Four Team Volleyball

OBJECT - Win a game of volleyball against three other teams.

GAME TYPE - Four team game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. You need at least three players per team.

WHAT YOU NEED - Two movable volleyball nets, an extra pole or two, and a volleyball.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Set up the court. Put a pole in the middle. Set up the nets so the middle is tied to the pole, and the ends make a ninety degree angle to each other, creating four equal quadrants. Alternately, you can have two poles in the middle and wrap the nets behind them.
2. Each team goes to a quadrant.
3. The serving team must serve the ball into the quadrant that is directly across diagonally. After that, the ball can go anywhere.
4. After the serve, each team has three tries to get the ball over the net. One player cannot hit the ball twice in a row.
5. If the ball hits the ground, or if a player commits a foul such as hitting the ball twice in a row, their team gets a point.
6. If the ball goes out of bounds, the team that hit it out of bounds gets a point.
7. The serving team keeps serving until they get a point, at which point the next team to the left serves. Alternately, you can set a five serve limit before they must pass.
8. Players rotate the serve whenever it is their team's turn to serve.
9. Once a team reaches 15 points, the game is over. The team with the lowest point total is the winner.

This game requires a lot of focus becauser the ball could be coming from anywhere. Players will learn how to fake each other out, so make sure everyone is paying attention.

THIS WORKS ON - Athletic ability (volleyball skills), competition (playing against three other teams), observational skills (paying attention to the ball), teamwork (playing as a team)

Bottle Ball

OBJECT - Knock down the bottles!

GAME TYPE - Two team game, dodge game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. You should have at least three per side, but no more than eight.

WHAT YOU NEED - Twelve to twenty 2-liter plastic soda bottles, some empty, some filled with water. You'll also need two or three playground balls and a marked off space for the playing area.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the group into two teams. The two teams go to opposite sides of a playing area, separated by a line.
2. Set up the plastic bottles at the back of the playing area, with space between them.
3. Place the three playground balls at the center. All players line up in front of their plastic bottles.
4. On the word "GO", players race to try and get the balls. No player may cross the center line.
5. The object of the game is to knock down all of the other team's bottles. The full ones should be harder to knock down than the empty ones.
6. This game also adds elements of dodge ball, in that if you hit another player with your throw (unless the ball touches the ground first), they are out. However, as soon as a bottle gets knocked over, all out players on the team whose bottle went down may reenter the game.
7. If a player catches a throw, they may return one player from their own team to the game. Nothing happens to the thrower.
8. If a ball goes out of bounds, one of the players from the team on the side where it went out of bounds may retrieve it. They may not throw the ball until they have come back in bounds.
9. Once all the bottles of one team have been knocked down, the game is over.

For a variation, give one point for each empty bottle knocked over, three for each full bottle knocked over, and set a time limit.

THIS WORKS ON - Athletic ability (throwing, running), competition (playing against another team), eye-hand coordination (aiming at targets), teamwork (playing as a team).

Greedy

OBJECT - Make the most baskets.

GAME TYPE - Elimination game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. You should have no more than ten people playing this game at once.

WHAT YOU NEED - A basketball hoop and enough basketballs so each player can have one. The basketballs should be unique enough that players can tell them apart. This can be a marking on the ball, or an entirely different style of ball. You should also have a scorecard.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have each player line up outside the three point line, and give each a basketball.
2. On the word "GO", every player shoots their basketballs to try to make a basket.
3. When a player misses, they must get the rebopund (and make sure it is their ball), and shoot from where they got the rebound. They may not move closer to the basket. If a ball goes out of bounds, the player may bring the ball back in bounds before shooting again.
4. Once a player makes a shot, they yell "POINT" and run back to the three point line to start shooting again.
5. Keep track of the points. When a player scores five baskets, they can stop and move off the court.
6. The last player shooting (who doesn't make five points) is eleiminated.
7. Players start again from behiond the three point line. In the next round, you only need four points. The next round, and all rounds after that, need only three points.
8. Players can use their basketballs to block other shots, throwing their balls in the air to knock another one off its flight path. The danger in this, however, is that you have to shoot from where your ball goes, which will probably be somewhere in the wrong direction.
9. Keep eleiminating until one player is left standing. This player wins.

This game can get pretty chaotic, so make sure everyone knows exactly which ball is theirs.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to score the most baskets while everyone else is shooting), athletic ability (basketball skills)

Costume Relay

OBJECT - Win the race.

GAME TYPE - Racing game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. You need at least four people for this race, but the more the merrier.

WHAT YOU NEED - Lots of old clothes, including hats, scarves, shirts, pants, skirts, gloves, shoes, sunglasses, masks, etc. Be creative.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the players into at least two teams, more if you have enough.
2. Have the players stand at one end of the race track, with a box of clothes at the opposite end.
3. Before starting the race, let each team know what they must have in order to win. For example, they should have a hat, pants, a shirt, a scarf, a belt, shoes, and one other item they can decide on. The players may decide which article of clothing to grab when they reach the box of clothes, or you can designate each player to get something.
4. On the word "GO", the first two players race to the box and grab one of the clothing items from their list (or the article of clothing they have been assigned). They must put it on and race back to the start.
5. When the players reach the start, they take off the clothing piece they grabbed (such as a hat) and put it on the next player. The next player then runs to the box, grabs another article of clothing, puts it on, and runs back.
6. Whenever a player reaches the start, they must take off everything they've gotten from the box and put it on the next player.
7. When a runner puts on the last article of clothing they needed from the box, they run back to start and put the entire costume on the next player. That player must run back to the box, put everything back, and run back. The first team to finish the race wins.

You don't have to have the last player put everything back. If you want, you can end the race when they've completed the costume, then take votes on who has the best outfit.

THIS WORKS ON - Athletic ability (running the race), teamwork (dressing your teammates), creativity (deciding what the best outfit would look like), functional skills (dressing, identifying articles of clothing)

Around The World

OBJECT - Score all the shots first!

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Groups Two and Three. You need at least two for this game, and probably no more than 8.

WHAT YOU NEED - A basketball, a basketball court (or half-court), and some means of marking spots (chalk, tape, carpet squares).

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Mark ten spots around the basketball court, with shots increasing in difficulty. For example, spot #1 might be right by the basket (lay up) while shot #10 is behind the basket.
2. On their turn, each player will start at spot #1 and try to work their way up to spot #10.
3. If a player makes a shot, they move ahead and shoot again.
4. If a player misses a shot, their turn is over and the next player tries.
5. Each player starts their turn from the last place they missed.
6. The first person to make all ten shots is the winner.

Know your group's abilities, and don't make the shots impossible, but do make them challenging. If your group can barely get the ball to the hoop from the free throw line, don't make them shoot from midcourt.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to make all the baskets before anyone else), athletic ability (basketball skills), eye-hand coordination (making shots).

Human Foosball

OBJECT - Protect the goal, but don't stray from your line.

GAME TYPE - Two team game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. This is a big game, and you need at least seven players per side, plus two ball chasers.

WHAT YOU NEED - A big space (such as a basketball court), sidewalk chalk, a kickable ball, and two goals.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. First, make the court. Draw three or four lines on each side of the court and set up a goal at either end.
2. After dividing the players into teams, set them on their lines. As in regular foosball, they should alternate. There should be a line of Team A in front of their goals, then a line of Team B facing them. Then Team A, Team B, Team A, and Team B in front of the goal they are protecting. Players can decide how many people they want on each line, but once the decision is made, that's it.
3. The big rule of this game is that no one may leave their line. They can move on the line wherever they want, but they may not go around another team member as that would involve leaving the line.
4. Start the ball in the middle. The team can kick it to their teammates or to the goal.
5. If the ball goes in the goal, the kicking team earns a point, and the other team gets the ball.
6. Players may use any part of their body to block, but may only pass with their feet.
7. If the ball gets stuck between the lines, the ball chasers (who otherwise stay off the court) may tip the ball in either direction. It will probably be a good idea to assign them to teams, and whoever gets there first can tip it.
8. Also, the ball chasers are responsible for getting any balls that go out of bounds. The ball chasers, however, may not try to score.
9. The winning team is the one with the most points at the end.

Have fun, but be very strict about the no leaving the lines rule. You can make the lines wide for a little more mobility, but they must stay there.

THIS WORKS ON - Athletic ability (kicking the ball and blocking), following directions (staying on the lines), competition (trying to score points against each other), teamwork (passing to each other).

Animal Races

OBJECT - Run like an animal to win the race!

GAME TYPE - Racing games.

WHO'S IT FOR - Groups One and Two. There need to be at least two people for it to actually be a race, but it's better to have more competition.

WHAT YOU NEED - Cards that represent the various animals, and an area where the kids can run.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. The first thing to do is have the kids practice the various animal racing movements (see below the rules for a list of suggestions).
2. Once practiced, have heats for each movement. Have each student run a certain distance in one of the animal styles one at a time. Crown a champion of each animal class by who can finish each leg the fastest.
3. After all heats are done, do a big animal race. Have everyone start as one animal. When they reach a certain point, they switch to another animal. Keep switching as much as you want (use the animal cards to let them know when to switch), and the first one to reach the finish line is the winner.
4. You also may want to do the final animal race one at a time to keep things fair. Just keep track of the time, and the winner is the one who finishes the fastest.

These are good animal moves to use for the race:

• Cheetah Run - Run as fast as you can.
• Crab Walk - Walk on all fours with your back to the ground.
• Horse Trot - Gallop forward with one foot staying in front of the other.
• Kangaroo Hop - Jump forward with your feet together.
• Penguin Waddle - Walk with your legs pressed together.
• Snake Slither - Crawl forward with your belly staying on the ground.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (racing against your peers), athletic ability (running, doing other animal moves quickly), sequencing (able to follow the moves and change when they need to)