Fun Outdoor Play

Water Balloon Volley

This is a great on a hot summer day!

Each team will need a bedsheet and good supply of filled water balloons. Everyone on the team holds a corner or side of the sheet. Place a water balloon on the sheet. Using lots of teamwork, bounce the balloon on the sheet until you can flip it over the net. The other team must catch it in their sheet and flip it back.

For smaller groups or children, use a smaller sheet or a tablecloth. You can also use a ping-pong ball.

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Balloon Head Race

Organize players into pairs and give each team a partially inflated balloon. When the game starts, teams must race to a finish line carrying a balloon between their heads. Don't use your hands! On hot summer days try using water balloons or running the race through a sprinkler.

Resource: Fun Attic


Water Balloon Fight

Just a good old fashioned wet and wild game of tag with water balloons! A great way to get cool! Set ground rules such as no hitting in the face or head.

After the water fight is over, or every hour or so, have a race to see who can pick up the most broken water balloons until they are all picked up. Use a plastic milk carton to collect them in, the spout is small enough to collect them and little hands can't reach in and take them out.

Safety Tip: Don't let children put broken balloons into their mouths. Remember, these little broken balloons are a choking hazard, not only to small children, but to anyone. If a balloon breaks in front of a child's mouth they can suck in the balloon when they gasp with surprise,and it can choke them.


Egg & Spoon Race

This is definitely an outdoor activity! You will need one raw egg and one spoon for each person participating in the race. Line contestants up next to each other on a starting line. Racers should have a point across the yard to race to (point B), turn around and come back to where they started (point A).

Place the egg in the spoon. The racer must balance the egg in the spoon, without using their free hand, and make it from point A to point B and back to point A again. If the egg drops, but is not broken, the racer may pick up the egg, while STANDING STILL (no travelling!), reposition it on the spoon and resume the race. The first person back to point A without a broken egg wins!


Water Bucket Relay

This race works best with Rubbermaid containers, the size that you can fit snugly into your kitchen sink. Mark the inside of the container with a marker and fill with water to that marked spot. Just as in the Egg & Spoon Race contestants should have a point across the yard to race to (point B), turn around and come back to where they started (point A). Howeverm in this race, each contestant runs solo. Time each person separately, taking turns.

In this race however, the first person back may not be the winner! Using a stopwatch, or a watch with a second hand, time each contestant and record thier water measurement when they have completed their "lap". The person with the best time combined with the most water left in their tub wins!

Our sister site Frugal-Moms has a great feature called Summer Outings here: http://frugal-moms.com/kids/outings.shtml

Reprinted with permission from Family Corner Magazine Amanda Formaro is the mother of four children and owner of familycorner.com magazine

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