Most games are more fun when shared, and kids love to play together- whether that is in school, at home, or in the park! From team-building games that improve kids’ social skills to board games and tasks with a common goal, teamwork is a huge part of the learning experience. We have researched and uncovered some new and exciting team games and some classics that will have your kids giggling and growing together!
1. “What’s On Your Head?”
This variation of the classic Pictionary game has kids write a name, place, or object on a piece of paper and stick it on the forehead of another player. They need to use word association and explanation skills to help the guesser discover the word on their head.
Learn More: Splash Learn
2. Group Juggling
When the classic challenge of juggling just isn’t exciting enough, gather your kiddos into a circle and try this fun group juggling game! Ask your kids to think of strategies for who should throw to who and how to keep multiple balls in the air!
Learn More: Pinterest
3. Lego Building Challenge
For this indoor group game, each team needs three players, the looker (who gets to see the model), the messenger (who talks to the looker), and the builder (who builds the copycat model). This challenge works on communication skills and collaboration!
Learn More: Frugal Fun 4 Boys
4. Balloon Tennis
You can try many variations with this simple game that can emphasize academic goals such as math skills, vocabulary, coordination, motor skills, and cooperation. Split your kids into two teams, set them on opposite sides of a net, and let the balloons fly!
Learn More: Early Impact Learning
5. Team Scavenger Hunt
This is the perfect game you can devise specifically for an indoor space using hidden objects or make it an outdoor activity with items from nature! Group scavenger hunts are a great way to combine social interaction with movement and word association. Find a free printable online or create your own!
Learn More: Thrifty North West Mom
6. Community Service: Litter Clean Up
There are plenty of activities for kids that can positively impact their community while also teaching social skills and responsibility. Litter clean-up can become a game if you add a little competition to the mix. Split kids into teams and see which team collects the most trash at the end of the day!
Learn More: Amber Melanie Smith
7. Marshmallow Challenge
A couple of minutes to set up the marshmallows and common materials from your house, and it’s game time! Give each team 20 minutes to design and build a structure using spaghetti, tape, marshmallows, and string!
Learn More: Playmeo
8. Trust Walk
You may have heard of this classic game used for team building in various contexts. With kids, the premise is simple- put everyone in pairs and blindfold the one walking in front. The person following must use their words to guide their partner to an end destination.
Learn More: Playmeo
9. Digital Resource: Escape the Classroom Game
This link details how to create and implement an “escape the classroom” game for your kids with learning goals and themes you can personalize! Some ideas include holidays, vocabulary, and popular storylines.
Learn More: Book Widgets
10. Create a Collective Story
This circle game gets the entire class to contribute to a story by prompting each child with words or images. You, as the adult, can begin the story, and then players can chime in with ideas from their cards to create a totally unique and collaborative story.
Learn More: Book Widgets
11. Team Song and Dance Challenge
For this fun group game, split your kids into teams of 4-5 and ask them to choose a song, learn the words, and make up a dance. You can do this using a karaoke application, or kids can sing along with the original songs.
Learn More: Everything Mom
12. Murder Mystery Game for Kids
This classic game can be an engaging experience that excites creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork to solve the “who done it” mystery! You can have a mix of different-aged kids so the older ones can help the younger ones with characters and clues.
Learn More: Free-Form Games
13. Gift and Gratitude Game
Write every child’s name on a piece of paper and put them in a bowl. Each person picks a name and has 2-3 minutes to ask their partner questions. After a couple of minutes, everyone must look around the room for a suitable gift for their partner. Once everyone has given and received the gifts, they can write little gratitude notes to their partner.
Learn More: Everything Mom
14. Paper Chain Challenge
Here is a resourceful indoor activity for kids that uses one piece of paper, scissors, some glue, and teamwork to complete it! Each group of kids receives a sheet of paper, and they must decide how to cut and paste their chain links to make their paper span the furthest distance.
Learn More: The Math Chick
15. Fill the Bucket
Ready to laugh and splash some water around with this outdoor game? The goal is to fill your team’s bucket with water faster than the other team! The catch is you can only use your hands to transfer water from one source to another.
Learn More: Sponge Kids
16. Group Puzzle Ideas
There are some really cute and fun variations of puzzles your group of kids can contribute to for decoration, education, and sharing! One idea is for each person to use a template to cut out a puzzle piece design from colored construction paper and write their favorite quote on it. The template will ensure everyone’s pieces fit together to do a perfect puzzle!
Learn More: Short Quotes
17. Red Light, Green Light
We all know how a traffic light works, and I am sure many of us have played this fun icebreaker game in school or with our children at some point. This physical activity can be played inside or outside and the excitement will keep kids running and laughing all afternoon!
Learn More: Ice Breaker Ideas
18. Getting to Know Aliens
This fun game helps with speaking and listening skills, as well as quick thinking and creativity! Arrange your group of kids in a big circle or pair them off and ask them to imagine an alien on an alien planet. After giving them a few moments, ask them to greet the group or their partner and how they believe their alien world and see how they can communicate without using actual words.
Learn More: Milken Educator Awards
19. Bob the Weasel
This exciting activity will be your kids’ new favorite game! To play, you’ll need a small object like a bouncy ball or hair clip that can be easily hidden and passed between kids’ hands. Whoever wants to be Bob stands in the middle of the circle, and the rest of the kids make a circle and try to pass the hidden object behind their backs without Bob seeing who has it.
Learn More: Sign Up Genius
20. Look Up, Look Down
Ready to break the ice and improve your kids’ social skills through eye contact and exciting interaction? This party game has one person be the conductor- telling the kids in the circle to either “look down” at their feet or “look up” at someone in the group. If two people look up at each other, they are out!
Learn More: Youth Group Collective
21. Scribble Drawing
You can try countless variations of group drawing games to improve kids’ creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Have each player scribble something on a blank sheet of paper, then pass to the right with each person adding to the scribble until it becomes a collaborative image!
Learn More: Artful Parent
22. Hacky Sack Math
You can use this bean bag toss game to practice a variety of learning goals- one highlighted here is multiplication. Arrange students in groups of 3 and have them count multiplication tables each time they kick the hacky sack!
Learn More: Teach Starter
23. Chopstick Challenge
Are your kids able to use chopsticks? In Western cultures, many people don’t use these eating utensils, but they can be useful tools for improving kids’ motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Play a game where kids take turns picking up small food items with chopsticks and transferring them to another bowl. Set a time limit or specific number for added competition!
Learn More: Ice Breaker Ideas
24. Toilet Paper Roll Tower
A building challenge with craft elements and a little competition! First, help your kids cut and paint toilet paper rolls in different sizes and colors. Then ask them to create a tower and see who can build the coolest structure in the shortest amount of time.
Learn More: Kiwi Co
25. Group Painting Project
Sensory games that use art are an excellent outlet for groups of kids to share and bond. A big canvas and lots of paint can be exactly what your gathering needs to inspire creativity, friendship, and growth!
Learn More: Art Class Curator
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