various movements is called “Dribble & Stop.” It incorporates both the dribbling motion of soccer and the quick stopping motion that halts it instantly.
First, to get used to the ball, try tapping it alternately with your left and right feet.
Once you can do that, challenge yourself with dribbling—running while gently kicking the ball.
When stopping the ball, the trick is to either stop it with one foot while imagining you’re easing off the momentum, or to use your backside to block and stop it.
Glico
This is a game you can play with several people.
First, decide on a starting point and a goal.
Do rock-paper-scissors: if you win with rock (gu), say “Glico” and move forward three steps.
If you win with scissors (choki), say “Chiyokoreito” (“chocolate”) and move six steps.
If you win with paper (pa), say “Painattsupuru” (“pineapple”) and also move six steps.
It’s easier to play on stairs, and it’s safer too, since it reduces the risk of bicycle or car accidents.
Jump together
As a recreation activity that builds a sense of unity, I’d like to introduce “Jump Together.” First, everyone holds hands and forms a circle.
Then a leader calls out, “All together!”—that’s the starting signal.
Everyone responds in unison.
After that, you jump according to the leader’s directions.
Wondering, “Which direction is next?” adds excitement, and working toward the same goal strengthens your bonds.
As a next stage, it’s also fun to jump in the direction opposite to the call.
7 park games kids can play without equipment
Park games that everyone from small children to adults can enjoy together without any preparation are great because they can be played with whoever happens to be there.
Hopscotch, hand-pushing sumo, number games, playing house, shadow play, and drawing are all familiar activities that don’t require any equipment.
You can also use natural materials like pebbles and sticks, which makes it easy to invent games and come up with original rules with friends.
Let’s make the most of the wide-open space of the park and have fun moving our whole bodies with games that can only be enjoyed in such a setting.
Shuttle Grab Game
This is a shuttle-grab game you can play using badminton shuttles.
Players compete to collect the most shuttles.
Up to four people can play at once.
First, place four marker cones—like the ones used in soccer—to form a square area.
Each player stands at one cone.
Then place four or more shuttles in the center of the square.
On the signal, rush to grab a shuttle and place it on your own cone.
Once the center is empty, go steal shuttles from other players.
The player with the most shuttles at the end wins.
It’s sure to be an exciting, high-energy game!
