Picnics are a staple for many families during the warmer months of the year. Games spice up your picnic, offering structured entertainment for the kids in attendance. Simple games that don't require a lot of supplies work best because the kids can start playing right away while you set up the picnic.
Volleyball
A modified version of volleyball, suggested by Education.com, lets the younger kids play the sport. Tie a bright ribbon between two trees or posts as a makeshift net for the game. You'll need two teams of either two or four players, depending on how many kids you have. For two-player teams, each team needs a beach towel or small blanket. For four-player teams, use a sheet or larger blanket. Either a water balloon or regular volleyball works for the game. The teams hold the corners of the towel or blanket. The serving team places the water balloon or volleyball in the middle of its towel or blanket. They toss it over the net by lifting the blanket quickly. The other team must catch the ball or water balloon with their blanket. If a team misses, the other team scores a point.
Modified Duck, Duck, Goose
This modified version of duck, duck, goose works best on a hot day because it uses water. The person who is "it" carries a water squirt toy. Instead of saying "goose" to the person she wants to challenge, she squirts him with the water. The person who gets squirted chases her in an attempt to tag her before she gets back to his spot, just as you do in the regular version of the game.
A similar version is to provide the person who is "it" with a cup of water. She dribbles a few drops of water on each person's head as she goes around the circle instead of saying "duck". She then dumps the remaining water of the person she wants to challenge instead of saying "goose".
Tag
Tag works well for picnics because you can play it in any large, open space without special equipment. There are numerous versions of tag that already exist, or you can make up your own. Kids Health suggests Band-Aid Tag, which requires the kids to hold a hand over the spot where they are tagged until the end of the game. A second tag in the game requires him to place his other hand over the second spot where he was tagged. A third tag sends him to the "hospital" since he won't have any more hands to cover the spot.
For a hot day, incorporate a water-soaked sponge into a tag game. The tagger runs around with the wet sponge. If he tags someone with the sponge, that person becomes "it" and takes the sponge to tag someone else.
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