The American Heart Association recommends that kids get at least 60 minutes of exercise every day, and what better way to get exercise than by playing games? Whether you are a gym teacher looking for ideas for your P.E. class, an activities coordinator for a camp, or just an involved parent, there are many games your kids can play at the local gymnasium.
Dodgeball
Dodgeball is a classic game that can be played indoors in a gym. Use the natural center line of the gym to divide the space into two halves. Divide the children in to two equal teams. Place three to five soft Nerf-like balls in the center of the gym. When the whistle blows, both teams rush to the center line, grab any ball they can and run to the back of their court. Then they throw the ball at the players on the other team. If a player is hit, he is out. If one player throws the ball, and a player on the other team catches it, the player who threw the ball is out, and the player who caught it gets to bring in one out team member back into the game. The game continues until one entire team is out.
Blob Tag
Blob tag is a twist on the traditional game of tag. Like regular tag, someone is chosen to be "it". That person chases after all the other players in the gym trying to tag them. If a person is tagged, instead of being the new person who is it, she joins hands with the person who is currently it, and they start to form a "blob" of people. As people get tagged, they too join the blob, creating a long chain of people. Only the people on the ends of the chain can tag people. The goal is to be the last person not a part of the blob.
Enchanted Forest
For the game of enchanted forest, one person is picked to be it. This person has the power to tag people and turn them into trees. All of the kids start on one end of the gymnasium. At the sound of a whistle, all the kids run from one end of the gym to the other, trying not to get tagged by the person who is it. If they are tagged, they turn into trees. The trees then have the ability to reach out and tag people as they go back across the gym, but they must keep both feet firmly planted on the gym floor. On each whistle, the kids run from one end of the gym to the other over and over again, avoiding both the person who is it, and the trees, until only one person remains and becomes the new "it" person.
Indoor Kickball
Indoor kickball has the same rules as outdoor kickball but with a smaller playing space, which can make the game more entertaining and difficult at the same time. Like regular kickball, there are two teams, one team in the outfield and one up to kick. If the kids are younger, have an adult be the pitcher. The goal is to kick the ball and make it passed all three bases and back to home plate without getting hit by the kickball. Because indoor kickball has a smaller space, you may want to add extra outs before switching which team is up to kick.
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