Fun Games for young private students!BuildingYou dont need a fancy building set for this. Popsicle stick cities, card towers, even buildings out of blocks, or forts out of boxes or pillows, will do just fine. If you want to get competitive, whoever builds the highest tower wins.Magical TeacherBe your kids very own Harry Houdini without the locks, chains and water tanks, of course. Simply place a coin under one of three cups and shuffle the cups around. Then ask your children to guess which cup holds the coin. Sneaky parents can place the cups near the edge of a table and secretly drop the coin. Watch your tots eyes light up in amazement when they learn the coin is gone!PuzzlesExercise those creative, cognitive and problem-solving muscles with a good puzzle. You can use a store-bought variety or have the kids make their own. Have your children draw a picture on a sturdy piece of cardboard or Bristol board. Then use a pencil to outline puzzle pieces directly on their drawing. Cut out the pieces with a good pair of scissors, mix them up and get solving.Freeze!Choose some of your kids favourite tunes and turn up the volume. Ask them to dance until the music stops. When it does, they have to freeze in whatever position they find themselves in even if they have one leg up. To make the game more challenging, ask the kids to freeze in specific poses: animals, shapes, letters or even yoga postures.Indoor hopscotchThis schoolyard favourite is sure to be an indoor hit, too. Set up your hopscotch game on any floor surface. Masking tape will do perfectly to form the nine connecting squares. Boxes 1-3 will be placed in a single line, one on top of the other. The next two boxes (4, 5) will be placed side-by-side, followed by a single box (6), two more boxes (7, 8) and the final half-circle home base (9). Next, choose a marker, such as a coin, stone or beanbag. The first player will throw the marker into square 1 without letting it bounce or touch the lines. If successful, the player will then hop one foot on single squares and two feet on side-by-side squares avoiding square #1. The player may rest on home before hopping back. On the way back, he or she picks up the marker on square #1 and, if successful (lands within the lines, hops or jumps with proper footing, doesnt fall), takes another turn and throws it into square #2. When the player is unsuccessful, the next player takes a turn. Players resume their turns by throwing the marker on the last box played. The winner is the first player to throw the marker home (#9), and smoothly complete the whole course.DIY balance beamWhile you have your masking tape out, why not make your own balance beam? We all know how much kids love walking in straight lines every chance they get. Put on some music, and one at a time the kids can take their turn walking one-foot-over-the-other across the straight line of tape. Make the game more challenging by having the kids walk backwards or balance with one foot on the line.Hide and SeekNo list of indoor games would be complete without Hide and Seek, now would it? In this classic game, one person (It) covers his or her eyes and counts aloud while the other players hide. When It is finished counting, he or she begins looking for the hiders. The last hider to be found is the next It. Warning: this game is often a source of giggle fits. Families with older children might want to take things up a notch and play Hide and Seek in the dark. Just to be safe, make sure there are no loose items on the floor. If you want, allow It to carry a flashlight or turn the lights on once It finishes counting.Treasure huntKids love finding hidden objects especially when theres a prize at the end. Simply write your clues on some slips of paper get creative. Place the first clue somewhere easy to find, like inside your childs snack or cereal bowl. Then leave as many clues as you like around the house, making a trail to the final clue. Instead of a prize, the treasure hunt can lead to various coins around the house. This way the kids get to collect all the coins and put them in their piggy banks in the end.Indoor bowlingA great way to reuse water bottles (or you can purchase an indoor bowling set). Line six-10 water bottles up at the end of your hall or living room. Place a line of duct tape at the starting line. Grab a medium-sized indoor ball and start bowling! If you want, keep score and give out trophies at the end. (Note: if you need to stabilize the water bottles or make the game more difficult, simply fill them up with some water. Dont forget to screw the tops on tightly!)Picnic memory gameFormer preschool director and grandmother of three, Marsha Colla, has some innovative games up her sleeve, including this fun and simple verbal memory game, which, Colla says, challenges the children and makes them giggle. To play, everyone sits in a circle. The first player says, In my basket for the picnic, I packed, and then says what item he or she packed. The next player then says, In my basket for the picnic, I packed, and then recites what the first player packed and adds his or her own item to the basket, and so forth.The listening game

One of Collas go-to games for her preschoolers and grandchildren, this game is sure to both educate and delight little ones. Take out several miscellaneous items. Have the children look at all the items, and then take them away. Next, ask one child to hide his or her eyes and listen as you pick up an item and make sounds with it. Ask the child to guess which item made the sound. Examples of items might be a comb (run your fingers along it), a glass (gently tap it), cymbals, shakers, sandpaper, blocks rubbed together, a pot and spoon. Be creative and have fun!BubblesYou dont have to go outside to enjoy bubbles. For this game, you need a plate and straw for each player, some dishwashing soap and water. Place a dime-size drop of dish soap at the centre of each plate. Pour a little water onto the plate and gently mix with the dish soap until some suds start to form. Have the kids place the straw in the suds and blow very gently. Watch as massive bubbles start to form. To make this competitive, see who blows the biggest, or longest-lasting, bubble.Simon SaysThis traditional favourite will never get old. To start, choose one player (probably a parent for the first round) to be Simon. The rest of the players will gather in a circle or line in front of Simon as he calls out actions starting with the phrase Simon says: Simon saystouch your toes. The players then have to copy Simons action, touching their toes. If Simon calls out an action without uttering the phrase Simon says, the kids must not do the action. If a child touches his toes when Simon didnt say, he or she is out of the game. There are lots of great ways Simon can trick players into doing actions when Simon didnt say: Simon can perform an action without uttering a command, for example, or he can perform an action that doesnt correspond with the command. Fun! The last player left in the game wins and becomes the next Simon.Touch-and-feel boxMost preschoolers flock to the classroom sensory table as soon as the teachers pull it out. So there is little doubt they will love this entertaining challenge. Find a shoe box or any box that has a lid on it. Cut a hole in one of the sides of the box large enough for your child to fit her hand in. If you want, get creative and decorate the box with glitter and question marks. When youre ready to play, put an item inside the box and have your children guess what it is. They can ask questions about the item if they need to, or you can offer clues. Get as ooey-gooey as you wish (fresh pumpkin seeds or slimy spaghetti are great choices for Halloween), or use such simple objects as a brush, a toy, a piece of fruit. Indoor basketballYou cant be too little for this version of basketball. All you need is a bucket and a rolled up sock (or a small, light ball). Each player takes a turn at throwing the sock-ball into the bucket. When a player scores a bucket, he or she takes a step back and throws again until missing. The player who shoots the ball in the bucket from the farthest distance wins.Paper gamesDots and SquaresBegin by drawing a grid of dots on the paper. Using lined paper or graph paper can make this a little easier. The first person draws a line connecting two dots beside each other. The second player then draws another line to connect another two dots. The goal is to be the person who draws the last side of a square. Then you put your initials inside the square (or some other abbreviation to claim your square). In some versions of this game, if you complete a square you get another turn. The player with the most squares when all the squares are drawn is the winner. SproutsIf you cant quite master drawing a neat grid of dots, you might find this game easier. Draw dots randomly all over the paper. The first player draws a line between any two dots, and draws another dot in the middle of that line. The next player draws a line between any two dots, and puts a dot in the middle of that line. No lines may cross each other, but they dont have to be straight, so they can loop around other lines. Only three lines in total can emerge from any one dot. The dots put in the middle of the lines already have two lines connecting them to the two other dots, so they can only have one more line. The game continues until no more lines can be drawn. The person who did the last line is the winner. FoldoversGive everyone a piece of paper. On the top section, draw a head. It can be an animal head or a persons head, as weird as you like. Now fold that section back, so that its hidden, and slide it across the table to the next person. Without looking at the hidden drawing, the next person draws a chest and arms (of a person, animal, alien), folds it back as well and passes it on to the next person. Without looking at the previous pictures, that person draws a body (stomach and hips) and the final person draws the legs and feet. (You can have more or fewer sections depending on the number of people you have playing.) Finally, unfold your papers and laugh at the weird creatures you have created. Card games (be sure to ask if it's OK to use playing cards in your lesson via Rita. You can adapt a lot of these using sets of small flashcards as well!)Go FishAge:7+Number of players:2+Cards:Standard deck of 52 cardsHow to play:Choose a dealer to hand out cards. If there are two or three players, each player is dealt seven cards. If there are more people taking part, each player is dealt five cards. The remaining cards are placed face down in a pile. This is the fish pond.

Each player sorts their cards into groups of the same number or suit (i.e. group of threes or group of kings), making sure not to show anyone. The requester (person to the left of the dealer) starts the game by asking another player for cards that will match his hand. For example, if the requester has two kings, he will ask the other player for kings. If the other player has these cards, he must hand them over. The requester continues asking the same player for more cards until the player does not have the cards he wants. If the player does not have the right cards, he can tell the requester to Go fish. The requester then has to take one card from the fish pond. The player who told him to Go fish becomes the new requester.

Anyone who collects all four cards of a set (i.e. all four eights or all four Queens) puts them face down in front of him. The winner is the first person to have no single cards left, only complete sets. If two people run out of cards together, the player with the most sets wins the game.Crazy EightsAge:5+Number of players:2-4Cards:Standard deck of 52 cards

How to play: In a two-player game, each player is dealt seven cards. In a game with three or four players, each player is dealt five cards. The rest of the deck goes facedown in a pile, with the top card turned up beside it. This is the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer discards a card from his hand that matches either the number or suit of the top card in the discard pile. For example, if the card is a five of hearts, he could play any heart or any five. If he does not have a matching card, he continues picking up cards from the deck until he gets one that is playable. Eights are wild and can be put down on any suit. For example, an eight could be played to match a heart. The next player must match their card to the number or suit that the eight was meant to cover. Play continues with players matching the card at the top of the discard pile. The first player to use up all his cards wins. If the deck runs out before the game is over, the discard pile can be used.Old MaidAge:5+Number of players:3+Cards:Standard deck of 52 cards is used, but with one queen removed. This leaves a pair of queens in one colour and a single queen (the old maid) in the other colour.How to play:All cards are dealt face down to players. Some players may have more cards than others, but this is okay. Each player sorts their cards into matching pairs of the same number or suit, keeping them hidden from other players. Players holding pairs of matching cards lay them down on the table face up. If anyone has three matching cards, he only puts down one pair and keeps the spare card. If anyone has four matching cards, he puts down two pairs.

The player to the left of the dealer offers his cards to the player on his left, who cannot see them. That player selects a random card from his hand. If the new card he picks matches any of the cards he already he has, he can put down the pair. If not, he keeps it. He then offers his cards to the player on his left. This continues until all the cards have been put down in pairs, except the Old Maid, which is left alone and cannot be paired. The person left holding this card is the old maid and loses the game.WarAge:6+Number of players:2Cards:Standard deck of 52 cardsHow to play:All cards are dealt to the two players and kept face down. Neither player must look at their cards. Both players turn over the top card of their piles and put them face up in the centre of the table, beside the other players card. Whoever has turned over the highest ranking card takes both cards and adds them to the bottom of his pile. This continues until two cards of the same value (i.e. two sevens) are put down together. The game is now in a state of war. To continue, both players take two new cards and put one face down on top of the card they have already placed in the middle and one face up. Whoever puts down the higher ranking face up card wins all six. The game is won by the player who collects all of the cards.Concentration/MemoryAge:3+Number of players:2+Cards:Standard deck of 52 cardsHow to play:Older children can use the whole deck of 52 cards, but younger children may want to use fewer cards. Make sure the deck you use is made up of pairs.

Shuffle and spread cards face down on a table between the players. Cards can be laid in a random pattern or in a grid. The object of the game is to find matching pairs. Players take turns turning over two cards and letting all the players see them and study them. If they are not a matching pair, try to remember what and where they are, then turn them back over. The next player turns over two cards. If they are a matching pair, that player removes them from the table and keeps them, and then has another turn. When all cards have been removed from the table, each player counts up the number of cards they have collected. The player with the most cards wins.SnapAge:6+Number of players:2+Cards:Standard deck of 52 cards. Two decks can be used for more than three players.How to play:Choose a card dealer. This player deals all the cards around the group until there are no cards left. Some players may have more cards than others, but this is okay. Players do not look at their cards but keep them face down in individual stacks.

To begin, the player to the left of the dealer turns his top card over and places it face up next to his own pile. The next player does the same. (Note: If a player runs out of face down cards, he can shuffle his face up pile and use them.) This continues until a player notices that two cards on top of the face up piles are the same, such as two jacks or two sixes. The first player to notice and shout out snap! receives all cards in both of the matched piles and adds them to the bottom of his face down pile. The game continues with a new player turning a card over.

If two players shout snap! at the same time, they form a snap pool with the two matched piles of cards placed together in the centre. Play continues until someone turns up a card that matches the top card in the snap pool. Whoever shouts snap pool! first takes the whole pool and adds it to the bottom of their face down pile. If a player mistakenly shouts snap! he has two options: 1) give every player one card from his face down pile, or 2) his entire face down pile becomes a new snap pool. If a player has no more face up or face down cards he is out of the game. The winner of the game is the player with all of the cards.PigAge:6+Number of players:3-13Cards:Standard deck of 52 cards for up to 13 playersHow to play:For each player, take four of a kind (cards of the same number or suit) out of the deck and put aside the remaining cards. For example, if there are three players, take three groups of four matching cards, such as four queens, four sevens and four aces. Shuffle all these cards and deal them so each player has four. Players can look at their cards privately.

To begin, each person discards one card from their hand and puts it face down on the table in front of them. When everyone has a card on the table, they will simultaneously pass their card to the player on the left and pick up the new card that has been passed to them. When a player collects four of a kind, he puts his finger on his nose. If another player notices this, they must also place their finger on their nose, regardless of whether they have four of a kind or not. The last player to put a finger on their nose gets a letter first P, then I, then G. The first player to reach P-I-G is the loser.RummyAge:7+Number of players:2-6Cards:Standard deck of 52 cardsHow to play:The object of the game is to get rid of your cards as you group them into melds. A meld is a set of three or four of a kind, or a run (three or more cards in order of the same suit, such as the three, four and five of hearts).

The dealer shuffles the deck and deals the cards one at a time to each player as follows: Two players get 10 cards each; three or four players get seven cards each; five or six players get 6 cards each. The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the table and serve as the stock pile. The top card of the stock pile is turned face up and set next to the stock pile; this card begins the discard pile. Each player then groups all matching cards and runs together in their hand, which makes it easier to see the melds in their hand. Do not show the other players.

The player to the left of the dealer plays first by taking the top card from either the stock pile or the discard pile. If the player has a meld, he will lay it down on the table so all cards in the meld are visible. Then he will discard another card from his hand by placing it face up in the discard pile. Players can also place a card down on any existing meld if they have a card that matches the meld or if they draw a card that matches the meld. For example, a player could lay a queen down onto an existing meld of three queens.

The game continues clockwise around the table with players drawing a card from the stock or discard pile, making melds and laying down a card in the discard pile. The first player to get rid of their cards wins the round. Win the entire game by being the first to win five rounds.SlapjackAge:4+Number of players:2-5Cards:Standard deck of 52 cardsHow to play:Choose a dealer to deal the cards face down to each player. Players cannot look at their cards, but instead put them into piles. Some players may have more cards than others, which is okay. The player to the left of the dealer begins by turning the card on the top of his pile face up in the centre of the table. The game continues with each player adding a card to the face up pile. When a jack is turned, players try to be the first to slap their hand over the face up pile. Whoever slaps their hand on the face up pile first gets the entire stack of cards and adds it to the bottom of their pile. The player to their left starts a new face up pile and play continues. If a player has no more cards, they have one more chance to stay in the game by slapping the next jack that appears. If they miss this opportunity, they are out of the game for good. The last person in the game is the winner.I Doubt ItAge:6+Number of players:6-12Cards:Standard deck of 52 cardsHow to play:Choose a dealer to deal all cards, one at a time, to each player. Some players will have more cards than others, which is okay. Players can organize their hand of cards as they please, but do not show any other players. The player to the left of the dealer begins the game starting with aces. He places the card(s) face down in the centre of the table saying two aces or whatever the desired number of cards are. Players can lay up to four cards of the card they are required to discard. The game continues clockwise to the next player, who will discard twos. The following player discards threes, and so on. Players announce their cards as they lay them. Start again with aces after kings have been played. Keep in mind that players dont have to play the cards they announce. They can be lying. Even if you do not have the required card to discard, you must put down and name a card.

After each turn, allow a moment to let anyone challenge the player by saying I doubt it. Remember to challenge a player only if you think he might not be discarding the cards he says he is. When a challenge is voiced, the challenger can look at the discarded cards. If they match what the person who played them said, the challenger picks up all cards in the discard pile and adds them to his personal pile. If the cards are not what the person said they were, the player who discarded them must pick up the entire discard pile. The player to lay down his entire hand of cards first will win the game.

Flashcard gamesAlphabet Soup:Place plastic letters in a bowl. Divide flashcards by their beginning letters. Each student draws a letter from the bowl and then finds the flashcards associated with that letter. (Submitted by Lori Supernaw)Basketball:Ss take a shot at the trash can/box/etc. First show a flashcard to S1. If s/he answers correctly then s/he can have a shot at the basket. If the S gets the ball in the basket then s/he wins 2 points. If the S hits the basket without going inside then s/he wins 1 point. The person who gets the most points is the winner. This can also be played in teams.Basketball Card Line-Up:This game is like basketball game but more educational. Place 2 lines of several cards. You need 2 players and a basket far away. To shoot the basket from far away is hard so the players need to say the card and make their way closer and closer to the basket. When they feel that they can throw and hit the basket, they make their attempt.Battleship:Age: 4+, Level: All levels, Target: Vocabulary, Phrases, Listening and Conversation. Make a grid. The size of the grid depends on the number of students and the time limits of the class. Basically the students pick a grid reference, as " A1" or B7and then you reveal the card.Bean Bag Toss:Lay out flashcards face down up the floor. Ss toss the bean bag and identify the flashcard it lands on. (Submitted by Betty).

Charades:Have a S come to the front of the class and show a FC or whisper a word to that S. The S then acts out that word and the first S to guess can be the next player. This works very well with action verbs.Variation:divide the class up into teams - the first S to guess wins a point for his/her team.Concentration:You need 2 sets of flashcards for this game. Place both sets face down on the floor. Ss take turns in turning over 2 cards (saying the cards aloud). If the cards match then the S keeps the cards. If the cards are different the cards are turned back over again in their original places. The S with the most pairs at the end of the game is the winner.Cross the River:Place flashcards on floor in winding manner. Each represents a stepping stone in the river, as students must say word/phrase/question/etc in order to step on it and cross the river! (submitted by Michelle K). Give Me Game:You can use with flashcards or objects. Elicit the different flashcards you have. Then place all the flashcards around the classroom. Once the Ss have collected the flashcards (they'll probably do their best to hide them in their pockets, etc.) T says "Give me a (bus)". The S with the (bus) flashcard should approach the T and hand it to him/her: "Here you are". Avoid having the flashcards thrown back to you as they can go anywhere and takes a long time to finish this game.Guessing Question Game:This is good practicefor asking simple questions. T hidesany flash card behindhis/her back andSstry to guess what the object is by asking questions: "Is it a dog?", "Is it a ball?", "Is it a book?",etc. until they guess the flashcard. (Submitted by Nagwa).Jump On It:Spread out flashcards on the floor and have Ss stand at one end of the room. Shout out a card and the Ss have to find the card and jump on it. The first S to do this wins a point.Variation:Make 2 teams for a relay race. The first 2 Ss try and jump on the flashcard first to win a point for their team.

Line True or False:Put a line of tape on the floor and designate one side "True" and the other "False". Hold up a flashcard or object and say its word. If Ss think that you have said the correct word they jump on the True side, if not they jump on the False side. Incorrect Ss sit out until the next game. Musical Flashcards:Ss walk around some flashcards in a circle as some music is playing. When the music stops T shouts out a flashcard and the Ss must race to step on that card. The first S to step on it keeps the card (1 point) and the game continues. Paper Rock Scissors:A good vocabulary game. Teach students the new vocabulary (E.g. clothes, colors, animals, etc.). Spread the flashcards in a row on the floor. Divide Ss into two teams. Have students walk on the cards from the opposite sides repeating the vocab just learned. When they are standing on the last card from their end the T says "1... 2.... 3" and the students have to put their hand in front in the form of paper or scissors or the rock. Scissors cut the paper, paper covers the rock and rock break the scissors. Repeat the activity with each student from different teams. The winning Ss can play again. (submitted by Reena Unterreiner-lal). Quick Peek:T holds a flashcard with the picture facing towards him/her. T quickly shows it to the Ss for a quick peek. The S who guesses the card wins a point.Race Track:Lay out the flashcards like a race track with a start and finish line. Ss play in pairs or teams. S1 rolls a dice and moves a counter along the track. The S must say the flashcard landed on and if wrong must move back to the original position.Variation:put in some 'throw again' cards (e.g. brightly colored cards) and a nominate a 'crash' number on the die (e.g. if Ss throws a 6 they crash and must stay where they are and miss a turn). Shopping:This can be used with a wide range of flashcards (food pictures work well). Gather all the Ss and show them all the flashcards you have. Ask a S "What do you want?" (or maybe "What would you like?" to higher levels). The S should reply (e.g. "a hamburger, please"). T then says "Here you are" and the S finishes with "Thank you". At the end collect the objects by playing the 'Give Me' game. Tic Tac Toe:Place 9 flashcards (representing words, phrases, questions, etc) face down and numbered (or letters of alphabet) on a large taped grid on the floor. Students call out number or letter to see flashcard. S or team with correct response claims that space with an X or O. (submitted by Michelle K).Touch:Place flashcards around the room and have Ss run around the classroom touching the flashcards that T orders them to do (e.g. "Touch the car" "Touch the bicycle" "Touch the bus").Vanishing Flashcards Game:place a number of flashcards in front of the Ss. Give them a few moments to memorize the pictures and then tell them to close their eyes. Take away one of the flashcards and then tell the Ss to open their eyes again. The first S to guess the missing flashcard can win that flashcard (for 1 point) and take away a flashcard in the next round.