Outdoor games for Friday Game Day!

We have having such amazing weather lately (I LOVE autumn... my favourite time of year!) so I thought today I'd share a couple of outdoor Maths games that I like to play with my class.

Hopscotch is always a great one for numeral recognition, and is one that kids love. I find it works really well for skip counting too...we label the squares 2, 4, 6, 8 etc  (you could use any multiple). A nice, fun and easy way to reinforce how to skip count.

Bean bag toss is another favourite. To play, I simply grab some hoops (or draw circles on the ground with chalk) and write a number in each one. This game is so easy to differentiate, so it's really handy to use when you've got a wide range of abilities in the class. For addition, I give the kids two (or three) bean bags which they throw into the hoops. they then add the numbers together and record the total. To appeal to the little competitors in my class, I get the kids to write the number 2-10on a sheet of paper (you could use any combo that you like) and tell them that the winner is the first person to have all of the numbers crossed off the sheet. For this, I usually get them to work in pairs or threes - they  each take it in turns throwing the two bean bags, adding the total and crossing it off their list.

Lastly, and oldie but a goodie.. 'What's the Time Mr Wolf?'. No doubt you've all played this one... here's how we play it...

One student (Mr Wolf) stands at the end of the courtyard/grass area (wherever you're playing it!) with their back to the class. the class calls out 'What's the time Mr Wolf?', and Mr Wolf answers with a time (ie. 5 o'clock) then the class takes that number of steps (I always get them to count aloud to practice sequencing). this continues until someone reaches Mr Wolf and tags him, OR until Mr Wolf calls out 'Dinnertime!', when he turns around and tries to tag another students before they run back to the starting point. We also play it saying 'one more than.... o'clock' or 'one hour before ... o'clock' (its a good idea to have the teacher or older 'buddy' students as Mr Wolf for these ones!). Another way to play it is to get the kids to skip count their steps out loud (ie. 7 o'clock would be...2, 4, 6, 7).

Which outdoor games do your kids enjoy?