Top 5 Classic Outdoor Games For Kids

No matter the time of year or temperature outside, outdoor games for kids are what children look forward to the most. With video games and television, it is harder to get kids to go outside, but most of them, especially the younger ones, still enjoy getting outside to run around. Here are 5 classic games to be played outside. The judge? Me, of course.

The most basic of all childhood games. The rules are simple. One person hides their eyes and counts to a specified number. Everyone else hides, and when the person counting finishes, they go and try to find those that are hidden. When I was growing up, the people hiding always tried to make it back to base before being tagged, but that is not always a required rule.

I don't know how much this is played today. What I do know, though, is that it was a dangerous game and could get arms broken and elbows ripped out of socket. Two teams of several kids were required. Each team would hold hands and spread out wide. The two teams would stand, oh, about 20-40 feet apart. One side would then yell, "Red rover, red rover, let [insert name of other team member here] come over." The person called would then have to run as fast as they could and try to break through the arms of the other team. If they did, then they went back to their team and took a member of the opposing team with them. If they didn't break through, they then became property of the team that called them over. The teams took turns calling out names, and the game ended when one side had all of the players.

One of my favorites, although it was hard to play because you needed a lot of people for it to be fun. Two teams would each have a flag that they hid on their side of a field. The goal was to find the other team's flag and bring it back to your side without being caught. Fun during the day, even more fun at night.

A fun game for smaller kids. One person--the "caller"--stands about 20 feet away from a group of kids. When the caller says, "Green light," all of the kids run as fast as they could to the caller. When the caller yells, "Red light," everyone has to stop. If someone moves during a red light, they have to go all the way back to start. The first person to reach the caller wins.

OK, so this isn't a game. But just like some adults that always have to be tinkering with something, the same can be said for kids. Some kids just love getting a kids tool bench and hammering all day.

So on the next nice day, gather some furniture and let the children enjoy these and other classic outdoor games for kids.