Feel like you're bursting with energy and just want to MOVE? That's when it's time to GET ACTIVE. You can play a sport with your friends, challenge your brothers and sisters to a bike race or just dance like crazy to the radio in your room. Whatever you do, you're doing something great for yourself, both inside and out. And most likely, you're having lots of fun doing it!

Here are just a few of the games we like to play in our backyard or at the park.

Chain Reaction

This game is a useful model of chain reaction. Children pair up, holding hands, and scatter around the playing area. One kid is IT and chases all the pairs. When a pair is caught, they split up and each of them joins the game as individuals to become a chaser. Once you become IT or a chaser you remain one for the remainder of the games. The game ends when there are no pairs left.

Reverse Tag

First choose who is it. The kids who are NOT IT count to five while IT runs away. Everyone begins to chase "IT"-when you tag him you become it and must run from everyone else. (It is the same thing as regular tag but backwards!!)

Crab-Popcorn Tag

This is a quick heart-pumping, arm aching tag game. "IT" is the popcorn, allowed only to jump. Everyone else is a crab, allowed only to travel in a crab walk. When popcorn tags crab, the crab becomes popcorn, and joins in the tagging action. This activity takes only minutes but is enthusiastically repeated. Do caution the popcorn to gently tag and to be careful of little crab claws!

Partner Duck, Duck Goose

Partners face each other in the middle of a play area and begin tagging one another while saying, "duck", "duck", but when one partner says "goose", s/he turns around to run away from the partner touched, and the tagged partner must chase her/him back to the sideline. If the "it" escapes, s/he earns a point. If the runner tags her, the runner earns a point.

Individual Jump Rope

The best cardio-contests ever! Challenge your jumping skills for some long-term fun! Can you:

  • Jump 25 times in a row without stopping? Challenge your friends to meet some big numbers and get your heart fit.
  • Do some fancy footwork? Try foot movements that you can do without a rope, such as side to side jumps, straddle jumps, skipping, one foot hopping, jumping forward and back, heel-to-heel, toe-to-toe, half turns and full turns around!
  • Jazz it up! String together some of those tricks for a fancy jump rope routine. Challenge your friends to finish a complete routine with no stops.

    Two Square

    Got a sidewalk with two blocks? Then you have a great court for the game of two square. You and a friend practice striking a ball back and forth to each other, letting the ball bounce once in your square before striking it back to your partner. If it bounces twice, or you miss it, the other person scores a point.

    Target Practice

    How accurate is your throw? Decide on a target in your playing area. Try to throw at the target and hit it, beginning close to the target. After each successful throw, take a step back and increase the challenge-can you still hit it? If not, you should practice at this distance until you are successful. Take another step back to increase the challenge. When you are ready, invite a friend to join you in some friendly competition. Great for hand-eye coordination!

    Volley Anything!

    Volleying, or striking an object back and forth with a partner, is great fun that also improves your hand-eye coordination. Beachballs are great for playground volleyball with a partner or group of friends. Get a friend and try badminton racquets and a shuttlecock, or Koosh© balls with paddles, or tennis racquets with any kind of balls.

    This information was provided in partnership with the National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE). For more information on NASPE program visit them online at www.naspe.org.

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