Games

Games to play, using WALKODILE®

Look for numbers everywhere

See which is the largest & smallest number that can be found. Remember to check machines such as parking meters & hole-in-the-walls.

Go on a pattern hunt

Focus on natural & man-made patterns. Let children take photos of the patterns they find.

Have a treasure walk

Make a simple map of your journey for the children. Plant silver coloured pine cones at different places on the walk in advance so that children know they're going in the right direction. Have some treasure ready to find at your destination. This could be polished stones, glass beads, a box of sequins or other sparkly gifts. After this let children create their own treasure hunts back in the outdoor area.

Go on a penny walk

At each junction you come to, flip a coin. Heads you turn right, tails you turn left. The fun is seeing where you end up.

Have a shape hunt

Each group can pick a shape & count the numbers found. Take photos of the shapes seen. (Numeracy/Language)

Find wheels

There are lots on vehicles but other wheels may be out there. Talk about circles & cylinders. Compare the numbers of wheels seen on cars compared with other vehicles. (Numeracy/Language)

Pick an object to count

See how many you collect on your journey. Possibilities include:

  • Cars
  • Fence posts
  • Sheep
  • Coloured lights
  • Gates
  • Children's own ideas

A variation on this game is for a child to silently choose an object to count. Whenever this object is passed the child counts out aloud. The others in the group have to guess what he is counting. Start with simple objects such as trees, then move onto more specific categories such as wooden gates or black cars.

Guess the colour

Each child in the group guesses the colour of the next car to pass on the road or come round the corner. Each correct guess wins a point. The child with the most points wins.

Sing songs!

To the tune of "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?" sing "What will we see when we go out walking?" & have the last line "In our neighbourhood" or another relevant phrase. The children can make suggestions for the verses.

Also the Walkodile song!

Hansel & Gretel

Go for a walk through a wood or park after reading "Hansel & Gretel". Let the children decide beforehand how to mark where they are going so that they can find their way back. Possibilities include:

  • Breadcrumbs
  • Bird food
  • Ribbon
  • Using sticks or stones to make a pattern
  • Children's own ideas
Have a matching game

Pick three items, e.g. doors, drainpipes & puddles. Make up an action or sound for each one, e.g.

  • Doors - knocking action
  • Drainpipes - rain tumbling down
  • Puddles - say splish splash as the children walk through them.

When the children pass these items, the actions or words must be acted out.

Pavement cracks

Try to avoid stepping on the cracks in the pavement. Otherwise a bear might come out!

Have a colour walk

See how many different green objects you can see. Talk about the different shades & tones of colours & introduce vocabulary such as light, dark, mid, bottle, pale, etc.

Opposites!

One child names a word & the others have to name its opposite, e.g. black - white, up - down, etc. Then another child names a word & so the game continues.

Noisy words

Either together or by taking turns the children have to name things that can make a noise, e.g. stick - crack, clock - tick tock.

Superlative opinions

Superlatives are words which suggest something is superior to, or better than, others. Children have to answer the following questions:

  • What is the noisiest thing you have heard?
  • What is the quietest sound in the world?
  • What is the prettiest thing you've seen?
  • What is the ugliest thing you can think of
  • What is the smelliest object you remember?
  • What is the biggest thing you can think of?
  • What is the smallest animal you know?
Rhyming couplets

Children make up silly 2-line poems which rhyme. This can be about things that are on the children's mind or happenings on the walk, e.g.

  • I see a cat sitting up a tree
    I hope he doesn't fall on me
Rhyming adverts

When the group passes an advert on a billboard or sign, the children have to think of something which rhymes with the slogan, e.g. Milk... the white stuff. This will make you strong enough.

Hug bug!

Every time a Volkswagen Beetle car is seen, the first person who sees it calls out "Hug Bug Yellow" if the beetle car is yellow & gets to hug the others in the group. If hugging is too much, they can "hi-five" the others instead.

Slug bug!

If a child spots a slug, she calls out "Slug bug" & the children can keep count of all the "slug bugs" they see. If the children are very young it could be that this child becomes the leader & moves to the front of the group.

Simon Says

Play "Simon Says" while you walk. Just make sure the actions are possible.

Light hunt

A dark winter walk is great for a light hunt. The children have to see how many different coloured lights they can see on a walk. Christmas tree walks are a nice variation of this.

"Yes, no" games

This is really funny. One child is chosen & the others take it in turns to ask questions to get the chosen child to say "Yes" or "No". If the chosen child says either word, then another child takes their turn.

Play "Eye Spy"

Alternatively, play "I hear with my ear" for sounds.

Smiles

Every child has to smile the biggest, widest, nicest smile every time someone passes by.

The quiet game

Who can be the quietest the longest? Time the group if they are very excitable!

Safety Spies

The children look out for unsafe behaviour by drivers or pedestrians. It's important to have a chat about each behaviour identified to ensure that it is dangerous & how to behave appropriately. (Road safety assessment at the end of a lesson)

Questions

Children take it in turns to ask a question to another child. About anything. This can create some interesting discussions.

"If"

This is another good game for discussions. Choose a topic & ask "If you...?", e.g.

  • If you were an animal, which one would you be?
  • If you met Santa Claus, what would you ask him?
  • If you were a super hero, what special powers would you have?
  • If you found £10 on the ground what would you do?