Wombat

Children run around or move in the way a leader calls (crawling, skipping, hopping etc.). Then the leader calls out ‘Wombat!’ When the children hear this they must all crouch on the ground with their hands covering their eyes so they cannot see.  A leader covers one of the children with a blanket and then calls ‘Heads up!’ The children may then stand up and look around.  The leader choses a child to guess who is under the blanket.

Kangaroo Tag

Ask the children to spread out around the space and choose 1 or 2 children to be “it”. If a child is tagged they must jump on the spot like a kangaroo until someone comes and

high-fives them.  Change who is “it” every 60 seconds.

Parrot on a Perch

Children form pairs.  One will be the parrot and the other will be the perch.  All the parrots stand in a circle and all the perches stand in a circle surrounding the parrots.  When the music starts, the parrots walk clockwise around the circle and the perches walk counter-clockwise.  When the music stops, the parrots must find their perches and sit on them.  The perch kneels on one knee making a perch with the other.  The last parrot to find their perch is out.

Pass the Echidna (Hot Potato)

You will need a spikey ball for this game.  Arrange everyone in a circle. Pass the spikey ball around the circle to music, pretending that the echidna is too spikey to hold. When the music stops, the child holding the echidna is out. Start the music again and resume the same passing play with the remaining children until the music stops. The last child in the circle is the winner.

Snake’s Tail

Children line up single file and place their hands on the shoulders of the child in front of them. On the word “GO” the child in the front of the line tries to catch the person at the back of the line. The line cannot come apart. Rotate the line of children from front to back or back to front for each round of play. Once the line has caught their tail once or twice, have them try to catch the tail of a different “snake.” 

Budgie, Budgie, Galah (Duck, Duck Goose)

(A budgie is the shortened word for budgerigar, a parrot native to Australia.)

Have the children form a circle sitting on the floor. One child walks around the circle tapping each child on the head and reciting the word ‘Budgie’ as they do. When they tap the child they wish to select, they yell ‘Galah’.   The selected child then has to get up and chase the child who selected them around the circle. The child who selected them tries to get back to the spot vacated by the ‘Galah’ before the ‘Galah’ catches and tags them. The Galah now becomes the one to walk around the circle tapping ‘Budgie, Budgie, Galah’.

Follow the Little Penguin

Children line up single file. A leader (or the first child in line) is the Little Penguin who walks like a penguin and makes other movements as he walks around the room.  The children behind must follow the lead of the person in front. To make the game a competition, form two lines and take children out if a leader notices them not following the leader.

Penguin Waddle

Each child places a balloon between their knees and has to waddle across the room without dropping it. Make it more challenging by having children go around a few obstacles. If children let go of the balloon, they have to go back to the start. 

Crocodile Corridor 

Scatter some ‘islands’ or ‘boats’ across the floor (use hoops and mats) and then have the children jump from one to the next without falling into the crocodile-infested water!

Soldier Crab Walk

Teach children how to do the crab walk, then see how fast they can scurry across the room. Have races and then increase the level of difficulty by having them balance a stuffed animal on their stomach. If it falls, they have to scramble back to the beginning and start again!

In The Billabong, Out the Billabong

You will need a long rope to create a circle that is the billabong.  (Although billabongs are usually more crescent-shaped!)

Lay a large rope in the shape of a circle on the ground.  The children stand on the outside of the rope known as the billabong.  When the leader calls out, “In the Billabong” all children must jump over the rope with both feet together to land inside the circle – in the Billabong.  When the leader calls out, “Out the Billabong” all children must jump back over the rope to land outside of the circle – out of the billabong.

Blue Ringed Octopus

This is the same as playing dodgeball, but instead of sitting out to the side when tagged by the ball, the children sit down where they are tagged by the ball.  From their sitting position, the children are now a blue-ringed octopus and may reach out and tag any children who get close enough to be touched while dodging the ball.  If a child is tagged by a blue-ringed octopus, they also have to sit down where they have been tagged. 

Crab Kick

You’ll need a ball and two goals for this game.

Divide the children into two equal-sized teams and have them sit on the floor at opposite ends of the room.  Place a goal at each end and the ball in the centre of the room.  When given the signal for play to start, the children must crab walk to the ball and attempt to kick the ball toward their goal and score.  Children must stay in the crab-walk position the entire game. Failure results in the opposing team getting a free kick.  After a goal is scored, the ball is placed in the centre of the play area and the game resumes.  The first team to reach an agreed-upon number of points wins.

Fruit Bat

The leader whispers to one child telling them that they are the “Fruitbat”.  Children walk around in a small space with their eyes closed.  When a child bumps into someone, they ask, “Fruitbat?”  If “Fruitbat” is said back to them, then they are not the person the child is looking for and so continue walking around the space.  The child who has been chosen as the “Fruitbat” does not have to close their eyes and if someone bumps into them and asks “Fruitbat?” they do not respond.  The child then knows this is the person they’re looking for and opens their eyes.  It’s fun to watch others looking for “Fruitbat”, especially when there is only one person left!

Tassie Tigers in the Corner

You’ll need a soft ball (a ball that won’t hurt) and an area marked off that is in the shape of a square.  Each corner is a ‘safe zone’ for Tassie Tigers.

A child chosen to be the ball thrower will be in the centre of the square.  The rest of the children are Tassie Tigers and in the corners that are safe zones.  When the thrower calls “Tassie Tigers in the Corner!” the Tassie Tigers have to run from one corner to another without getting hit by the ball.  They can go any direction including diagonal as long as they do not get hit.  Any child hit by the ball is out.  If you have a large group you can have several balls and a couple throwers.

Parrot Feather Blow

You will need a feather for each child.

Give each child a feather.  When you say, “GO!” the kids start blowing the feather in the air. Whoever can keep the feather in the air the longest is the winner.  This game can also be played in teams.

Cat and Marsupial Mouse (Cat and Mouse)

Have all the children join hands in a circle. Choose a ‘Cat’ and a ‘Marsupial Mouse’.  The cat chases the mouse around and through the circle.  The children help the mouse but not the cat. When Marsupial Mouse is caught a new Cat and Marsupial Mouse are chosen.

Dingo and the Bone

You will need a fake bone for this game.

Divide into two equal teams. Each team stands in line, 5 meters apart facing each other. A ‘bone’ is placed in the centre.  Number off each player on each team. When a number is called, for example, ‘7’, the player with the number ‘7’ from both teams runs to take the

bone from the centre to his/her team without being touched by the other player.

If the player is successful, then they get a point for their team. If a player with the bone is tagged by the other player, then the other team gets the point. The team that scores 5 points wins.

Tree Frog Crossing

You will need 2 sheets of brown cardboard (tree branches) per team.

Divide children into teams of 10 tree frogs. Each team is given 2 sheets of cardboard (branches) big enough for them to stand on. Mark an area 15 meters wide. This is the ‘creek’.  Each team starts on one side of the creek and must cross 10-15 meters to the other side. By using two pieces of cardboard, each team must travel on their ‘branches’ to cross the creek. If any child on a team steps off the cardboard branch, the whole team must start again.

Dead Ants Tag

A leader chooses two children to be echidnas and the rest of the children will be ants.  A play area will also be designated at the start of the game, which is the “ant hill”.  None of the echidnas or ants can leave this area.  The echidnas will then attempt to tag the ants.  The tagged ant will lie on their back while waving their arms and legs around.  To bring an ant back to life, four ants must grab a leg or arm each (or one ant if there are fewer children).  While reviving a fellow ant, the ants are immune from being tagged by an echidna. After being rescued, the ant re-joins the colony.  The game is over when the echidnas freeze all of the ants.

Tiger Sharks and Jollytail Minnows

One child starts as the Tiger Shark and all others are Jollytail Minnows. (If the group is large start out with two sharks).  Jollytail Minnows stand in a straight line at one side of the field facing the Tiger Shark that is in the centre of the play area.  The Tiger Shark shouts, “Jollytail Minnows swim to me!”  All the Jollytails run to the other side of the field. If they reach the other side they are safe.  If they are tagged they are seaweed. The seaweed reaches out as the minnow run/swim by and if tagged, the Jollytails also sit and become seaweed.  The last untagged Jollytail minnow is the new Tiger Shark.

Brumby Bounce

You will need a bouncy ball and basketball hoop or container for this game.

Children take turns trying to make shots. If someone makes a basket (through the hoop or into a container) all the other players have to make the same shot from the same spot or get a letter of the word BRUMBY. Whoever gets all the letters in BRUMBY first, is out.

Scrub Turkey Strut

Use pieces of cardboard masking taped to the floor to make Scrub Turkey nests on the floor. Start playing music. Have children pretend to be turkeys and strut around the room. When a leader stops the music, the Scrub Turkeys find a nest to stand on.  Any Scrub Turkey out of a nest is out.  Remove a nest and start the music again.  Have the Scrub Turkeys continue strutting about the room.  The last Scrub Turkey in a nest is the winner.

Bees and Butterflies

You will need two soft objects that can be used as ‘stingers’

Choose two children to be the bees and give them the stingers.  All the other children are butterflies.  The bee’s job is to sting as many butterflies as possible, stinging them on the legs only.  A butterfly that has been stung must stop where it is and freeze.  For a butterfly to heal, two other butterflies must link arms around the frozen butterfly and escort it to a centre circle where the bees cannot go.  Once there, the frozen been counts to 10 and then re-joins the game.  Butterflies helping a frozen butterfly cannot be tagged.

Sleeping Koala (Sleeping Lions)

Tell the children to lie calmly on the floor and stay as still as a sleeping koala.  Any child who makes a substantial movement is out.  When a child is out, they can move around the room trying to make the other koalas wake up and move.  They can’t touch the koala, but they can move close and say funny things or tell a joke to make them laugh or move.  The child who is still till the end of the game is the winner.