Need active games for 2 to 3 kids

[Tyleah]

My kids love what we have come to call "run around games" and I need more! These are games like hide and seek, ring around the rosie, etc... There are a ton of these out there, however most are more fun with more people. I have two kids and I do play along! But, you have to admit Musical Chairs just isn't the same with 3 players! Anyone have any ideas for me and the kids? They are 2 and 5 and I am too old to mention. Thanks!

[supervee]

freeze tag
capture the flag
monkey in the middle (keep away)
charades
red rover (would be fun to modify this into hugging instead of crashing)
crab-walking
sack races (pillow case)
wheelbarrow races
red light green light
what time is it mr. wolf? (this was new to me but fun; ask if you don't know rules)
mother may I?
simon says

[Tyleah]

Ok, what is the wolf game?

What is the red rover game?

Keep em coming!

[supervee]

one person is mr. wolf. the others face him, like in mother may i.

the others say "what time is it mr. wolf?" he says any time he wants. example, 5 o'clock. the others take 5 steps toward him. they keep asking, he keeps saying random times, and they keep taking steps toward him. when mr. wolf wants, he says it's midnight! then the others scream and run away and he chases them until he tags someone, and that person is mr. wolf.

it is a lot more fun than it seems! very fun to scream and run!

red rover is... split the group in two and each side holds hands. one side says, red rover, red rover, let Johnny come over. Johnny runs and tries to break their hands. i think you could modify this with 2-3 kids by having one kid run towards the two of you and instead of crashing through hands, just get a big ol' hug.

[UlrikeDG]

SECRET MISSIONS! My kids LOVE to do secret missions. I just give them silly things to do (sneak over to the picnic table, sit down, then hold hands and run back; walk backwards to the tree, run around it twice, then climb over the rock and come back), but they love it. I try to make at least 1/3 of them "team" oriented, but the rest of them aren't competative.

[GoodEats]

We play "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk" when the activity I planned for my Lit class doesn't take as long as I thought.

Everybody sits at the table (or on the floor) and covers their eyes. One person "hides" a small item (like a marker) in plain sight. Then the others must walk around until they find it. When somebody sees it, they call out "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk!" and sit back down (without indicating where it is) at the table or wherever.

The kids have a really hard time trying to not point to the object when they see it.

You can also play a hybrid I-Spy/warmer-Colder game where you think of an object in the room, give them a characteristic of the object and tell them whether they're getting warmer or colder as they move around.

Here are some more. I like the "Stealing Beanbags" game.

http://www.funology.com/boredombusters/bb_games.htm

[lilyka]

oh my gosh. the beanstalk game sound really fun. I can see kids with thier hands tightly clasped behind thier back to fight the impulse to point

obstical courses are great fun around here. any sort of race is good.

[klondikesky]

Jump the River
Skipping Rope and Jump Rope Rhymes

[UlrikeDG]

Don't forget Lava Floor! The floor is "hot lava" and you can't touch it, so you have to jump from chair to sofa to pillow to get around the room without getting burned.

[nikirj]

My kids like "snake in the grass." An it, or the snake, must keep his/her belly in contact with the floor. It works best to restrict the area to a very tiny space when you play with fewer people, but my kids play with three all the time.

[Mallory]

My favorite to play with our whole family is Hide and Go Seek, but maybe just because I like an excuse to hide in the closet with dh

[Lillian J]

Great site: Games Kids Can Play - Directions for fun playground games, verses for jump-rope rhymes, and much more. Lillian