When children get to be 9 or 10, they turn up their noses at the games they played when they were younger--think traditional tag and Duck, Duck, Goose. But these kids still like to laugh and run around, and you can entice them with activities that have a little more pizzazz. These organized games get them outdoors, keep them active and provide healthy interactions with their peers.
Silly Relays
Relay games for younger kids usually involve a lot of running, tagging and more running. For 9- and 10-year olds, introduce some variations that require more skill. Lots-of-Kids-Games.com recommends an egg relay, which begins with teams lining up at the start. All players have spoons in their hands, and the first player on each team balances a hard-cooked egg on her spoon. The first player runs to the finish line about 20 feet away, carrying the egg on the spoon. If she drops it, she has to pick it up only using her spoon. She returns to her team and passes the egg to the next player. All the players follow suit.
The Crab Race is another type of relay. Teams form at the starting point, and the first player in line gets on all fours, stomach up. That player crab-walks forward to the finish line and backward to her team members. She tags the next player, who repeats the crab walk.
Swimming Games
Marco Polo may be passe for 9- and 10-year-olds, but they'll get a giggle from other pool activities. The Source for Youth Ministry suggests a game called Get Dressed in which all players need shirts and shorts in addition to the bathing suits they're wearing. The participants line up at one end of the pool, and the judge tosses the street clothes into the water at the other end. At the word "Go," players swim toward the clothes, find their own and put them on. The winner is the first player to get dressed and return to the finish line. If the participants aren't strong swimmers, the whole event can take place in shallow water.
Duck Thrust is good for a lot of laughs too. Kids each get a rubber duck at the starting line. They push their ducks toward the finish by blowing or bumping them with their noses--no other parts of the body can touch a duck. The first player to the finish wins the game.
New Kinds of Tag
You can easily update old-fashioned tag to make it attractive to 9- and 10-year-olds. KidsHealth offers several variations including Blob Tag and Band-Aid Tag. In Blob Tag, the person who's "it" chases other players and when he tags one, the two join hands and become "it" together. They chase others and continue tagging them until everyone has joined the blob. The challenge is for the blob members to get coordinated and move in the same direction at the same time.
In Band-Aid Tag, the person who is "it" chases other players. When someone is caught, he has to put a hand on the spot he was tagged and keep the hand there. When he's tagged a second time, he has to put his other hand on that spot. If he's tagged again, he sits on the sidelines. The game is over when everyone is out.
