Remember the days when you actually wanted to go outside and play? You would go out in the morning, come home for lunch, and go right back outside until dinner. What happen to those memorable times? Get your kids away from television and video games, and create a fun environment outside with the same games you used to play.
Remember these favorites:
Freeze Tag
Choose someone to be "It." "It" chases the other players, trying to tag them. When someone is tagged, they must stand still (freeze) in their spot until another player, who is not frozen, tags them. Then, they are free to run again. The object of the game is for "It" to tag all the players, leaving everyone frozen. When that happens, choose another player to be "It" and start again!
Prisoner's Base
Divide players into two teams. Give the teams names, if you want. Draw a large square in back of each team's side for their prison. Pick one person from each team to be the prisoner of the other team. This person is generally pretty fast. Each team tries to free their prisoner by sending a team member to the prison through the opposing team to bring him back without getting captured by a member of the opposing team. If the person attempting to rescue their own prisoner makes it into the prison without being caught, he is safe while in prison and can pick his own time to run with the prisoner back to their own side. If the team member is caught by the opposing team, he also becomes a prisoner needing to be rescued. So now there are two prisoners in the opposite teams prison. Each team is trying to rescue their own prisoners and keep the prisoners from the opposite side from getting rescued. The game ends when all members of one of the teams are captured.
Apartments
Five players stand against a wall separated by chalk lines drawn up the wall. A sixth player throws the ball at one of the other players. They can twist and do anything to stay out of the way of the ball, but cannot leave their "apartment." Each player gets to have three hits before he is out of the game entirely. If a player catches the ball while in his apartment, he changes places with the person throwing the ball. The new apartment guy takes on all the hits that the other player had. The last player to stay in his apartment wins!
Four Squares
For this game, you will need a soccer ball or basketball. Draw a big square with chalk and divide it into four sections. One player occupies each section. A player bounces the ball into another player's square. That player catches the ball and bounces it into another player's section. If a player fails to catch the ball when it enters his section, the one who threw it gets a point. The idea is to throw the ball quickly from section to section, not giving other players time to think about if the ball is coming to them. The first player to reach 21 wins!
Kick the Can
Draw a big circle and place an empty tin can in the middle of the circle. Choose someone to be "It." "It" guards the can inside the circle. The other players stand outside of the circle. One player at a time rushes into the circle to try and kick the can out of the circle. If this happens, all players run, except for "It." "It" must fetch the can and bring it back to the circle, and yell, "Freeze!" "It" then calls a players name, making her a prisoner. The prisoner comes into the circle. Meanwhile, "It" leaves the circle to get another prisoner by tagging someone. While out of the circle, any frozen player can try to kick the can and free all prisoners. "It" needs to fetch the can again, thus giving all players a chance to run again. If there are no prisoners, a player can make a dash for the circle and if inside before being tagged by "It" can shout "Home free!" Everyone then runs into the circle. The last one in the circle is now "It."
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