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46 Unique Phys Ed Games Your Students Will Love

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There’s nothing kids need more to break up a day spent sitting still and listening than a fun PE class to let off some steam. In the old days, going to gym class probably included playing kickball or dodgeball after running a few laps. Since then, there have been countless reinventions of and variations on old classics as well as completely new games. Although there is no shortage of options, we love that the supplies required remain relatively minimal. You can transport to another galaxy using just a pool noodle or two or create a life-size game of Connect 4 using just Hula-Hoops. You’ll want to make sure to have some staples on hand like balls, beanbags, and parachutes. There are even PE games for kindergartners based on beloved children’s TV shows and party games. Regardless of your students’ athletic abilities, there is something for everyone on our list of elementary PE games!

1. Tic-Tac-Toe Relay

Elementary PE games that not only get students moving but also get them thinking are our favorites. Grab some Hula-Hoops and a few scarves or beanbags and get ready to watch the fun!

Learn more: Tic-Tac-Toe Relay at S&S Blog

2. Blob Tag

Pick two students to start as the Blob, then as they tag other kids, they will become part of the Blob. Be sure to demonstrate safe tagging, stressing the importance of soft touches.

Learn more: Blob Tag at Playworks

3. Cross the River

This fun game has multiple levels that students have to work through, including “get to the island,” “cross the river,” and “you lost a rock.”

Learn more: Cross the River at The PE Specialist

4. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Cones

Line up cones, then have students pair up and stand on either side of a cone. Finally, call out head, shoulders, knees, or cones. If cones is called, students have to race to be the first to pick up their cone before their opponent.

Learn more: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Cones at S&S Blog

5. Spider Ball

Elementary PE games are often variations of dodgeball like this one. One or two players start with the ball and attempt to hit all of the runners as they run across the gym or field. If a player is hit, they can then join in and become a spider themselves.

Learn more: Spider Ball Game at Kid Activities

6. Crab Soccer

We love elementary PE games that require students to act like animals (and we think they will too). Similar to regular soccer, but students will need to play on all fours while maintaining a crab-like position.

Learn more: Crab Soccer at Playworks

7. Halloween Tag

This is the perfect PE game to play in October. It’s similar to tag, but there are witches, wizards, and blobs with no bones!

Learn more: Halloween Tag at The Physical Educator

8. Crazy Caterpillars

We love that this game is not only fun but also works on students’ hand-eye coordination. Students will have fun pushing their balls around the gym with pool noodles while building their caterpillars.

9. Monster Ball

You’ll need a large exercise ball or something similar to act as the monster ball in the middle. Make a square around the monster ball, divide the class into teams on either side of the square, then task the teams with throwing small balls at the monster ball to move it into the other team’s area.

Learn more: Monster Ball at The PE Specialist

10. Striker Ball

Striker ball is an enjoyable game that will keep your students entertained while working on reaction time and strategic planning. We love that there is limited setup required before playing.

Learn more: Striker Ball at S&S Blog

11. Parachute Tug-of-War

What list of elementary PE games would be complete without some parachute fun? So simple yet so fun, all you will need is a large parachute and enough students to create two teams. Have students stand on opposite sides of the parachute, then let them compete to see which side comes out on top.

Learn more: Parachute Tug-of-War at Mom Junction

12. Fleas Off the Parachute

Another fun parachute game where one team needs to try to keep the balls (fleas) on the parachute and the other tries to get them off.

Learn more: Fleas Off the Parachute at Mom Junction

13. Crazy Ball

The setup for this fun game is similar to kickball, with three bases and a home base. Crazy ball really is so crazy as it combines elements of football, Frisbee, and kickball!

Learn more: Crazy Ball at Health Beet

14. Bridge Tag

This game starts as simple tag but evolves into something more fun once the tagging begins. Once tagged, kids must form a bridge with their body and they can’t be freed until someone crawls through.

Learn more: Bridge Tag at Great Camp Games

15. Star Wars Tag

Elementary PE games that allow you to be your favorite movie character are just way too much fun! You will need two different-colored pool noodles to stand in for lightsabers. The tagger will have one color pool noodle that they use to tag students while the healer will have the other color that they will use to free their friends.

Learn more: Star Wars Tag at Great Camp Games

16. Rob the Nest

Create an obstacle course that leads to a nest of eggs (balls) and then divide the students into teams. They will have to race relay-style through the obstacles to retrieve eggs and bring them back to their team.

17. Four Corners

We love this classic game since it engages students physically while also working on color recognition for younger students. Have your students stand on a corner, then close their eyes and call out a color. Students standing on that color earn a point.

Learn more: Four Corners at The Many Little Joys

18. Movement Dice

This is a perfect warm-up that requires only a die and a sheet with corresponding exercises.

Learn more: Roll the Dice Movement Break at Teaching Littles

19. Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag

A fun spin on tag, children will tag one another and then play a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who has to sit and who gets to continue playing.

Learn more: Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag at Grade Onederful

20. Cornhole Cardio

This one is so fun but can be a little bit confusing, so be sure to leave plenty of time for instruction. Kids will be divided into teams before proceeding through a fun house that includes cornhole, running laps, and stacking cups.

Learn more: Cardio Cornhole at S&S Blog

21. Connect 4 Relay

This relay takes the game Connect 4 to a whole new level. Players must connect four dots either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

22. Zookeepers

Students will love imitating their favorite animals while playing this fun variation of Four Corners where the taggers are the zookeepers.

23. Racket Whack-It

Students stand with rackets in hand while balls are thrown at them—they must either dodge the balls or swat them away.

Learn more: Racket Whack-It via PEgames.org

24. Crazy Moves

Set mats out around the gym, then yell out a number. Students must race to the mat before it is already filled with the correct number of bodies.

Learn more: Crazy Moves at PEgames.org

25. Wheelbarrow Race

Sometimes the best elementary PE games are the simplest. An oldie but a goodie, wheelbarrow races require no equipment and are guaranteed to be a hit with your students.

Learn more: Wheelbarrow Race at wikiHow

26. Live-Action Pac-Man

Fans of retro video games like Pac-Man will get a kick out of this live-action version where students get to act out the characters.

27. Spaceship Tag

Give each of your students a Hula-Hoop (spaceship), then have them run around trying not to bump into anyone else’s spaceship or get tagged by the teacher (alien). Once your students get really good at it, you can add different levels of complexity.

28. Rock, Paper, Scissors Beanbag Balance

We love this spin on Rock, Paper, Scissors because it works on balance and coordination. Students walk around the gym until they find an opponent, then the winner collects a beanbag, which they must balance on their head!

Learn more: Rock, Paper, Scissors Beanbag Balance at PE Universe

29. Throwing, Catching, and Rolling

This is a fun activity but it will require a lot of preparation, including asking the school maintenance staff to collect industrial-sized paper towel rolls. We love this activity because it reminds us of the old-school arcade game Skee-Ball!

Learn more: Winter Activity at S&S Blog

30. Jenga Fitness

Although Jenga is fun enough on its own, combining it with fun physical challenges is sure to be a winner with young students.

Learn more: Jenga Fitness at S&S Blog

31. Volcanoes and Ice Cream Cones

Divide the class into two teams, then assign one team as volcanoes and the other as ice cream cones. Next, spread cones around the gym, half upside down and half right side up. Finally, have the teams race to flip as many cones as possible to either volcanoes or ice cream cones.

Learn more: Warm-Up Games at Prime Coaching Sport

This fun variation on dodgeball will have your students getting exercise while having a ton of fun! Begin with three balls on a basketball court. If you are hit by a ball, you are out. If you take a step while holding a ball, you are out. There are other rules surrounding getting out and also how to get back in, which can be found in this video.

33. Musical Hula-Hoops

PE games for kindergartners that are similar to party games are some of our favorites! Think musical chairs but with Hula-Hoops! Lay enough Hula-Hoops around the edge of the gym minus five students since they will be in the muscle pot. Once the music starts, students walk around the gym. When the music stops, whoever doesn’t find a Hula-Hoop becomes the new muscle pot!

34. 10-Second Tag

This game is perfect to play at the beginning of the year since it helps with learning names and allows the teacher to get to know the first student in line.

35. The Border

This game is so fun and requires no equipment whatsoever. Divide the gym into two sides. One side can move freely while the other side must avoid letting their feet touch the floor by rolling around, crawling, etc.

36. Freedom Catch

This is a simple throwing, catching, and tag game that will certainly be a hit with your PE class. Captors attempt to tag players so they can send them to jail. You can be freed if someone on your team runs to a freedom cone while throwing a ball to the jailed person. If the ball is caught by the jailed person, they can rejoin the game.

37. Oscar’s Trashcan

As far as PE games for kindergartners goes, this one is a guaranteed winner since it is based on the show Sesame Street . You’ll need two large areas that can be sectioned off to use as trash cans and also a lot of medium-size balls. There are two teams who must compete to fill their opponent’s trash can while emptying their own. Once over, the trash will be counted and the team with the least amount of trash in their trash can wins!

38. 4-Way Frisbee

Divide your class into four separate teams, who will compete for points by catching a Frisbee inside one of the designated goal areas. Defenders are also able to go into the goal areas. There are a number of other rules that can be applied so you can modify the game in a way that’s best for your class.

39. Badminton King’s/Queen’s Court

This one is simple but fun since it is played rapid-fire with kids waiting their turn to take on the King or Queen of the court. Two players start and as soon as a point is earned, the loser swaps places with another player. The goal is to be the player that stays on the court the longest, consistently knocking out new opponents.

40. Jumping and Landing Stations

Kids love stations and they definitely love jumping, so why not combine those things into one super-fun gym class? They’ll have a blast challenging themselves with all the different obstacles presented in this video.

41. Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course

Regardless of whether you’ve ever seen an episode of American Ninja Warrior , you are probably familiar with the concept and so are your students. Plus, you’ll probably have just as much fun as your students setting up the obstacles and testing them out!

42. Balloon Tennis

Since kids love playing keepy-uppy with a balloon, they will love taking it a step further with balloon tag!

43. Indoor Putting Green

If your school can afford to invest in these unique putting green sets, you can introduce the game of golf to kids as young as kindergarten. Who knows, you might just have a future Masters winner in your class!

44. Scooter Activities

Let’s be honest, we all have fond memories of using scooters in gym class. Regardless of whether you do a scooter sleigh or scooter hockey, we think there is something for everyone in this fun video.

45. Pick It Up

This is the perfect PE game to play if you are stuck in a small space with a good-size group. Teams win by making all of their beanbag shots and then collecting all of their dots and stacking them into a nice neat pile.

46. Dodgeball Variations

Since not all kids love having balls thrown at them, why not try a dodgeball alternative that uses gym equipment as targets rather than fellow students? For example, have each student stand in front of a Hula-Hoop with a bowling ball inside of it. Students need to protect their hoop while attempting to knock over their opponents’ pins.

What are your favorite elementary PE games to play with your class? Come and share in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Plus, check out  our favorite recess games for the classroom ..

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2nd Grade Physical Education (PE) Lesson Plans

Chalkboard relay.

Level: 2nd grade and up Objective: In this lesson, students will be able to integrate math and physical education by the doing addition facts during a relay. Equipment: Chalkboard or Whiteboard Chalkboard Relay – PE

Running the Bases – Baseball PE

Four Corner Running- Baseball Level: Grade 2 and up Objective: Students will use body awareness while running from base to base. Equipment: Four bases Running the Bases – Four Corner Running Baseball PE Lesson Plan PDF Procedures:

Lead Up Games

The following activities can be done in a physical education classroom or just for fun. Lead-up games can be used as a warm up activity or a way to practice skills used in many sports.

Level: K-2 Objective: Identifying body parts Equipment: None Circus Tag – K-2 Physical Education Lesson Plan PDF Procedure:  1) One student is selected to be “it”. 2) The rest of the class scatters. 3) Students

Three Legged Relay

Level: K and up Objectives: Students will share and cooperate while participating in a relay Equipment: One burlap sack per team Three Legged Relay – Physical Education Lesson Plan PDF Procedures:  1) Divide class into

The following are relays that can be used in physical education or regular education classrooms. They can be done in a gym or outside. Relays are great activities that require students to work together and

The Human Body and Movement

The following health lessons helps students work to improve age-appropriate physical fitness, and demonstrate motor skills required for individual and team activities. Students will be able to create a visual representation of the human body

Grade Level: K and up Objectives: Students will use jumping skills Equipment: One sack per team. Sack Relay – PE Physical Education Lesson Plan PDF Procedures:  1) Divide class into two or more teams. 2)

Beanbag Relay

Level: Kindergarten and up Objective: Balancing objects on different parts of the body. Equipment: One beanbag per team Beanbag Relay – PE Physical Education Lesson Plan PDF Procedures:  1) Divide class into two or more

Cranes & Crows

Objective: Cognitive awareness of distinguishing long a and o sounds. Level: Kindergarten and up Equipment: None Cranes & Crows – K-6 Physical Education Lesson Plan PDF Procedures: 1) Divide students into two groups and one

Dessert Island Stream

Objective: Students listening, direction Level: Kindergarten and up Equipment: None Dessert Island Stream – PE Physical Education Lesson Plan PDF Procedures: 1) Tell students that one end of the court is a desert, one is

Everyone’s It

Level: K and up Equipment: None Everyone’s It – PE Physical Education Lesson Plan PDF Procedures: 1) Every student in the class is it. 2) Anytime someone gets tagged they must do 10 jumping jacks.

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PHYSEDGAMES

…click a category above for great p.e. games, the pe games you will find on this site are used by professional physical education teachers as part of successful programs in school gyms – here you’ll find amazing ideas for p.e. – tried, tested, and proven by physed teachers and coaches , direct link to youtube channel: physedgames youtube, browse the categories at the top to enjoy quick and easy video descriptions to learn a new game for your class or visit our youtube to find the most popular games and get the latest game ideas sent directly to your video feed by subscribing. , game of the month.

Looking for some classic physical education ideas? Looking for something new and unique? There are all types of games & activities ranging from sport-specific (soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball, lead-ups, etc) to LOG’s, tag, warm-up, fitness, team-building, dodgeball, literacy, numeracy, etc. Children need at least 90 minutes of exercise a day for healthy development – these games will motivate to get students moving and enjoying learning skills in the gym! So hopefully you will find lots here to help supplement your own program.

** Grade level specific categories are searchable: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8 – browse through games that are appropriate for your grade level. HIGHSCHOOLS please note that most of the Grade 8 category games can be used and/or adapted for use at the highschool level – take a look and see what works! **

If you have a favorite PE activity or game idea that you use in your own program and you’d like to share, please send a detailed email to us at [email protected] and we will do our best to create a video to add to the list.

PhysedGames is frequently updated with new ideas to try out. We also offer a couple book options (hardcopy and electronic) to add to your physical education library. These book options convert many of the best game videos into more portable text-based and electronic forms. PLEASE NOTE that all games are firstly and always available for FREE in the video viewing format. For those interested, take a look at the popular PHYSEDGAMES TOP 99 PHYSEDGAMES TOP 99 (affiliate link) hardcopy book from Amazon or get top-rated Digital File Downloads (PDFs) on Teachers Pay Teachers. A big THANK-YOU goes out to those who support PHYSEDGAMES!

50 Fun PE Games Your Students Will Love

by Sara Ipatenco

Kids naturally love PE because it’s a time to be active and play fun games. An essential part of the school day, PE teaches kids the life skill of getting regular exercise. While playing the same old games over and over again can get a bit boring, incorporating a wide variety of games into your lesson plans helps keep PE fun and engaging. With a few PE staples, such as foam balls, hula hoops, and bean bags, your students will be having fun in no time! Here are 50 PE games to get you started.

1. Blob tag

Choose one child to be “it.” As that child tags other children, they link arms or hold hands to create a “blob.” The game continues until the blob has tagged everyone in the game.

2. Chain tag

This is kind of like blob tag, but instead of forming a blob, students must link arms to form a chain.

3. Bean bag balance

Give each student a bean bag. Ask the students to balance their bean bags on various parts of their body, such as their foot or knee. See how long the students can balance before they move off their bean bag falls. Give increasingly hard challenges as you go, such as on the shoulder or the thumb.

4. Clap and catch

Arrange your class into a large circle. Give one player the ball and have them get ready to toss it. Players must clap before they catch the ball. If a student doesn’t clap or drop the ball, they are out.

5. Animal races

Line your PE class up at one end of the gym or playing field for this game. Call out an animal, such as a cheetah or a frog, and students have to race to the other end, running like that animal.

This is another racing game that starts with lining your students up on one end of the playing field. Every time you yell, “jump,” students jump as far as they can. Repeat until the winning player reaches the end of the field or until the whole class finishes.

7. Bridge tag

This game starts as regular tag, but each time a student is tagged he must kneel and form a bridge. Players can rejoin the game when another player crawls under their bridge, which frees them.

8. Crab soccer

This game follows the rules of traditional soccer, but players crab walk instead of regular running.

9. Step back

Put your class into teams of two. Have them stand about three feet apart and roll a hula hoop to each other. Once the other person catches the hula hoop, they must take a large step backward and continue playing. As they get further apart, the game gets more challenging.

10. Freeze tag

This is another tag game that starts out like traditional tag. However, once a student is tagged, they are “frozen” until another player tags them. They can then rejoin the game. The last player to be frozen gets to be “it” on the next round.

11. Parachute change

Arrange your students around a large parachute. Call out things like colors the students are wearing or birthday months. Any player who fits the category you call out has to run under the parachute and switch places with someone else.

12. Parachute volleyball

Have your students arrange themselves around a parachute. One half of the parachute is team A while the other half is team B. Put a beach ball in the middle of the parachute. The objective is to launch the ball off the parachute and over the heads of the opposing team, which scores one point.

13. Banana tag

Spread your students around the play area and choose two kids to be “it.” They are the monkeys. When they tag another student, he turns into a banana and must put both arms straight up above his head. Other players can free the “bananas” by peeling them, which means they pull down one arm and then the other arm.

14. Teacher island

This PE game includes the teacher! Stand on a stool and have a bunch of cones or balls handy. Start throwing them toward the students, who are spread out around you. If a student fails to make a catch, he is out. Play continues until only one student is left.

15. Throw archery

Set up five jump ropes at various distances from where your students will stand. Give them bean bags and have them try to get them past the different jump ropes. The further away the jump rope, the more points the student gets. For example, getting the bean bag past the first jump rope is worth ten points while getting it past the last jump rope is worth fifty points.

16. Crazy moves

Set out several mats around the play area. Start calling out numbers and that number of kids need to find a mat and stand on it together as fast as they can. Any student who doesn’t find a mat is out.

17. Rob the nest

Set up the game by putting a hula hoop (nest) in each corner of the play area and ten or more basketballs in the middle of the play area. Divide the class into 4 teams, one at each hula hoop. Students take turns getting a basketball and dribbling it to their hoop. Any time you blow the whistle, students can steal basketballs from other nests. The winner of each round is the one with the most basketballs when you blow the whistle a second time.

18. Tic-Tac-Throw

Set up nine hula hoops in a 3×3 grid, like a tic-tac-toe board. Make enough grids so you can divide your class into teams of two. Give the teams two different colors of bean bags. The students will throw the bean bags into the hula hoops trying to get three in a row.

19. Bounce into buckets

Set up enough buckets in the middle of the play area that there is one for each group of two kids. At each bucket, have one student on each side. The kids take turns trying to bounce balls into the buckets. Make it more challenging by having the students back up further from the bucket as they go.

20. Backward soccer

Play this game just like you would regular soccer but turn the soccer goals around backward.

21. Speed ball

This PE game combines basketball and soccer. Divide your students into two teams and give them a rubber ball to play with. Play starts with students passing the ball to other players on their team. There is no bounce passing in this game. If the ball hits the floor, the game switches to soccer.

22. Pool noodle archery

Have one student hold up a hula hoop while another child tries to launch pool noodles through the hoop. Once a student gets a noodle through, the players switch places.

23. Kangaroos and Crocs

Divide your class into two teams – one team will be kangaroos and the other team will be crocs. Have the teams line up back-to-back in the middle of the play area. Call out one of the animals. That team will try to make it to the end of the play area without getting tagged by the other team. Anyone tagged sits down and is out. Play continues with additional rounds.

24. Noodle hockey

Play a traditional PE game of court hockey but use pool noodles and a small plastic ball instead of hockey sticks and a puck.

25. Continuity ball

Have your students spread out in the play area. Give them one beach ball and challenge them to keep it from hitting the ground. Gradually add more beach balls until you have several going at the same time.

26. Birds on a branch

Set up two balance beams and split the class into two teams. Have the teams line up on the balance beams and call out directions, such as “stand on one foot” or “put your arms above your head.” If a student falls off the beam, he is out. The winning team is the one who keeps the most “birds” on their branch.

27. Shark zone

Set up mats, hula hoops, and other PE equipment around the gym. Use items that students can stand on or inside of. These are shark-free zones. Identify one or two students as sharks. When you say go, players will run around the gym standing on mats or inside hula hoops to stay away from the sharks. If a student fails to get to a safe area before being tagged, they are out.

28. Cats and mice

Give each student a scarf – one color for cats and one color for mice. Have them tuck the scarves into their back pockets or waistband as tails. Cats will chase mice and mice will chase cats. If the opposite team catches a tail, they keep it. The winning team is the one who steals all the tails first.

29. Tunnels and trains

Choose two students to start out as trains. The rest of the students put their hands and feet on the floor creating a tunnel with their bodies. The trains must crawl through the tunnels. When a train goes through the tunnel, that student joins the tunnel at the front and the next student at the back of the tunnel turns into a train. Play continues until all students have become trains.

30. Noisy running

Explain to students that you will be playing music and the louder the music gets the faster they need to run around the play area. As you turn down the volume, they will slow their running.

31. Freeze dance

Play some upbeat dance music and encourage students to free dance. When you stop the music, they must freeze. Any student who doesn’t freeze is out.

32. Eight dance

Choose one student to start the game. Turn on some upbeat music and have the student demonstrate any move they want, such as jumping or spinning in circles. The rest of the students must copy the move eight times. Let all the children have a turn to be the instructor.

33. British bulldogs

Choose one student to be the bulldog. He stands in the middle of the play area. The rest of the players try to get past the bulldog without getting tagged.

34. Body part tag

This game is played like traditional tag except that whatever body part gets tagged cannot be used anymore. If a student gets tagged on the arm, they cannot use their arm anymore. If he gets tagged on the leg, he has to hop on the other leg.

35. Crab Kickball

This game is played just like traditional kickball except that students must walk and play in the crab walk position.

36. Broom hockey

This is a PE game played like regular hockey except students use brooms instead of hockey sticks.

37. Hop in a hoop

Lay out several hula hoops in the play area. Have students run around the hoops while you play music. When you stop the music, students must hop into a hula hoop – one student per hoop. Students who don’t have a hoop are out.

38. Hot potato

Arrange your students in a circle and give them a small ball. They will pass the ball around the circle until you blow the whistle. The student holding the ball when the whistle blows is out.

39. Scooter tag

This PE game is played just like traditional tag except students must play by sitting on and moving around on scooters.

40. Bucketball

This game is played just like regular basketball except students use a bucket instead of the usual basketball hoop.

Break your class into small teams of 5 or 6 players. Give one student from each group a jump rope. That student will spin the jump rope on the ground while the other members of the group jump over it. If the “snake” touches a student, they are out.

42. Shipwreck or Captain Says

This is a game that puts a twist on the traditional “Simon Says.” Line your students up and start calling out commands that have to do with ships and pirates, such as “swab the deck” or “walk the plank.” Instead of saying “Simon says,” you’ll say, “Captain says.”

43. Hula hoop tag

This is another version of traditional tag. Students follow the same rules as regular tag, but they must spin a hula hoop while they run around.

44. Museum guard

This game is like freeze tag. Students will tiptoe silently around the play area pretending to sneak around a museum. When you call out “museum guard” they must freeze. Students who don’t freeze are out.

45. Mirror, Mirror

Divide your class into teams of two. Have them stand facing each other. One person does a move, and the other students must copy the move. Continue playing, encouraging students to make the movements harder and more complicated.

46. Backward tag

Play this game just like regular tag except students can only walk or run backward during play.

47. Alligators in the swamp

Choose several students to be alligators and have them lay on their stomachs in the middle of the play area. Spread them out so there are several feet between each alligator. The rest of the class starts on one end of the play area and has to try to get past the alligators. If an alligator tags them, they are out.

48. Sleeping baby

Students run around the play area until they hear the teacher yell, “sleeping baby.” At this point, all the kids drop to the floor and pretend to be sleeping. The last student to “fall asleep” is out.

49. Garbage tag

Wad up a bunch of pieces of paper to be the garbage. Choose one student to be “it.” That person starts to throw the garbage at the other players. Any player hit with a piece of garbage is out.

50. Lighthouse and ships

Place several obstacles around the gym, such as cones or mats. Students will close their eyes and pretend to be ships trying to get to the lighthouse. If they run into one of the obstacles, their ship is sunk and they are out.

PE class is about to get so much more fun for your students! Any of these games are sure to make PE their favorite class of the day.

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Physical education games, games designed for learning..

Net & Wall

Striking & fielding, chasing & fleeing, health & fitness, cooperation, on the lines, off the lines, elf express, star wars tag, chuck the chicken, space invaders, whacky baseball, healthy hanukkah, castlemania, beanbag bocce, team swarm tag, prairie dog pickoff, lobster ball, beaches, bridges, & boats, treasure grab, musical hoops, race to the bases, guard the pin, giants, elves, & wizards, halloween tag, ghostbusters, rodeo roundup, jake the hungry snake, everyone’s it frozen tag, snowman blitz, builders & bulldozers, frogs & fish, rps tug-o-war, danish longball, reindeer round-up, emotions mixup, chicken noodle tag, pirates of the caribbean, game categories, a thematic approach to physical education..

By categorizing games based on the similarities that exist between their components (e.g. skills, tactics, playing area), we can take a thematic approach to teaching PE. In a thematic approach, students get to explore tactical problems that exist across a variety of games (e.g. getting open in invasion games). This approach promotes the transfer of learning between multiple games and supports the development of competent, confident movers.

Game Category

Invasion/territorial.

Invasion games are games in which two teams compete to outscore their opponents within a certain amount of time. Teams score by invading their opponents side of the field and sending the object (e.g. ball, puck) into a goal or getting the object pass a goal line. Players in invasion games constantly transition between offence and defence based on whether or not their team is in possession of the object.

Net and wall games are games in which players/teams compete to outscore their opponent(s). They do so by sending the object (e.g. ball, shuttlecock) to a space in their opponents’ court so that it cannot be played or returned within the boundaries of the game. Net and wall games are typically played on a net-divided court or in a common space using a shared wall.

Striking and fielding games are games in which teams attempt to outscore their opponents by scoring more runs/ points within a set amount of innings. To score a run, players typically need to run around a certain amount of bases or run between two set bases. Within an inning, teams alternate between being at bat (offence) and fielding the ball (defence).

Target games are games in which players compete to outscore their opponents by placing a projectile (e.g. ball, dart, arrow) closer to a target than their opponent is able to. Some target games are “unopposed” (i.e. a player’s opponent cannot interfere with their play and success depends solely on a player’s accuracy) while others are “opposed” (i.e. a player may interfere with their opponent’s play).

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Finally released in book volume 5 our famous ALIENS vs ASTRONAUTS!

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100 PE Games Books!

Start your school year right, by getting kids happy and active, in the gym or outside, with our pegames.org books! This will be the only Physical Education book you’ll need this year to guarantee to keep the most kids happy and active for the most amount of time possible throughout the day!

Elementary PE Games

Every game, warm-up, challenge and activity on this site has been tested by our resident PE specialist. Mr. H. has been teaching physical education at the elementary school level for 7 years, and will make sure that we post only the best of the best.

As a Grade 7 teacher, it can be challenging to keep warm-up games and Daily Physical Activities fresh and new.Having participated in a number of these games, I feel I’ll be able to provide greater variety to my students this year and beyond. Educator: Ian Cox

During the average 45 minute block of physical education, students are actually active (i.e. moving around, elevating their heart rates), for approximately 17 minutes (less than half!). With our website, and the hundreds (soon to be thousands, as our updates continue), of activities, warm-ups, games, individual and group challenges…etc. we aim to keep kids moving, moving, moving.

Please feel free to start navigating the site, as there are all sorts of options for physical activity for your students. We are updating daily, so please continue to check back frequently as there will always be something new to keep your kids smiling and active.

New PE Games

Warm-Up PE Games

Equipment: 2-5 evil red balls. Beanbags. Description: Choose 2-5 kids to be it and give them each an evil red ball (these are the aliens).  Everyone else is an astronaut. Scatter the beanbags all around the gym, and hold onto the empty bin. If an astronaut is tagged...

Equipment: 2-5 evil red balls. Description: Choose 2-5 kids to be it and give them Evil Red Balls. If you get tagged by an Evil Red Ball, you must go down on your hands and knees wherever you are and pick and animal. Whichever animal you pick, you are only allowed to...

Equipment: 2-5 evil red balls. Description: Choose 2-5 kids to be it and give them Evil Red Balls. If you get tagged by an Evil Red Ball, then you must sit down on the ground,bring your knees up to your face, close your eyes and put your head down into the palms of...

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Discover 5 Of The Best Physical Education Games For Kids

Are you after some more fun physical education games that you can use with your kindergarten or second-grade students?

Physical education games are so much fun, and I’ve found that they’re an excellent way to start the school day. I set aside the first 20 minutes of the day for early morning fitness on at least three days in the week, where we play fun pe games.

Physical education activities are an excellent way to energize your students and get them ready for learning for the day.

5 fun physical education games

Here are five fun physical education games that your students will love.

You will need 6-10 hoops for this pe game.

Instructions

• Create several “islands” using hoops scattered on the ground.
• Students must jog around the islands without touching them.
• When the teacher calls the signal ‘Islands,’ the students must get onto an island before the teacher counts to five.
• Students need to share their island with others.
• Students who do not fit into one of the hoops are out of the game.
• Remove one hoop after each count of 5 until 1 island of survivors remains.
• Variation – Instead of getting students to run get them to hop, skip, jump or crawl.

Traffic lights

For this game, you will need one hoop for each student.

• Students drive their car by holding a hoop around their waist.
• When the teacher calls out ‘Green’ the cars may go at a fast pace.
• On ‘Yellow’ cars must drive slowly.
• On ‘Red’ cars must stop and drop the hoop to the ground.
• The last student/s to drop their hoop to the ground is out of the game.
• Call out the colors at random to try and trick the drivers.
• Variation – Have two students sharing a hoop.

You do not need any special equipment for this physical education game, just space for students to run.

• The teacher calls ‘here,’ ‘there,’ ‘where’ or ‘dead bugs’ at random.
• On ‘here’ students run and try to stomp the teacher’s toe (never let them close enough).
• On ‘there’ students run in the direction the teacher is pointing or to a marked boundary line such as the edge of the oval or tennis court.
• On ‘where’ students jog on the spot.
• On ‘dead bugs’ students lie on their backs and wave arms and legs in the air like a dead bug.
• Variation – Instead of running students can hop, skip, jump or crawl.

Stuck in the mud

• Define an area and choose 3-4 students to be taggers.
• The rest of the group stays within the defined area and tries to avoid being tagged.
• Once tagged, a person must freeze with their legs apart – stuck in the mud.
• A person can only be ‘unstuck’ by someone who is running free.
• They must bend down and without getting tagged touch both the person’s shoes to free them.
• Change taggers regularly.
• Variation – Run in pairs with hands joined at all times – taggers too!

Don’t get caught

You will need a parachute for this pe game.

• Students are given a number from 1-5.
• They lift the chute to waist height and on the command “raise the chute” everyone lifts the chute above their heads.
• The teacher calls a number, eg ‘3!’.
• All the ‘3’s have to change places with another ‘3’ on the opposite side of the chute before the chute is lowered to the ground.
• Students must be reminded of the safety aspect and the need to avoid collisions.
• Variation – Call individual students 1-2 at a time.

More fun physical education games and activities

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning some new fun pe games. And if you’re after even more ideas, then check out my Physical Education Lesson Plans.

You’ll get 35 physical education lesson plans that will last the whole year. Each P.E. lesson is on a separate card to make it easy to take with you no matter where you’re located.

Take a look at some of the excellent feedback for this resource

“This is such a handy pack to have! I love that the lessons are in detail so I know exactly what equipment I need and how to carry out the lesson. Thanks Melinda for another terrific resource.”

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Nice ideas – do you have non elimination activity versions? For Islands you could have a “pirate zone” for anyone who doesn’t fit into a hoop – they complete some other physical activity task (10 jumping jacks etc) before returning to the next round. Vary the number allowed in each hoop each time to add math/ counting skills. In Traffic Lights the last groups could go to a driving school to work on other skills before rejoining the game. Basically if the goal is physical activity (which is fantastic) you really don’t want to eliminate kids, especially as those who get eliminated are probably the ones who may need it the most 🙂 It is wonderful that you are doing this for your students. Jo Bailey Wisconsin Health and Physical Education President (WHPE) 2012-2014

Thanks so much for your comment. Yes I agree that it is also good to have options that do not eliminate children, and that still get them all moving. Thanks for taking the time to share some of your ideas….and I look forward to trying them 😀

I like these ideas- this is a great way to get students up and moving during testing as well. Thanks for sharing!

-Maria Everyone deServes to Learn

I love the warm-up activities for the morning! Really creative and engaging. Often, my class uses the same individual warm ups, but I love the idea of incorporating the warm up into a whole group activity like this!

Yes the students do certainly like beginning the day with some physical activity, and I find that they’re much more settled when they come back into the class. And we have such wonderful weather here in Perth who wouldn’t want to be out enjoying it 😀

Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comment. Mel

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PE Game Ideas and Resources

The PE Game Ideas section provides you with Physical Education resources which will help you to plan PE Warm Up Games, PE Tag Games, PE Thinking Games, and PE Coordination Games. Within each section you will find a whole range of different games which will excite and challenge your students. Each PE Game outlines what equipment is required, how to set the game up, how to play the game and how to differentiate the game. The resources can be downloaded and can support your PE planning. Lots of the resources are free.  Click below to explore each section:

Teaching Resources

Thinking Games

Warm Up Games

Coordination  Games

Christmas PE Games

• Games to Play with Friends
• Indoor Group Games and Activities
• Fun Outdoor Games for Kids
• Fun Frisbee Games for Kids
• Trivia Questions for Kids
• Fun Playground Games for Kids
• Preschool Themes
• St. Patrick’s Day
• Valentine’s day
• Thanksgiving
• 75 Clean Jokes for Kids to Tell at School
• 55 Funny Halloween Jokes for Kids
• 45 Cow Jokes for Kids that Adults Will Love Too
• 101 Winter Jokes for Kids
• Our Editorial Guidelines
• Meet Our Review Board
• Weekly Column

Fun Gym Games for Kids

Looking for some fun gym games for kids? Look no further. Whether you are looking for games for your physical education class or just some games to play in an empty gym, these games are sure to lead to hours of physical exercise and fun.

QUESTION:  Besides exercise, what benefit do children receive from games?

Many games help children learn skills they need to know: • How to solve problems … • How to do things hand and body wise … • How to follow directions and rules… • How to be fair… •How to wait their turn…

Lots and lots of games on KidActivities! There are also games in every ‘Theme and Holiday’ Category.

1. THE BLOB TAG

Designate boundaries. Depending on the size of the play group, one or more children are the Blob.

Any one tagged by the Blob must join hands and become part of it. Object: For the Blob to devour everyone and for everyone else to stay alive as long as possible.

2. GARBAGE BALL

Use whatever you have that can be thrown and not hurt anyone… Balls, wads of paper, sock balls, rubber chickens, koosh balls, etc. Have two equal teams with a center line. Each team starts with the same amount of items.

At the signal each team throws whatever it can get their hands on – from their side of the line to the other side.

Players continue to throw until the signal to stop (or if music is used when you play – and the music stops) The winning team is the side with the least amount of garbage on it’s side. To play more rounds – divide the garbage evenly again and continue. Keep score of whoever has the most wins.

You can add interest by having the “losing team” pick up all “garbage” or have both teams pick up garbage but the losing team has to do what the winning teams directs such as accomplish a certain amount of push-ups- sit-ups, etc.

3. BAND-AID TAG

One person is “it.” Whenever someone is tagged by “it” they must hold a bandaid (their hand) on the spot where they were tagged. Then the game continues. When someone runs out of bandaids, (they get tagged three times), they are frozen until two other people come over to them and “operate.”

The two other people need to tag the frozen person at the same time and count to five. Switch the person who is “it” often.

Play as with dodge ball (or gaga ball ), but instead of sitting out to the side players sit down where they are tagged by the ball.  From their sitting position, the octopus (tagged kids) help with tagging any players who get close enough to be touched.  If a player is caught this way, they also sit down where they have been caught.

5. LIGHTHOUSE AND SHIPS

One player is designated to be the lighthouse. One quarter of the players assumes the role of “rocks” and they scatter in a bounded area. All the other students become ships and boats of various sizes.

• The ships blindly navigate their way (eyes closed) their way about, attempting to reach the safety of the lighthouse.
• If a boat bumps into a rock, the boat becomes and extension of the existing rock and makes the noise “swish” (water lapping against the rocks).
• The lighthouse constantly goes “Beep! Beep! Beep!” to help the ships reach the safety of the lighthouse.

6. CONTINUEITY BALL

Equipment :3 Balls (Beach Balls) Players scatter over the playing area and a ball is tossed into the air. The objective is to keep the ball in the air using any part of the body.

Once one ball is up, get two or three balls going at the same time. Keep count of the number of times the ball (or balls) is kept up in the air before it hits the ground. Youth try and better the number next time around.

7. DRAG THE BODY

K-6 Promotes cooperation and develops strength… Need several old sheets or blankets

#1 Version: Divide the group into two teams. Give each team a blanket. Have one player from each team lie down on the blanket. The teams must drag the body on the blanket from one end of the gym or yard to the other. Whoever crosses the finish line first, wins.

# 2 Version: You can also increase the number of kids on the blanket and have more draggers pulling them …or have an entire team get on the blanket and try to move to the destination point and back by rolling, scooting, shuffling, etc.

#3 This vesion is played as a relay… Have players form teams of 6-10. Players form pairs within their teams. Object is that one player drags his/her partner who is laying or sitting on the sheet or blanket to the end of the room (or where you decide) and drag back again. (They can also switch at the half-way point.- If they don’t switch half-way -they go all the way back and then switch places. Each pair repeats the process– until all have had a chance to drag and be dragged.

8. CRAB KICK

Supplies: Ball of any type, Large area for play Something for a goal (desk, basket, trash can).

• Divide  group 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 center 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.
• Players 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 center of the play area and the game resumes.
• The first team to reach an agreed-upon number of points wins. From Indoor Action Games for Elementary Children (1989, Parker Publishing).

Practice kicking with more kicking games .

9. SPIN AND RUN

It’s a simple race. First, hold a broom or baseball bat in the air, looking at the top of it. Keeping your eye on the top, spin in a circle 10 times. Now (try to) run to the finish line. Lot’s of silly fun should follow…

10. TRUE OR FALSE

• The players are divided into 2 equal teams standing on either side of a center line.
• One of these is the “True” team and the other is the “False” team.
• Each team has a goal on either side of the center line.
• When the leader gives a true statement, such as “Grass is Green”, the true players run for their goal, chased by the false team.
• If tagged, the members of the true team become members of the false team. (and just the opposite if the question is false)
• The team that has the most players at the end of the playing time is the winner.

11. BED SHEET PING PONG

Players stand and hold a bed sheet on opposite ends. A ping pong ball is placed onto the sheet. The sheet is then raised or lowered. The object of the game is to get the ping pong ball to fall off the other team’s side of the sheet.

12. BODY PART FREEZE TAG

Body part freeze tag is just like regular freeze tag except once tagged, you are NOT completely frozen.

• Select one or two children to be “it.” These children run around tagging other children.
• If a child is tagged on the arm, only the arm is frozen.
• If tagged on the leg, only the leg is frozen, so the child must hop on one leg.
• If both legs are tagged, the child can pull himself along the ground with arms (assuming they weren’t already tagged). The object is to completely freeze as many as possible. If you want, you can have others unfreeze body parts as well.

13. PRISONER OF WAR

Children are divided into teams. Each team selects one child from their team to be the prisoner of the other team; the two prisoners are placed in jail.

This can be a designated area or a chalk box if playing outside. The teams each line up and the object of the game is to free the prisoner from the other team.

The teams must get to the prison by going to the other team’s side to free the prisoner. If tagged, that child then becomes a prisoner too and must go to jail. If a child makes it to jail, he or she is safe as long as he is inside the prison. The rescuer can only rescue one person at a time and can choose the right time to “break for it.”

14. WHAT TIME IS IT MR. WOLF?

This game is fast-paced and great for a larger group.

• One child is Mr. Wolf and stands against the wall with their back to the room.
• The rest of the children line up on the opposing wall.
• The children ask in unison, “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?”
• Mr. Wolf gives a time, such as 5 o’clock, and the children take that many steps towards Mr. Wolf.
• Eventually, Mr. Wolf answers, “Lunchtime,” and turns to chase the children back to the wall.
• Any child who gets tagged before reaching the wall becomes a Wolf as well.
•  The balance of the game soon shifts, with all children becoming Wolves.

15. CATCHING STARS (Similar to Mr. Fox)

This game was developed in Africa…

• Divide the players into two groups: Stars and Catchers.
• Set up two boundaries about twenty feet apart.
• Catchers: Stand in the middle of the two boundaries
• Stars: Stand on one side of the boundaries
• Catchers: Say “Star light, star bright, how many stars are out tonight.”
• Stars: Say “More than you can catch!”
• The stars run across to the other end and try not to get tagged.
• The winner is the last person to get caught.

16. BROOM HOCKEY

Required: Brooms, rubber ball, and goals (boxes or buckets) Players: 2 or more This game can be played in any size room.

• Make two goals opposite of each other.
• Start the game with a face-off in the center of the room.
• Opponents attempt to hit the puck into the opposite goal.
• The goalie is allowed to block shots in any way he desires.
• Penalties may be assessed for delaying the game, holding the puck with hands or feet, high sticking or other unnecessary roughness.
• The opposite team may receive a free shot (except for goalie) on goal when penalties occur.
• For large groups limit number of players and substitute once a score is made.

17. FOUR SQUARE

You need: A gym floor with 4 squares …

• The player in square 4 serves the ball by bouncing it in his square and tapping the ball into another square.
• The player in that space must tap the ball (after one bounce) into another kid’s area, and so on, until someone misses the ball, lets the ball bounce twice, or sends it out of the grid.
• The player who misses the ball steps out and the remaining players rotate up through the numbered squares.
• If you are playing with more than four players, a new player enters the game at square 1.
• The player who is out waits in line to re-enter the game once square 1 is open again.
• Whoever is now in square 4 serves the ball to resume play.

18. BLINDED FOUR CORNERS

Required: Blindfold Players: Medium to large groups Here’s a quick game that can be played in a classroom or gym.

• Select one player to wear a blindfold and they are to be placed into the center of the room.
• Once the player is blindfolded and in position, the other players must stand in one of the four corners. They must do this very quietly (no talking allowed) and within 10 seconds.
• If a player is not in a corner by the time your done counting, that player is out of the game.
• The player that is blindfolded will point to one of the corners and all the players in that corner will be out of the game.
• To be fair you cannot go to one corner, make noises and then quickly move to another corner.
• If no one is in a selected corner, the players have 5 seconds to get to another corner before a new corner is selected.
• The one person that was never found will be the new player in the middle.

19. MINE FIELD

In an area of 60×30 ( volley ball court or gym) place squeaky toys, balloons, chairs, ropes. and cones randomly about. Kids form partners. One person is blindfolded; their partner must talk them through the “mine field.” Partners may not touch each other at any time. Try and make it from one side of the playing area to the other. Several pairs may try to maneuver at the same time…

20. PICK-POCKET TAG (Or Tail Tag)

Need Flags or a strip of cloth to be used as a tail. Players have a tail inserted into his/her belt or pocket that is hanging at the back-side. All players chase one another trying to collect tails, while protecting his/her own. Players with the most tails collected in a specified time are the winners.

21. STICKY POPCORN

The children begin by ” popping ” around the gym as pieces of sticky popcorn, searching for other pieces of popcorn. When two pieces of popcorn meet, they stick together. Once stuck together, they continue to pop around together, sticking to even more pieces, until they end up in a big popcorn ball.

22. BARNYARD

(This could also be called Zoo, Ocean, Circus, or Outer Space, if you are having a “Theme”; You’d just change the names to go with the theme.)

• Depending how many children you have–form teams. You can have anywhere from 3 Teams to ?????
• Teams are in their groups and one end of the gym.
• Players in teams have DESIGNATED NAMES: Sheep, Cows, Horses, Pigs, etc.
• Two or three persons are “It” in the middle of the room.
• “It” calls out the names of the animals (Example – Sheep)
• All sheep must run to the pen at the opposite end of the room without being caught.
• When “BARNYARD” is called, everyone must run to the opposite end.
• Penalty for being caught is to run all around the barnyard (A LAP OF THE GYM) once and then they can come back in the game! (Remember to change the “It” people)

23. THE QUIET OLYMPICS

• DISCUS THROW: Use a paper plate
• SHOT-PUT: Use a balloon
• TRACK RACE: Each player lines up at the start line and race by placing the heel of one foot against the toe of the next. The first one to the end of the track and back wins.
• HIGH JUMP: Each contestant takes a deep breath and whistles. The contestant who holds the note the longest wins.
• HIGH DIVE :  Each player stands on a chair (or faces the chair back-rest and then kneels chair seat) with ten clothes pins and drops them into an empty bottle. The player that gets the most wins. Source: allthedaze.com

24. FITNESS MANIA

Required: Playing cards (preferably larger size playing cards) and activity slips-two of each directive (be creative) Players: Small to large groups

• For ‘Fitness Mania’ the players will perform a variety of fitness activities in order to improve their own levels of physical fitness. (Muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition, flexibility and cardio respiratory endurance). Present it as a game!
•  Divide into two teams; each team will line up in a horizontal single file on opposite sides of the card and activity slip piles.
• The first person on each team will run towards the middle and pick up a card and and activity slip.
• Each card represents a number. 2 =2, Jack = 11, Ace = 14, etc. That is the number of times the team will perform the task.  Note: If a player picks up an activity that their team has already done, they must pick another activity slip.
• Players will run back towards their group then read and perform the activity as a group. (Example: Do ____ curl-ups).
• The next person in line then goes and the game continues until all of the cards or activity slips are gone.
• The team that finishes first wins.

25. Exercise ideas:

Sit ups, push ups, right sideway leg lift, left side-way leg lift, run in place, shoulder rolls, jumping jacks, hop on right foot, hop on left foot, jump up and down, scissor jump-steps, swimming from waist motion, jump rope in place-without a rope, etc.

Everyone walks around with their eyes closed in a small space. When they bump into someone they ask, “Pruie?” If “Pruie” is said back to you then they are not the person you are looking for and you continue looking in the group.

The referee has whispered to one person, telling them that they are the “Pruie”. The Pruie does not have to close their eyes and if someone bumps into them and asks “Pruie?” they do not respond. This is the clue to join onto their hand and open your eyes. The fun comes when there is only one person left to find the Pruie!

27. RED-LIGHT-GREEN LIGHT

Select one child, to start the game and be the “stoplight”. All the children line up on the other side of gym. The ‘stoplight’ yells “Green light!” and the children lined up start running. Object of game: The first one to make it to the stoplight wins and is now the stoplight. It gets tricky when the stoplight changes…

• The stoplight should yell “Red light!” to get children to stop.
• Any movement by a child means she is sent back to the beginning.
• The stoplight can also call out “yellow light” which means the children can only walk very slowly.
• Variations to this game include yelling “red light” two times in a row, or adding body movements. Say “green light” with your arms up one time and then say “red light,” but throw your arms up again to confuse runners into thinking your body language says “green light.”

28. HULA HOOP FREEZE TAG

Scatter out several hula hoops around the floor. Assign taggers to freeze the other players. Students inside a hula hoop can not get frozen, but can only stay long enough to count to 10. Only one child per hula hoop is allowed.

29. “IT” TAG

This game is played like traditional tag. The number of children playing, will determine the number of “ITS” you have–which would normally be from 1 to 3. ______ minutes, change your “It”.

30. NOSE AND TOE TAG

Formation : Scatter Three or four players are “It”. Players try to tag others. Other players can be immune from the tag by holding their nose with one hand and their toes with the other. They can only hold this pose for three seconds. They must immediately start to run after stopping in his manner. When tagged they also become an “It”.

31. MOTHER MAY I?

All the children line up side by side except the player who is the caller. The caller stands at a distance from the lined up players. He calls on each player in turn to take a number of steps toward him. The steps allowed are: baby steps, giant steps, and scissor steps (like forward jumping jacks.) The player answers “Mother, may I?”

The mother answers “Yes, you may.” The player takes the given number of steps toward the caller. If the player forgets to ask permission after they get directions and takes steps toward the caller they are sent back to the starting line. The first player to reach the caller is the winner and new caller. Idea: Change the name to the season:  Teacher May I? Santa, Snowman, Cupid, Leprechaun, Bunny, etc.

32. MONKEY TAG

Scatter with 3 or 4 kids who are “It”.

• When players are tagged, they must lie on their backs, feet up in the air.
• They are free if another person can touch both feet with their elbow before being caught.
• Time game so many get a turn at being “It”.

33. CATS IN THE CORNER

Need Soft balls- For Medium to large groups

• Mark off square play area.
• The ball thrower will be in the center of the square.
• There are safe zones at each of the corners where all the players called ‘Cats’ will be.
• When the thrower calls “Cats In The Corner”, the Cats 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 player hit by the ball is out.
• If you have a large group you can have several balls and a couple throwers.

34. FEATHER BLOW

Purchase feathers at a local craft store. 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 (using only his/her breath) is the winner. This game can also be played in teams.

35. RUN RABBIT RUN

Half of the group are called foxes and the other half are named rabbits . Rabbits are standing behind a line at one end of the play area. (home) Foxes are scattered all over the gym.

• Captain Rabbit leads his/her brood for a walk.
• The leader of the foxes says : “Run Rabbit Run!”
• All rabbits run trying to return to their home.
• All TAGGED rabbits become foxes.
• Continue until there are no “rabbits” left.

36. END DODGE BALL

Equipment: Sponge balls of various sizes A ball is thrown in to start the game. The teams (each on their own side of line) throw two or three balls, back and forth, trying to hit the opposite team. As players are hit, they must go stand behind the opposing team on the back line so that they can RETRIEVE the balls AND THROW THEM BACK to their team.

37. STUCK IN THE MUD

A basic tag game. If children are tagged, they must stand with their legs apart (stuck in the mud) until someone crawls through and releases them.

38. WHO HAS THE CHICKEN?

1.  You have two or more taggers, and two youth with rubber chickens. 2.  The taggers run and tag children to freeze them. 3.  The students with the rubber chickens can run around and unfreeze the “frozen.” 4.  After a few minutes switch the taggers and the chickens.

39. FIND YOUR FRIEND

Make sure there are no trip hazards. Blindfold all children, set them a distance apart from each other, spin them gently/slowly around, and then turn them loose. They must find their friends, link arms, and then find the rest of their friends. They will have a good time shuffling around and bumping into each other! (Be sure an adult is present at all times)

Two players hold a soft rope or stick 3′ to 4′ long. Players take turns leaning backward and shuffling under the rope. Lower the rope after each round. (Be sure to play Limbo music!)

41.CAT AND MOUSE

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

42. SET A “BOOK” of RECORDS

This one is a surefire winner! Keep your own program, classroom, or family book of records; have kids/players try to set records for things such as:

• Most jumping jacks
• Jumps in jump roping
• Running laps in gym
• Running laps outside
• Most crafts made for the month or year
• Longest handstand
• Most books read, puzzles completed, etc.
• Anything else that you can think of .
• When they start to utter that they are bored give them a new record to break and a fun reward if they set a new record! Be sure to make this a yearly ongoing event—NEW records can be set each year!!!

43. PROTECT YOUR ‘TARGET’ (A TAG GAME)

1. Choose one child to become “It.” 2. Divide the remaining players into teams of three members each. Each team will choose one of the three members to be a target. The target on each team will wear an identifying marker such as a piece of masking tape. 3. The Game: Players  hold onto their teammates’ wrists.  “It”  counts to 10 while the other players move away from him/her. Players continue to hold each others wrists during the entire game. 4. Once “It” reaches 10, they race to each team and try to tag the targets. 5. Each team  blocks/protects their target. The winning team is the one that avoids having its ‘target’ tagged.

If a large group of children are playing, have more than one “It”.

44. SQUAT, SQUAT, SCAT! This is a ‘version” of Duck, Duck, Goose.

• While young children think “Duck, Duck, Goose” is fun—those over grade 2 may take offense with playing a “Baby” Game…that’s when you try the game with a “Themed” title or this type of game name!
• It’s still Duck, Duck, Goose but with a different name !
• Have children sit in a circle.
• One person is “It”.
• This person runs around the circle touching the players on the back saying: “Squat, squat, squat”

When “It” touches a player and says “Scat”, that person must chase “It” around the circle. “Scat” tries to tag “It” before he/she gets home.

TIP: CONSIDERING HOCKEY? TRY THIS TO LEARN . For a safer version:

Instead of using actual Hockey sticks, use foam noodles that are for swimming. Instead of a puck, use a waffle ball. If you don’t have small goals, use two cones at each end.

Tape or mark off the boundaries. Make sure to enforce a “no high sticking” rule before the game begins. This will ensure that the teams aren’t whacking each other with the noodles. Have a penalty box for the rule-breakers. You can make a time limit, or a goal limit. If you have many kids be sure to switch out players…

Tip: Do you remember your favorite game as a child? Teach that game to your kids!!! Celebrate and have fun keeping the old games alive!

TIP: TEACHING JUMPING JACKS Saw this quite awhile back …don’t remember where…but it works! When the kids’ legs are out and hands clapped above the head, this is called “teepee” and when the kids’ legs are together and hands at their sides, it’s “pencil.” They can learn this skill slowly as they shout “teepee… pencil…teepee…pencil.”

GAME FUN FACT : ‘Simon Says’ started as a game in New York State’s Catskill Mountains during its heyday as a resort area. It was designed to get older women up and exercising.

45. Balance bean bag

A very simply game to get kids to work on their balance. It will also engage their core muscles and teach them how to control their legs and bodies better. Here’s how to play:

• Get a few kids standing on a line.
• Get each of them a bean bag
• Have them balance that bean bag on one of their feet.
• When you whistle, they need to raise their leg with the bean bag on it
• Try and stay balanced, the last kid standing wins.

TIP – Don’t raise your feet too high, it’s much easier keeping your balance with feet closely to the ground.

Check out the  Indoor or Outdoor Walking Club ! A great idea!

Need some team names for your gym games? Check out our 101 team names for kids .

Looking for more games??? Just click on your interest!

• PE Warm Up Games and Exercises 
• Relays, Races, Balloon, and Bean Bag   (Some really good for the gym!)
• Quiet, Table and  Less Active games
• Transition, Waiting and Sponge Games
• Games for Small Groups of kids
• Tons of Great Outdoor Games
• Outdoor Water Games
• Pre-K to Grade 2
• Parachute Games
• Jump Rope Rhymes & Games
• No Equipment Needed PE Games
• PE Tag Games
• There are also games in each and every ‘Theme, Holiday and Seasonal’ category! Check out the left hand side ‘Category Menu’

A father to three young boys with a passion of homeschooling. I am always seeking new ways to help them learn, grow, and have fun. I have a passion for traveling with the family and exposing our kids to new experiences and life lessons.

• Pete Charrette

PE Games for Small Groups: 6 Gym Games Tailored for Active Learning and Engagement

There are many options for physical educators to teach their PE curriculum and address district, state and/or national standards. This gives physical education teachers a lot of flexibility in how they present material to their students. Small group games in PE offer many benefits over full-class, large group activities. A small group game in a gym class is any game or activity that may be played by a small collection of students, usually three to eight people. Because the numbers are low, they get more movement opportunities and chances to put a learned skill into practice.

Small group physical education games can be used to teach a wide variety of PE concepts and skills such as hand-eye coordination, footwork, and spatial awareness. They are also an excellent way to promote teamwork, social skills, and leadership. In order to teach children most effectively, PE teachers can separate them into groups based on their skill level and developmental stage. This gives the teacher more time to focus on each group. To keep every student engaged in learning, several small group or class games can be going on at the same time inside the designated learning space.

Why incorporate small group games in a PE class?

Small-group gym games provide a supportive environment that allows for more player-to-player interactions than traditional games. They also give players more opportunities to be successful and feel like valuable members of the group. These games challenge students but tend to be less competitive and therefore can reduce stress levels and create a more positive social atmosphere in the class. When students feel less anxious about their performance (as they might in larger groups), they are more likely to be engaged in fun game and better able to perform the desired skills in a game-like scenario.

In addition, the highlighted PE games in this blog article can directly correlate with SHAPE America Standard 2 which states: The physically literate individual applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance. .* Small group games in PE assist students meet these expectations as well as others that may be determined by a district or state.

Tips for incorporating a small group PE game into your classes

Determine the skills or movement patterns you want your students to practice

Select small group games that allow for practicing these skills and movements in a game-like scenario. They can involve equipment or be equipment-free games

Make sure to utilize engaging games that are developmentally appropriate for your students

Playing area safety is key- make sure students have the space to move around freely and without hazard

Before playing, ensure that everyone is on the same page in terms of rules, regulations and boundaries

Have select students demonstrate the game

Encourage students to be active, play fair, and have fun

Keep the gym class game fun and not overly competitive

Stop the game from time to time to redirect behavior or provide rest periods

Have a wrap-up discussion to celebrate accomplishments

Let's take a look at six different small group games you may use in your program now that we know how and why they work for physical education.

1. Catch Ball

Team's work together to make a playground ball bounce 2 times inside another team’s court Skills Used: throwing and catching

1 playground ball per small group of students (8 to 12 students)

Indoor- Gym lines or small cones for court boundaries

Outdoor-Playground chalk for court boundaries

Two square or rectangle courts are set across from each other.

A serving line is set at back right

Game Instructions and Rules

Students spread out inside their side of the court.

This team game begins with a serve from the back right corner into the other teams court- The ball must pass the mid-line on the serve

The object is to get the ball to bounce two times in the other team members court. If the ball bounces once or a player drops it and it bounces once and then they catch it, it is still in play

If the ball is thrown to the other side and it bounces once and then out of bounds, the other team gets the point

If the ball bounces twice (in your own court) at any time before it crosses over to the other side, the other team gets the point. The serve changes after each point and rotates through the entire team

Players can pass it to any other player on their team (while it is live) before it crosses to the other side but if it is dropped and it bounces two times, the other team receives the point. The ball may bounce one time at any time during live play

Teachers should count “ONE” when it bounces the first time to remind students

2. Flash Ball

Game created by Dave Senecal. Find Dave (PEPALOOZA) on TPT here

Players attempt to eliminate other players (playing 1 vs. 1) by throwing a ball into their opponent’s rectangular court without them being able to catch it cleanly.

Skills Used: throwing, catching and tapping

One oversized Wal-Mart plastic ball, Slo-Mo ball, or beach ball per playing group (around 16- 20” ball)

Construct lines to make up the rectangular courts) using chalk, tape or Velcro

The courts should measure around 18' L x 3’ W divided with a mid-line

Multiple games can take place around the gym/field/blacktop at one time

One player starts on each side of the rectangular court. A student ref stands off to the side and will rotate into the game

One player starts a rally by serving the ball into the other person’s rectangle with a relatively easy serve that can be cleanly received and then thrown back

The ball must bounce on the other player’s side inside their rectangle

After the bounce, the ball must be caught before it is thrown back to the other side

Players can not throw inside their rectangle. They must play to the side or behind the rectangular-shaped court

“Tap ups” can be used when the ball cannot be cleanly caught- the player can tap the ball up into the air but must catch it before it hits the ground

If the receiving player misses the ball (doesn’t catch it), they are out of the game and join the end of the line waiting to come back in

The ball can hit any outside line and needs to be played by the person that is in that particular rectangle. The mid-line however, cannot be hit. This results as an out

If knocked out of the game, a player joins the line to rotate back into the next open side

Use the next person rotating in as the referee to make the call

3. Paddle 4 Square

An active game where players strike a ball with their paddle or racket in an attempt to eliminate other players and advance to the highest square, becoming the King/Queen.

Skills Used: striking

At least 4 paddles or rackets per small group

1 small bouncy foam ball per small group

Court lines constructed with chalk or tape

Numbers 1 – 4 written in each square

One player stands in each of the 4 squares. A line is formed at Square #1 to rotate in.

A server in Square #4 (sometimes known as King/Queen square) drops the ball and then hits it underhand with the paddle into another square

The person receiving the serve hits the ball with the paddle back into any other person’s square and the “rally” continues until someone gets knocked out of the game by 1. Hitting any of the “inside” lines, 2. Hitting the ball out of bounds, 3. Hitting the ball before letting it bounce at least once inside their square, 4. Touching the ball with anything other than the paddle or 5. Hitting the ball after it landed in someone else’s square without letting them hit it first

The ball can hit any outside line and needs to be played by the person that is in that particular square. The inside lines however, cannot be hit- hitting an inside line results in an out

If knocked out of the game, a player joins the line to rotate back into Square #1

Use the next person rotating in as the referee to make the call in the next rally

Video courtesy of Andrew Wymer. Find Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewWyner10s

4. Pin Ball

Two teams play against each other as each team of players work together to toss a foam ball or flying disc at the other team's bowling pin at the end of their court in an attempt to knock it down. Skills Used: throwing, catching

1 ball per small group (yarn ball, foam ball or Frisbee)

4 cones or gym lines to mark off a playing area/court

2 hula hoops at each end of the Court

2 Bowling pins or empty 2 Liter’s (placed inside the hula hoop)

Students spread out inside their side of the court to start. (3 vs 3 or 4 vs 4 works well).

One team begins with the ball and attempts to pass the ball down the court and shoot the ball to knock over the pin set inside the other team’s hoop

A player with possession of the ball cannot travel with it. They can pivot and make 1 step toward their target (a teammate or the pin) but cannot advance themselves up the court

“Complete” passes must be made to keep possession. If the ball drops to the floor, possession goes to the other team at that exact point

There is no contact whatsoever in the game on defense

If a team makes connecting passes down the court and is able to get an accurate shot that knocks down the other team’s pin, they are awarded 1 point

Games go for a set time or until a team scores “10 points” first

5. Intercept (Indoor and Outdoor Game)

A simple game where one team of players pass a soccer ball around a field or gym while another team attempt to throw a separate ball to hit it while it is rolling. Skills Used: kicking, throwing, fielding

1 soccer ball per small group

1 gator skin ball per small group

Students spread out in small teams on a grassy field or large gym (2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3 work best)

One team starts with the soccer ball and they pass it back and forth to each other on the ground in a specified area, using only their feet

The other team tries to hit the soccer ball with their ball, using a Nerf or gator skin.

When the soccer ball is struck, the teams exchange roles and execute the opposite activity.

The team with the Nerf or gator skin ball cannot run with the ball but must advance it by throwing it a teammate in an attempt to get closer to the soccer ball

6. Rescue Me

A creative game where one team of players pass footballs (or other type of balls) past another team to the opposing end zone. where teammates wait to catch and throw the ball and are ultimately rescued. Skills Used: throwing, catching

Equipment and Playing Zone

Several balls (footballs, Nerf balls, Frisbees, etc.) per playing group

Cones or lines to mark playing areas and end zones

The game is played in small groups of 12 – 16 (6 – 8 per team)

Several balls are dispersed on each side of the playing area

The playing area is divided with a mid-line and 2 end-zone lines approximately 30 to 50 feet apart

Teams put half of their players in their side of the playing area and the other half go behind the other teams end-zone.

Each team attempts to save their teammates from the other team’s end zone by throwing them a ball

The players in the opposing end zone must make a “complete’ catch in the air that is thrown from one of their teammates

If they catch it they must throw the same ball back to any one of their teammates in their “home playing area”, back across the mid-line

If a player makes a successful catch and then throws the ball from the end zone line back across the mid-line to their home playing area and it is caught, they are RESCUED

They then join their teammates in their “home playing field” and attempt to save the remaining players on the other team's side of the end zone

If a ball is not caught, it is thrown back to either playing area and the process is repeated again

A team wins when everyone on their squad has been rescued!

Final thoughts

Now that you know about these six small group PE games, it's time to put them into action with your class. Not only are these games fun, but they also aid in developing students' throwing, catching, foot dribbling and striking skills. Before beginning any game, it is essential that students have the right equipment and are familiar with the rules. Correct and encourage your students as they work together in their class teams. Make sure to rotate the games on a regular basis so that students don't get bored. Most importantly, have fun! With a little preparation, you can easily add these games to your physical education class and provide a beneficial learning experience for your students.

Do you have any favorite small group games for PE? Let us know in the comments below!

Need some FREE physical education games?

Do you need some FUN games for your physical education program that include detailed instructions and play diagrams? Cap'n Pete's Power PE has you covered!

Fill in the form below to download the FREE Physical Education Games Packet- 18 Game Set to use in your PE program! Inside this package are 18 fun and exciting PE games for students, designed for a wide range of ages.

This set is a PDF digital download that includes selected games (3 from each) from the following sets from Cap’n Pete’s PE Games Super Bundle.

1. PE Base Games, 2. PE Basketball Games, 3. PE Soccer Games, 4. PE Volleyball/Net Games, 5. PE Disc Games, and 6. PE Small Group Multi-skill Games

If you're looking for a ton of PE Games that are ideal for large, medium or small-sized groups, check out Cap'n Pete's PE Games: Super Bundle- Basketball, Soccer, Net, Disc, Base & Small Group Games.

This Super Bundle includes 150 games from 6 PE game sets that originate from the following resources: PE Base Games , PE Basketball Games, PE Soccer Games, PE Volleyball and Net Games, PE Disc Games, and PE Small Group Multi-Skill Games. Each set has 25 top-rated games that can be used by PE and classroom teachers to teach skills and keep students HAPPY and ACTIVE!!!

You can download them from either of the following platforms: Cap'n Pete's Power PE Website or Teachers Pay Teachers- Cap'n Pete's TPT Store

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Hey Vickie...thanks for responding. I am retired from teaching but still designing resources for PE and health teachers. Thanks for using my stuff!!!

Do you still teach or design games?? I use your stuff often!!

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The PE Specialist

Awesome Resources for Physical Education Teachers

Awesome Warmups and Instant Activities

How do you Start Your PE Class Each Day?

When my kids walk into their Physical Education class, our routine is that I give them a quick greeting and then we get into a quick warm-up or instant activity.   After that we do a little stretching with our Daily Warmup Routine while we’re spread out at our Home Base Spots .  While we get stretched out I take attendance and give any needed announcements and then get into our lesson for the day.

Rules Review

For every K-2nd Grade class I always start by reviewing 3 important rules that my kiddos struggle with (see below)

Start Simple

At the beginning of the year I usually keep the warm-up really simple and do walking lines and jogging lines (jog the sidelines and walk the end lines) to some upbeat music for about 2-3 minutes ( here are my PE Playlists ).  As the year progresses we’ll add some more locomotor movements on the lines like skipping, galloping, sliding. 

Sometimes we also add in some footwork ladders on the lines or even going over and under hurdles while traveling around the room.

Skill Related Instant Activities

Once my kids are in a good routine I start to mix it up with some other instant activities.   Sometimes we add challenges related to the unit or lesson we are working on that day – for example balancing a ball on a paddle or dribbling a basketball while you are traveling around.

Skill Formula = 4-5 Reps of any skill – Jog a Lap – Repeat

For an example, check out the video below for an instant activity that I use in my Frisbee Unit .   

The formula above works great for any unit that you’re teaching just change the skill challenge to apply to your lesson, you can change the number of reps and change the skill, for another example in the video below we’re working on throwing and catching off the wall and only doing 3 catches.

You can also add more levels if you want them to work on more than one variation of the skill, see an example below for a format that I use often to allow students to self progress using animated GIFS to show skill specific instant activity challenges.

Fun Quick Games and Challenges

I usually don’t introduce games as instant activities until after at least the first quarter since I want my kids to get into a good routine and learn the dynamics of each class and student.  Once I feel we are ready I will introduce some fun quick games or challenges as instant activities for my classes that can handle it.  For my K-1st students I normally keep it pretty simple and use the same activities I’ve mentioned above, but with my 3rd-5th grade classes (and sometimes a mature 2nd grade class) I find that most of the games below work pretty successfully.

The Thunderstick Challenge

This is a classic activity that I always do with my kids during our Jump Rope Unit, but I also bust it out every now and then just for fun to switch things up for our instant activity.

Check it out below for an example:

Basically, I have the kids all come to the middle and if the rope hits their feet – they either head to the walk/jog lines, or grab a jumprope and practice until the 3 minute timer is done.

Another great Jump Rope Warmup if your students already know how to do it is doing the “ Whirlwind Challenge ” for 3 minutes, same rules as Thunderstick if you get eliminated (Shoutout to J.D. Hughes for showing me this awesome jumprope game).

I spend an entire lesson of our jump rope unit on the Whirl Wind challenge with my 3rd – 5th graders and then once they already know the rules we might use it for an instant activity in a following lesson.

Switch is a really fun no equipment game that’s perfect for recess and can be played on a 4 square court or using 4 cones, spots or tape to mark the 4 corners of a square.

If you’ve never seen it, check out the video below:

If you want more info about SWITCH you can head over to this page for a more detailed breakdown of the game

The Cone Flip Mixer

This is a game that I used for a Field Day Relay Race and the kids loved it so much that I started using it as a mixer or instant activity as well to talk about winning and losing and learning to be a good sport.

Check out the video below for an example:

If you want more info, check out this page for a more detailed breakdown of the game

The Fastest Class Challenge

This is a fun class running challenge that I do with all my classes in 1st – 5th grade.

I run the challenge 3 times a year and it’s been super motivating for students and allows for some healthy competition between classes.

You check out the video below for an overview of the Fastest Class Challenge:

All Links from the video linked on the page below:

• Check Out Fastest Class Challenge Resources Page

Plug and Play Activities

There are definitely times that I need to setup or take down equipment to transition from one class to the next or do some other management task – in those situations I use warm-ups that are plug and play – so the kids are engaged and active while I’m getting ready for the lesson.  

These are some of my Favorite Plug and Play Warm-Up Activities.  They are great for those situations when need to transition or prepare for the next lesson, but also need to get your class warmed up.   Just setup a projector or plug into a TV and you are good to go.

If you don’t have to do another task like setup equipment or take attendance you can join in the activity with your kids and lead by example, while also offering feedback and refinements throughout the activity.

Note : The first 3 activities will require a screen, TV or projector of some kind.

Youtube Follow Alongs

After the year most teachers had in 2020 and many of us going virtual for at least part of the time, there are TONS of awesome follow along videos that would work great for kids warming up.  Some of my favorite channels for quick warmups are Go Noodle , Fitness Blender , Just Dance Videos and Get Kids Moving

When I was teaching virtually I also made a cool resource for our Membership and TPT store with over 100 of my favorite follow along workouts and warmups – you can check it out on TPT here: The Youtube Resource Guide or if you’re a member you can download it in the membership area.

Sometimes I even put my own Daily Warmup Follow Along up for the kids if I am setting up for an activity

Follow the Leader Skills Videos and Animated GIFS

After I got a TV installed in my gym I started creating follow the leader videos for each unit that I was teaching my students.  I really loved having them warmup using skills that are specific to the lesson and would contribute to the overall focus of the unit.

It was a ton of work figuring out how to use a green screen and deciding what skills to use, but I’m so glad I did because it’s been a great tool to use when teaching.   In the videos I take students through different skills related to the unit and move to a new skill every 30 –  60 seconds depending on the video

I also used the videos to create some great Animated GIF Slideshows that I use to progress. students through a lesson and sometimes use as Instant Activity challenges as well, see the video below for an example:

Or sometimes instead of having a sequence 1-4, I’ll just throw up a few different skill challenges and let the students choose the one they would like to work on

You can see below for an example of a summary slide from our Jump Rope Unit, so students could choose out of these 4 skills which one they’d like to work on.

If you want to see the whole process I used to create these Follow The Leader Videos and Animated GIF Packs, check out this post

The Sworkit App

Sworkit is a great App and also has an online version as well now with a “Kids” section that is free for anyone to use.   If you want to see a walkthrough of how to sign up and what the workouts look like check out this video .

It’s an awesome tool for PE Teachers.  You can create custom workouts with your own exercises and choose any length that you’d like.  

The examples are all appropriate for elementary age students and the app has kids performing the exercises as well.  Just plug your iPad, iPhone or computer into a projector or TV and have your kids follow along.

You can sign up for a free account at https://sworkit.com/

Offer a Choice

Another fun and motivating thing to do is to offer your students an option to choose between 2 warmup activities.

For example sometimes I tell my students they can either do a Just Dance video in the middle of the gym jog and jump hurdles on the jogging lines.

Before I had a TV in my Gym, I would just offer students the choice to do a Line Dance in the middle or jog the outside, here’s a fun line dance if you need an idea .  

Interval Timer Pro

No TV or Screen?  Then this one is for you.  I use this App any time we are doing a tabata style or crossfit style warmup.  I use station slips to indicate a few exercises or activities for students to choose from at each station and then input what intervals I want to use – play some music and then the app rotates the kids around the room for a set number of rotations automatically.  

If you do have a screen you can plug the app into the screen so students can see the countdown timer for each rotation as an added bonus.

You can use any exercises, but I created my own set of 25 Exercise Posters that I use for interval workouts, see an example below: 

You can check out the 25 Exercise Posters Pack Here if you’re Interested

I usually do a 30 seconds on – 15 seconds rest/rotate – If you have 6 stations that means you have a 4.5 minute warmup activity (3 minutes of work, 1.5 minutes of rest/rotation)

This is also a great way to use stations to give a quick review of content you’ve already taught or give your students practice for something you are planning to teach soon.  

Workout Posters

• If you haven’t taken advantage of the hundreds of free workout posters at Darebee.com you really need to check them out.   You can also find posters homemade by some great Phys Ed teachers around on the internet… Like these super hero posters for example.
• Workout posters are great – they give students a few options to choose from and are self paced .  Just set a time limit and see how many times your kids can get through the workout before the time limit is up.  I leave a few permanently up on my walls in the gym.
• I also created some pretty cool One Page Workouts myself using the exercise posters I mentioned earlier, which you can check out here if your interested

Daily Stretching Routine

After my students complete one of the instant activities I mentioned in this post we will head to our Home Base Spots which is how I do assigned seats in my gym.  I will lead a quick stretching routine (or have a student lead) and take attendance while the kids are getting stretched out.  

• Daily Stretching Routine Poster

I hope some of those instant activities and warmups are useful for you and spark some new ideas for you to try with your students!

Got some ideas I didn’t mention?  Leave them in the comments!

Have fun and teach on.

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Reader Interactions

January 9, 2023 at 4:18 pm

I teach at an alternative school. My students are all 6-8 grade. So far there are some things I will probably incorporate. However, we only have an outside court, so many of the things for placing on walls will not work, especially since most days are highly windy. The Good Sportsmanship, and Self-Assessment ideas I love.

January 10, 2023 at 4:10 pm

No problem Willam! We always say, “Take what works, trash what doesn’t”. Glad you’re finding some of the resources helpful!

October 12, 2022 at 1:33 pm

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these warm up activities. I am going to start implementing these in all of my PE classses. I feel like the students and I get very bored of the typical dynamic warm up. I cannot wait to change it up!

October 12, 2022 at 4:07 pm

Hey Madisen!

Glad you’re enjoying the resources!

January 21, 2022 at 1:16 am

As a high-school PE teacher, I still find so much value in your posts. I’ll be looking for ways to adapt and include the “fastest class challenge” and “SWITCH” into future classes. Thanks for all of your hard work!

January 21, 2022 at 3:10 pm

That’s awesome to hear David! Thanks for sharing! Good to see the resources still being helpful at the secondary level!

September 14, 2021 at 2:11 pm

Where did you get the stick for your Thunderstick Challenge? I have jump ropes and whiffles balls but that hollow stick how do you keep the rope in there it looks like they have a cap on the end to keep it tight. ????

September 14, 2021 at 4:51 pm

Hey Lindsey!

You can find all my recommended equipment and technology tools at the link below:

http://thepespecialist.com/amazon

The Jump Baton/Thuderstick is on the list and linked below:

http://amzn.to/2tyOO1n

Hope this helps!

August 17, 2021 at 3:52 pm

I would love some ideas for just outside as my school does not have a gym. We are outside ALL year round.

August 18, 2021 at 3:48 pm

Hey Cynthia,

We usually teach in my gym to save time and steer clear of distractions, but sometimes I’ll go outside when the weather is nice or when we have a scheduling conflict in the gym.

Below you’ll find a few ideas for teaching outside.

Jump Rope is a great activity and can be taught and played pretty much anywhere, overview of my unit below https://www.thepespecialist.com/jumprope/ Frisbee is an awesome outdoor activity, here’s a walkthrough of how I teach it: https://www.thepespecialist.com/frisbeestations/ Four Square is a classic recess/camp activity and is great if you have a black top or some concrete to play on. I’ve never played on dirt or grass, but if it was hard enough ground you might be able to make it work https://www.thepespecialist.com/foursquare/ Tag Games are always fun to play outside here’s a few of my favorites Noodle Tag https://www.thepespecialist.com/noodletag/ Fire and Ice https://www.thepespecialist.com/fireandice/ Throwing and Catching games are fun if you have a fenced in area, if the area is too big or unfenced it can get annoying with all the balls getting lost or rolling super far away, so it kind of depends on your space, a few of my favs are linked up in the post below: How I Teach Throwing and Catching in PE: https://www.thepespecialist.com/throwing Team Building Games are great for any setting Cross the River Pass the Frog Hula Hut Relays Adventure Bingo The Crazy Cards Challenge Fitness activities can be done anywhere as well, I will sometimes do circuit training with my 25 Exercise Posters or use my One Page Workouts to do an AMRAP style workout Using Exercise Posters for Warm Ups and Workouts Also, the Fastest Class Challenge is a good outdoor activity: https://www.thepespecialist.com/fastestclasschallenge/

September 15, 2020 at 4:33 pm

I would like to purchase a Thunderstick. If I am trying to find one at a vendor, what would it be called?

September 15, 2020 at 6:11 pm

Thunderstick can be found at the link below: http://amzn.to/2tyOO1n

September 15, 2020 at 8:39 am

In times of COVID I am looking for new plans for when I have a substitute teacher. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

September 15, 2020 at 6:02 pm

You’re welcome Cindy! Glad you’re enjoying the resources!

May 21, 2020 at 3:14 pm

We have a set warm up we do, called Head to Toe. I like the idea of having it printed out for students to refer too (the cheat sheet). I teach PE in the UK to Years 1-6.

May 28, 2020 at 8:27 am

Thanks for the feedback!

April 1, 2020 at 6:12 pm

Great way to work out and have fun at same time.

April 2, 2020 at 12:15 pm

Hey Matthew,

Thanks for the feedback. We appreciate it!

March 16, 2020 at 1:07 pm

Thanks for all of the great ideas. When my students come into the gym, I have a specific place for them to stand. I call it their “Homebase”. Once they all get to their spot, I will usually give them a choice for the warm-up exercises to do for the day. This did take some time to go over at the beginning of the year, but they now know a wide variety of warm-up exercises get to choose from their favorites.

March 16, 2020 at 3:52 pm

Awesome! It’s so helpful to have a good routine in place.

August 27, 2019 at 11:44 pm

Hi, I am a member and use your posters all the time. I am trying to print your stretching routine poster but it is going to charge me $4. Since I am a member, is there a way to get this poster for free? I teach at three different schools. Thanks, Tami

September 2, 2019 at 1:09 pm

Yep! You can just login to the forums and download it in the Posters and printables section, if you missed our welcome page explaining how to access resources check it out below:

https://www.thepespecialist.com/welcome-to-the-membership/

August 1, 2018 at 4:30 am

Warm up before a workout is very essential because without warming up muscles are not prepared for firing in a maximum throughput and will also lead to injury. Thanks for sharing this information on warmup movements.

July 28, 2018 at 12:34 pm

I love your blog! I have a quick question: Do you let students pass one another when they are jogging/walking the lines for warm up? Or do they have to stay in a line? This has been such a struggle for me. I’ve tried it both ways and when they pass, they cut corners and almost knock people over and when they stay in a line, there is always that slow person who refuses to walk fast or jog and it slows everyone down. Any suggestions? I teach PreK through 5th grade.

July 31, 2018 at 4:21 pm

With K-2 I usually do no passing, with 3-5 I sometimes allow them to pass each other depending on the responsibility of the class and put out 4 cones for them to jog around

May 18, 2018 at 3:32 pm

Hello, I am so pleased to join your blog! I am teaching a health and PE course for preservice elementary and middle school teachers. You have given me many wonderful ideas for engaging my teachers in teaching skills according to the psychomotor, affective and social-emotional development of each student. I will be returning soon!

May 19, 2018 at 10:02 pm

Hey Ellen – so pumped to hear you’ve gotten some good ideas, thanks for the feedback!

January 25, 2018 at 8:16 pm

I noticed that besides the superhero warmup posters there were cards. Any ideas on how the cards are used? I am wondering if there is a game? Thanks for any ideas.

January 29, 2018 at 4:45 pm

No idea, but you could contact Mr. C on Twitter and ask him how it works – he’s the one that created the cards

September 11, 2017 at 10:17 pm

Ben, thank you so much for the self-assessment idea for the end of class. I now use it in my health and PE classes and the students LOVE it. I used emojis for the WOW…Got it…Almost There… Not Yet and my second and third graders love tapping out at the end of class. I’m getting great feedback from other teachers as well! Thank you for sharing your ideas. Chris

September 12, 2017 at 7:51 pm

I’ve seen a few of the Emoji versions on Twitter – I might have to add some to mine, cool idea.

Glad it’s working for you

September 7, 2017 at 9:27 am

This is my 17th year teaching but it’s my first as a full time gym teacher. I have used all of your suggestions for the first week and I cannot tell you how much you have positively impacted my program. The Home Base spots, Conflict corner, PE Rules, noodle tag, walking and jogging lines… Everything has been incredibly helpful. I think I’m going to love teaching gym! Thank you, Melanie

September 8, 2017 at 4:13 pm

So great to hear that Melanie! Hope you have an awesome first year!

P.S. Start calling yourself a “PE Teacher” instead of “Gym Teacher” – the gym is your classroom not what you teach 🙂

September 12, 2017 at 10:51 am

Thank you, Ben. I ALWAYS teach my PE students (and teachers) to call me/or others, Physical Education teachers, or PE teachers for short. I’ve found that “gym teachers” is actually demeaning to our profession. Always try to keep a positive/tactful attitude when working to change things.

August 8, 2017 at 8:36 am

Thank you so much Ben, your contents are very nice and hopefully will help me tomorrow to get my job dream, PE teacher.

July 19, 2017 at 9:29 pm

Your blog is making the transition into my first year as Physical Education Teacher amazing!

July 25, 2017 at 10:11 am

Thanks Scott! Appreciate you checking it out and I’m pumped that it’s helpful – have a great first year!

July 18, 2017 at 2:12 pm

This is getting me motivated for that first week. My goal is to read a bit of your site/blog each day to prepare me for my new role in Physical Education.

As an Ontario teacher, I am pleased to see the OPHEA video.

Thank for all of your guidance and keeping PE fun. D

July 19, 2017 at 11:21 am

Wow – I’m excited for you with the new job – congrats! I hope the site gives you some great ideas.

March 11, 2017 at 2:55 pm

I love Parillo’s Let’s Dance videos on You Tube

March 13, 2017 at 3:10 pm

Yes! Ben’s got a great Youtube Channel – definitely recommend it.

September 1, 2016 at 11:24 pm

What an incredibly helpful website you’ve created! Thank you. I plan to use many of your ideas this school year. I teach k-5 at a small Christian school and the kids will love many of these activities. Thank you, Aimee

September 2, 2016 at 2:08 pm

That’s great Aimee, thanks for sharing! Glad it’s helpful.

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Virtual Physical Education Activities for Grades K-2

Virtual physical education activities seem to be the hot topic for the online school teachers right now. I have been seeing a lot of questions or resources for how to teach the younger kids remotely.

Personally, I am loving it. I feel like I am able to get more cross curricular content into my students PE class without them even realizing.

Remote learning doesn’t have to be this overly hard task given to teachers to navigate alone. There are SO many resources out there. USE THEM! You might have to stray from your normal curriculm and that’s okay! It’s not normal school! Adapt to your environment and make the best out of the circumstances you’re in.

For me personally, I feel like I am killing the virtual teaching game. I have a great system down, and use the resources other people have worked so hard to create in order make OUR teaching lives easier.

I will be honest…I love virtual teaching, but it’s not for everyone. And from the looks of teacher Facebook groups, I feel like I am the odd man out because I don’t have much to complain about. And I am very thankful for that.

But maybe you’re in the boat where you could use a little bit of help…

Well I’m Here To Help Make Your Virtual Physical Education Class So Much Easier!

More resources:

• Virtual Physical Activities for 3-5.
• Virtual Physical Activities for Middle School.

What and Who Do I Teach?

I am currently in a K-8 school with three separate classes per grade level. Normally I would teach 23 DIFFERENT classes a week, and 45 classes total per week, but luckily for virtual physical education and the other specials my school made some changes to the schedule.

What it now looks like is I teach 9 different classes a week, but only once. Once the trimester ends, my 9 classes move on to Art or Technology and I will gain one of their 9 classes. It makes it so much easier on the kids and parents at home. This way they don’t have to constantly remember what special they have each day. My kids will see me on Google Meet or go into my Google Classroom every day for 12 weeks with no confusion.

For a deeper look into my day to day, you can check out my Teaching Update post here !

Virtual Physical Education Activities for Kindergarten:

Kindergarten is my favorite class to teach right now. There are so many virtual activities you can do for physical education in this grade.

Let me walk you through how I have set K up, and what we do weekly.

Google Classroom for Kindergarten

Since I only go live on Google Meet with K-2 on Mondays, that means I only see Kindergarten once a week. But as a PE teacher, we know we want our kids to be moving every day. So I set my Google classroom up two different ways.

Some weeks I will post an exercise video for the students every day. This allows the students or parents to enter my Google Classroom, and complete the exercise on screen during their virtual PE time. Each post is scheduled to show up the day they are to complete it, that way they wont be confused. Once they pop up for the students, they stay there. This is great, because if there are any activities the students liked they can revisit them at any time during the week.

If I am not posting workout videos, I am posting a PE Schedule that is always labeled Physical Activity Assignments. Students and parents know they will see a PDF with weekly workouts. This is a simple idea for you, but you also have to take into consideration who is reading the work.

Sometimes the videos are easier for the families. The parents can just pull it up and the kids follow along. With the PDF, the parents have to explain what their child should be doing. And we know that isn’t always possible due to working conditions. The plus side of the PDF though is that you can be more specific with activities (you will see in my 3-5 physical education virtual activities).

Grading For Kindergarten

My thought process for the little ones is to make it as user and kid friendly as possible. You have to be mindful that some K students are coming to school for the first time learning their letters. There’s a 99% chance they won’t be writing reflections or responses to your questions.

Do we want to check for understanding? Absolutely. But remember your kindergarteners don’t even know how to use a computer. Let alone produce work to be graded for you.

Below is a picture of what my K-2 students will complete to receive a participation grade. Every week only once, the kids or parents will open a Google Form document and submit their answer. It let’s me know they are on track with each week, and can navigate through my Google Classroom.

The below image shows the one question needed to be answered. I use emojis that relate to the words, in hopes that the students will associate the two together. If it is repetitive enough, the younger students will be able to start to complete this form on their own.

Not every student is going to complete this form. But Google Classroom makes it easy to keep track of who does and doesn’t. If I notice a student misses a week or two, I keep a closer eye on them in our Google Meet PE and give them their participation points that way. No student should fail PE in kindergarten…especially when it’s virtual.

Live Google Meet Physical Education Virtual Activities for Kindergarten:

This is the best part of virtual teaching. I get to see my babies for 30 minutes! And if you’ve made it through my post so far this is probably the main section you were looking for. Now what in the world should you be doing with your students?!

Since I have a really great flow, I am happy to share what I do. I will also be posting more in depth virtual physical activities for PE in a later post. So stay tuned.

Anyways…

Kindergarten live PE class is very structured shown below:

Stretching/Counting

Jumping Jack Clap

• Letter Movement Video

Jumping Jack Clap + 2

Alphabet exercises.

• Breathing Cool Down

Every class we start off with a warm up. They are normally no longer than 5 minutes long. Instead of telling kids to just do the boring jumping jacks and push ups, I share my screen and play a movement video.

When we first started I would play videos with locomotor movements in them so the students could practice. Two of my favorites are:

• Listen and Move
• Action Songs For Kids | The Singing Walrus

But once the students started to get more comfortable, I started sharing videos they could interact with on a playful level. I discovered PE Bowman on YouTube and tried out his video called Balloon Pop Workout . I had saw a lot of PE teachers talking about this video online and through I’d give it a try.

It was SO MUCH FUN! Not only for the kids, but for me! If you’ve read my previous posts, I talk about how I always do the activities with the kids.

For more content check out PE Bowman on YouTube for his other extremely fun videos. I’m a huge fan of his Level Up 1-3 videos.

No matter what we do on our Google Meet session, stretching is a MUST. I always talk about why stretching and flexibility is important in our lives.

I do about 10 different stretches with my kids and tell them what part of the body they are stretching. I will use specific terms such as hamstrings or quads, but always follow it up with front or back of the leg to help with understanding.

This is also our time to practice our counting. Each stretch I call on a different student to count to 10 or 20. Lately we have been counting backwards, or skip counting to 100 by 10’s. Today we counted to 100, but each student that was called on only got to count ten numbers at a time. So student A counted 1-10, student B counted 11-20, student C counted 21-30 etc.

This was started in week two with the kids. Every week we learn new letters (next section), and do a jumping jack clap to reiterate what we learned.

We simply review all of the letters we’ve moved by doing jumping jacks and saying the letter at the clap when our hands touch. Today my students reviewed A-L so we did 12 jumping jack claps (JJC). You will see after today they learned M, N and O and we were able to add 3 more letters to our JJC.

Here we practiced A-H, completing 8 jumping jacks.

This video is our second JJC of the class where we add the letters learned that day to the first JJC we completed.

But the set up is still the same.

Letter Movement Videos

Every class we learn 2 letters to move and dance to. This is just added practice onto what their classroom teacher does, so we start from A and move towards Z at our own pace.

The videos I always share are from the YouTube subscription Have Fun Teaching . They have so many educational videos for younger grades, and I would highly recommend checking them out.

Two videos we stared the year off with were:

• The Letter A Song
• The Letter B Song

While these are playing we dance. I will usually do some squats during the parts where the song sounds the letter out and I’ll notice some kids copying me. But I don’t make copying me a rule. Watching the kids be creative in their own movements is great to see.

Once both of the letter songs are over, I will make them find me something in their house that starts with the letter we learned. I give them 30 seconds to find something. Since we don’t have a lot of time, I don’t let them share. I usually just announce their different items and tell them what a great job they did.

Like the above section where we clap through the letters we learn, this is the part of the Google Meet where we add our daily letters to our JJC.

Last week Kindergarten finished on letter L. So today we reviewed, and then we learned about letters M, N and O.

I tell the kids from letters A-L is 12 jumping jacks. Then I ask if they can add MNO or 3 letters to that. A few kids raised their hand to answer this math problem and the first kid I called on got it right!

Since we are in PE, we have to be moving right? I feel confident that my kids and I spend at least 25 minute or more of our 30 minute class moving.

The last part of our class we spend associating our letters learned with exercises or stretches.

Every class we perform all of the letters learned that day, as well as the previous letters from past weeks. Each exercise or stretch is held for 10 seconds. If you are short for time, count faster or just do a couple reps each exercise. Either way the kids love this part of the class and are able to tell me what exercises go with each letter now due to the repetition.

Cool Down Breathing

Class always ends with five deep breaths in and out to get the kids ready for their classroom teacher.

This video called Cool Down Breathing Exercises is a visual of what we do, but I lead the class instead of sharing my screen for a video.

Once this is over, I give my kids a backwards ten second countdown to leave the Google Meet and tell them I can’t wait to see them next week!

And remember they have activities to do in their Google Classroom the rest of the week, so they will still be getting movement.

Virtual Activities for First Grade:

Lucky for you my K-2 Google Classroom is set up where the activities I provide on non Google Meet PE days are the exact same, so you won’t have to read through my 1st and 2nd grade GC setup.

We’ll get right into the physical education virtual activities for 1st grade on Google Meet every week.

First grade virtual activities for live PE is structured as follows:

Stretching/Flexibility: Skip Counting

• Sight Word Spelling Exercises
• Cross Curricular Content OR Free Activity

As you can see it’s pretty similar to Kindergarten, but more age appropriate for first grade.

A lot of the workouts provided from PE Bowman’s YouTube channel are great warm ups for first grade, but another favorite I use is Mike Morris .

He does all of his videos at home so the students can relate to him. I try to use the videos without equipment, so the students don’t have to go looking for items in their house they may not have.

Stretching/Flexibility: SKip Counting

Just like with Kindergarten, I stress the importance of stretching our muscles. The difference between K and 1st is that we do more skip counting. Currently we are counting to 100 by 10’s.

I share the chart below with the kids to follow along with or to use as a guide to help if they need, and call on kids individually to do our stretch skip counting for us.

Sight Word SPelling Exercise

Maybe I should have specified that it’s not always a sight word activity during this part of our Google Meet session. But recently it has been.

Also, you will start to notice I do a ton of cross curricular activities. Of course my PE content is important, but since virtual school has thrown everyone for a loop, I am able to sneak more grade level content into our live PE sessions WHILE still incorporating my content.

We may not be learning how to play a five on five game of basketball, but we are learning body parts and muscles while spelling words and having fun.

I text with the first grade classroom teacher and ask what lesson she wants her students to get more practice with. In the beginning of virtual school we did verb practice, or letter sounds combined with physical activity.

Currently I am spending about 5 minutes showing kids on screen the sight words they have covered in their classroom already. I will call on a student to have them read the word out loud and then spell it. After they spell the word we use our alphabet exercise chart to perform each exercise/stretch for ten seconds per letter in the word.

First Grade Content OR Free Activities

With about 5-8 minutes left of our PE class, I will either throw in a little more 1st grade content into our lesson combined with virtual physical activities, or I will play a fun activity for the kids to enjoy.

Some of the fun virtual physical activities I like to share are:

• Line Jump Workout For Kids
• Animal Dance and Freeze
• Cosmic Kids Yoga (I only play a few minutes of it)

The best part about YouTube is when you select a video according to what you searched for, it recommends similar videos to play next. You could get sucked down a rabbit hole finding relatable content!

Just like K, we cool down with some deep breaths. If you map out these 30 minute workouts, you realize that you are moving the majority of the time and the kids heart rates can stay high.

While we take our deep breaths, I inform the kids that the exercise they did made them stronger, healthier and smarter. And now our deep breaths are clearing our minds, and helping us get ready for their classroom teacher again.

Virtual Activities for Second Grade:

Again, 2nd grade Google Classroom is the same as K and 1st, so I will jump ahead to our Google Meet live PE sessions.

Their structure is identical to 1st grade, only their classroom content differs.

For second grade, their virtual physical education activities are laid out as follows:

• Cross Curricular Movement
• 2st Grade Content OR Free Activity

I’ve been excited for this one. I recently stumbled upon an activity on accident with 3rd grade incorporating dancing and yoga. The point of the video for third was to work on their balance in a fun way, but since my K-2 aren’t learning balance yet I figured the following videos would be great warm ups and lead ups into a balance and gymnastics unit.

PE Games: Yoga Freeze Dance had been the best activity my students and I have done so far.

Yoga Freeze Dance

This is a one minute clip of one of my classes warming up with our Yoga Freeze Dance video.

As you can tell from some of the kids, it’s a lot of fun. I highly recommend these these videos for your virtual physical education class activities.

Just like with K and 1st again, we practice the different ways to count. With 2nd grade, we started with 10’s, then 5’s and are about to start 2’s in the next few weeks.

Currently their classroom teacher is working on skip counting by 5’s with the kids, and but from what I’ve seen during our live PE sessions they are doing exceptionally well.

I share the number chart shown in the 1st grade section for students who need a little extra help.

CRoss Curricular Movement

Second grade is a little more fun when it comes to cross curricular virtual activities. For the first couple weeks we did math workouts. Since the students were learning how to add whole numbers 1-12, in our PE class we would add exercises.

For instance, the problem might read: add 5 pushups + 5 pushups. As a class we would count it out together, completing 10 pushups total for that problem. It’s also a great way to add fun new exercises into their world such as ice skaters, burpees, jump squats and shoulder touches.

Another fun activity we did was a vowel lesson. The kids classroom teacher had taught long and short vowels the previous week, so I made a Google Slide document with a variety of words the kids could read.

I show one word at a time and will call on students individually, and ask them to sound out and read the word. They then will decided if the word has a short vowel or long vowel sound and count how many letters are in the word. If it has a short vowel sound the whole class will do as many push ups as letters in the word. For long vowel sounds the whole class will do jumping jacks for as many letters are in that word.

This may seem like it takes a long time, but once the students catch on it can go pretty quickly! Remember I don’t necessarily teach new classroom content, I reinforce content the kids classroom teachers have already taught.

Second Grade Content or Free Activity

The cross curricular for the students is such a good way to help them understand concepts in a different way. But that doesn’t mean you have to shove math into their brains 24/7. So if they have had a a lot of classroom crossover in my PE class, I love to just let loose with them in a non educational way.

Free activity time built into their virtual PE give their brains a break, but keeps their bodies moving. One YouTube subscription I really like is called Little Sports . A 5-10 minute animated workout with music is a hit.

Scavenger hunts are also pretty fun. You can have kids find you items in their house, to get them up running around. Sometimes I’ll ask for them to find me something of a specific color, while other times I’ll ask for items starting with certain letters. We change it up a lot, but the best thing is getting to see them excited ready to share there home lives with me.

And for the kids who don’t feel comfortable sharing they just enjoy watching their classmates. But I can promise you that doesn’t happen often.

And just like the above grades, we focus on getting our heart rates back to a normal beat.

Closing Thoughts

When I said in the beginning of this post that I loved teaching virtually, I wasn’t lying. It’s an amazing experience I get to share with my students. I’m learning so much more than I ever thought I would about my students, and I am so grateful for that.

Whether you are virtual or hybrid, I hope you gained a little bit of insight from this post. My teaching is not perfect by any means, but what I am currently doing is working. That’s the main reason I needed to share!

Pretty soon I will be creating videos to help give you a visual on how I structure my classes. But the bottom line is if you have a plan and you’re decently organized, you’re going to do great. Don’t decide what you are going to teach five minutes before your classes start. That will just stress you out and the kids will notice.

Relax and enjoy this time. There are so many things out of your control, so focus on what you can do in the moment and give your students your best. They deserve it!

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Author: Detroit PE

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2nd grade physical education games

THE HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS BUNDLE

Earth Day Reading Comprehension Passages

Ocean - Under the Sea Reading Comprehension Passages

Spring Math & Literacy Printables {2nd Grade}

*2nd Grade Language Arts & Grammar Bundle

Scarf and Ribbon Movement Cards

NO PREP Physical Education Lesson Plans | PE Activities and Games

Olympic Field Day Event Cards- 50 Olympic-Themed Field Day Events

Super *BUNDLE* Physical Education Sport Station & Relay Races activities pack

PE Stations: Triple Pack Bundle- 132 Movement, Skill and Sport Zones

P.E. - Over 100 PE Games Super Bundle

PE Fitness Stations: 44 Maximum Movement Zones

Field Day Power Pack- 80 Event Card Bundle

PE Game Book - PhysedGames Top 99 Games

Sports Day Themed Centers - Field Day, Sports Centers

Physical education Stations & Activities: PE Lessons & cards (grades K-3)

Cap'n Pete's Large Group PE Games - Triple Series Mega Bundle

Kindergarten P.E. Manual (103 Games and Activities for Gym Lessons)

PE Games: Super Bundle- Basketball, Soccer, Net, Disc, Base & Small Group Games

Creative Movement Pose Cards- Statues

$ DOLLAR DEAL $ Colors Movement Game | FREEZE

PE Quick Mover Super Bundle- Fitness, Instant Activities, Relays, & Tag Games

Halloween Freeze Dance - Monster Mash {Brain Break}

Scarf and Ribbon Creative Movement Activities: Music, P.E., Special Needs

Elementary Gymnastics for PE - Complete program (grade K-3)

Brownie Girl Scout First Aid Activity Booklet

Beat Sheets- Dance Activity with 8 Student Rhythm Sheets

Brain Break - Christmas Freeze Dance

Sensory Path Building

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• Physical Education and Health

Health and Physical Education

How to use these resources.

TVO Learn is designed to meet each student where they are on their learning journey. Learning Activities are comprehensive and require guided instruction from an adult, while Resources for Learning, Apply the Learning prompts and Vocabulary lists work well to reinforce specific skills or to enable independent exploration of a subject. Use these helpful tips to get the most from TVO Learn.

Curriculum Overview

The expectations for health and physical education are organized into four distinct but related strands:.

• Social-Emotional Learning Skills
• Active Living
• Movement Competence: Skills, Concepts, and Strategies
• Healthy Living

Interested in learning more? View Curriculum For French resources, please visit idello.org

On this page:

Learning activities, resources for learning, apply the learning.

Learning Activities provide opportunity for deeper exploration of a subject. Learning Activities provide opportunity for deeper exploration of a subject. Organized by grade and topic (or strand), students should be guided through each Learning Activity by an adult. Before clicking on a topic to prepare for or begin this guided instruction, be sure to read these helpful tips about how to get the most out of TVO Learn.

To access this learning activity, please visit this page in a desktop or tablet browser.

Chosen by TVO educators, these resources support the curriculum outlined above. Review the below list of options along with the activities. Then, read, watch, listen or play to build understanding and knowledge.

Please be aware by accessing the resources below you will be leaving TVO Learn and entering other TVO domains that are subject to different privacy policies and terms of use.

Complete the suggested activities using these resources and other TVO resources.

Choose from the following to consolidate learning across all curriculum strands.

• Create a list of all the different ways you could be active in a day. What kinds of activities might you do during a normal school day to be active?

Think about how you feel when you are active. How might you describe what your body is doing or feeling?

Imagine you are going to start a physical activity of your choice. What goal might you set in order to improve at this activity? What will help you achieve this goal?

Design a safe and inclusive game for children to play that uses beanbag, a pylon, and a plastic hoop. How did you make this game safe for all participants? How did you make sure that students of all abilities could participate?

• With a partner, or on your own play a piece of music from the internet, tv or radio. Each time a new song begins move a different way to the music. How many different ways can you move your body parts?

Eating breakfast every day and eating healthy meals and snacks throughout the day can help you learn. Create a list of healthy foods that could support your learning during the day.

Count how many different ways can you stop a ball without using your hands.

What are some things you should do to stay safe when you are at home, outside, or riding on the school bus?

• People show that they are feeling worried or uncomfortable in different ways. How does your body work when you are feeling worried or uncomfortable? How might you treat others who are also feeling this way ?
• Create a comic strip that explains how your body changes as you grow.
• Describe what actions you might take when standing up for yourself or showing respects for others.
• When you are sick you might need to take medications. What types of medications help you feel better when you are ill?

Review this list of vocabulary associated with the curriculum. Practice spelling, research definitions, and find these vocabulary words when engaging with the TVO resources or completing learning activities.

Students should understand and be able to apply these words in context.

• Movement Competence

brain stress response system

cardiorespiratory

environmental impact

physical activity

safety procedures

warm up and cool down

vigorous activity

send and receive

static positions

allergies and reactions

Canada's Food Guide

help seeking behaviour

human development

legal/illegal substances

nutritional value

oral health

personal safety

prescription and non-prescription medicins

processed food

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Choose from the options below to explore a different grade 1 subject.

Select a Strand

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• press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection

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• Diabetes Overview

Healthy Living with Diabetes

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How can I plan what to eat or drink when I have diabetes?

How can physical activity help manage my diabetes, what can i do to reach or maintain a healthy weight, should i quit smoking, how can i take care of my mental health, clinical trials for healthy living with diabetes.

Healthy living is a way to manage diabetes . To have a healthy lifestyle, take steps now to plan healthy meals and snacks, do physical activities, get enough sleep, and quit smoking or using tobacco products.

Healthy living may help keep your body’s blood pressure , cholesterol , and blood glucose level, also called blood sugar level, in the range your primary health care professional recommends. Your primary health care professional may be a doctor, a physician assistant, or a nurse practitioner. Healthy living may also help prevent or delay health problems  from diabetes that can affect your heart, kidneys, eyes, brain, and other parts of your body.

Making lifestyle changes can be hard, but starting with small changes and building from there may benefit your health. You may want to get help from family, loved ones, friends, and other trusted people in your community. You can also get information from your health care professionals.

What you choose to eat, how much you eat, and when you eat are parts of a meal plan. Having healthy foods and drinks can help keep your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels in the ranges your health care professional recommends. If you have overweight or obesity, a healthy meal plan—along with regular physical activity, getting enough sleep, and other healthy behaviors—may help you reach and maintain a healthy weight. In some cases, health care professionals may also recommend diabetes medicines that may help you lose weight, or weight-loss surgery, also called metabolic and bariatric surgery.

Choose healthy foods and drinks

There is no right or wrong way to choose healthy foods and drinks that may help manage your diabetes. Healthy meal plans for people who have diabetes may include

• dairy or plant-based dairy products
• nonstarchy vegetables
• protein foods
• whole grains

Try to choose foods that include nutrients such as vitamins, calcium , fiber , and healthy fats . Also try to choose drinks with little or no added sugar , such as tap or bottled water, low-fat or non-fat milk, and unsweetened tea, coffee, or sparkling water.

Try to plan meals and snacks that have fewer

• foods high in saturated fat
• foods high in sodium, a mineral found in salt
• sugary foods , such as cookies and cakes, and sweet drinks, such as soda, juice, flavored coffee, and sports drinks

Your body turns carbohydrates , or carbs, from food into glucose, which can raise your blood glucose level. Some fruits, beans, and starchy vegetables—such as potatoes and corn—have more carbs than other foods. Keep carbs in mind when planning your meals.

You should also limit how much alcohol you drink. If you take insulin  or certain diabetes medicines , drinking alcohol can make your blood glucose level drop too low, which is called hypoglycemia . If you do drink alcohol, be sure to eat food when you drink and remember to check your blood glucose level after drinking. Talk with your health care team about your alcohol-drinking habits.

Find the best times to eat or drink

Talk with your health care professional or health care team about when you should eat or drink. The best time to have meals and snacks may depend on

• what medicines you take for diabetes
• what your level of physical activity or your work schedule is
• whether you have other health conditions or diseases

Ask your health care team if you should eat before, during, or after physical activity. Some diabetes medicines, such as sulfonylureas  or insulin, may make your blood glucose level drop too low during exercise or if you skip or delay a meal.

Plan how much to eat or drink

You may worry that having diabetes means giving up foods and drinks you enjoy. The good news is you can still have your favorite foods and drinks, but you might need to have them in smaller portions  or enjoy them less often.

For people who have diabetes, carb counting and the plate method are two common ways to plan how much to eat or drink. Talk with your health care professional or health care team to find a method that works for you.

Carb counting

Carbohydrate counting , or carb counting, means planning and keeping track of the amount of carbs you eat and drink in each meal or snack. Not all people with diabetes need to count carbs. However, if you take insulin, counting carbs can help you know how much insulin to take.

Plate method

The plate method helps you control portion sizes  without counting and measuring. This method divides a 9-inch plate into the following three sections to help you choose the types and amounts of foods to eat for each meal.

• Nonstarchy vegetables—such as leafy greens, peppers, carrots, or green beans—should make up half of your plate.
• Carb foods that are high in fiber—such as brown rice, whole grains, beans, or fruits—should make up one-quarter of your plate.
• Protein foods—such as lean meats, fish, dairy, or tofu or other soy products—should make up one quarter of your plate.

If you are not taking insulin, you may not need to count carbs when using the plate method.

Work with your health care team to create a meal plan that works for you. You may want to have a diabetes educator  or a registered dietitian  on your team. A registered dietitian can provide medical nutrition therapy , which includes counseling to help you create and follow a meal plan. Your health care team may be able to recommend other resources, such as a healthy lifestyle coach, to help you with making changes. Ask your health care team or your insurance company if your benefits include medical nutrition therapy or other diabetes care resources.

Talk with your health care professional before taking dietary supplements

There is no clear proof that specific foods, herbs, spices, or dietary supplements —such as vitamins or minerals—can help manage diabetes. Your health care professional may ask you to take vitamins or minerals if you can’t get enough from foods. Talk with your health care professional before you take any supplements, because some may cause side effects or affect how well your diabetes medicines work.

Research shows that regular physical activity helps people manage their diabetes and stay healthy. Benefits of physical activity may include

• lower blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels
• better heart health
• healthier weight
• better mood and sleep
• better balance and memory

Talk with your health care professional before starting a new physical activity or changing how much physical activity you do. They may suggest types of activities based on your ability, schedule, meal plan, interests, and diabetes medicines. Your health care professional may also tell you the best times of day to be active or what to do if your blood glucose level goes out of the range recommended for you.

Do different types of physical activity

People with diabetes can be active, even if they take insulin or use technology such as insulin pumps .

Try to do different kinds of activities . While being more active may have more health benefits, any physical activity is better than none. Start slowly with activities you enjoy. You may be able to change your level of effort and try other activities over time. Having a friend or family member join you may help you stick to your routine.

The physical activities you do may need to be different if you are age 65 or older , are pregnant , or have a disability or health condition . Physical activities may also need to be different for children and teens . Ask your health care professional or health care team about activities that are safe for you.

Aerobic activities

Aerobic activities make you breathe harder and make your heart beat faster. You can try walking, dancing, wheelchair rolling, or swimming. Most adults should try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. Aim to do 30 minutes a day on most days of the week. You don’t have to do all 30 minutes at one time. You can break up physical activity into small amounts during your day and still get the benefit. 1

Strength training or resistance training

Strength training or resistance training may make your muscles and bones stronger. You can try lifting weights or doing other exercises such as wall pushups or arm raises. Try to do this kind of training two times a week. 1

Balance and stretching activities

Balance and stretching activities may help you move better and have stronger muscles and bones. You may want to try standing on one leg or stretching your legs when sitting on the floor. Try to do these kinds of activities two or three times a week. 1

Some activities that need balance may be unsafe for people with nerve damage or vision problems caused by diabetes. Ask your health care professional or health care team about activities that are safe for you.

Stay safe during physical activity

Staying safe during physical activity is important. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Drink liquids

Drinking liquids helps prevent dehydration , or the loss of too much water in your body. Drinking water is a way to stay hydrated. Sports drinks often have a lot of sugar and calories , and you don’t need them for most moderate physical activities.

Avoid low blood glucose

Check your blood glucose level before, during, and right after physical activity. Physical activity often lowers the level of glucose in your blood. Low blood glucose levels may last for hours or days after physical activity. You are most likely to have low blood glucose if you take insulin or some other diabetes medicines, such as sulfonylureas.

Ask your health care professional if you should take less insulin or eat carbs before, during, or after physical activity. Low blood glucose can be a serious medical emergency that must be treated right away. Take steps to protect yourself. You can learn how to treat low blood glucose , let other people know what to do if you need help, and use a medical alert bracelet.

Avoid high blood glucose and ketoacidosis

Taking less insulin before physical activity may help prevent low blood glucose, but it may also make you more likely to have high blood glucose. If your body does not have enough insulin, it can’t use glucose as a source of energy and will use fat instead. When your body uses fat for energy, your body makes chemicals called ketones .

High levels of ketones in your blood can lead to a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) . DKA is a medical emergency that should be treated right away. DKA is most common in people with type 1 diabetes . Occasionally, DKA may affect people with type 2 diabetes  who have lost their ability to produce insulin. Ask your health care professional how much insulin you should take before physical activity, whether you need to test your urine for ketones, and what level of ketones is dangerous for you.

Take care of your feet

People with diabetes may have problems with their feet because high blood glucose levels can damage blood vessels and nerves. To help prevent foot problems, wear comfortable and supportive shoes and take care of your feet  before, during, and after physical activity.

If you have diabetes, managing your weight  may bring you several health benefits. Ask your health care professional or health care team if you are at a healthy weight  or if you should try to lose weight.

If you are an adult with overweight or obesity, work with your health care team to create a weight-loss plan. Losing 5% to 7% of your current weight may help you prevent or improve some health problems  and manage your blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels. 2 If you are worried about your child’s weight  and they have diabetes, talk with their health care professional before your child starts a new weight-loss plan.

You may be able to reach and maintain a healthy weight by

• following a healthy meal plan
• consuming fewer calories
• being physically active
• getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night 3

If you have type 2 diabetes, your health care professional may recommend diabetes medicines that may help you lose weight.

Online tools such as the Body Weight Planner  may help you create eating and physical activity plans. You may want to talk with your health care professional about other options for managing your weight, including joining a weight-loss program  that can provide helpful information, support, and behavioral or lifestyle counseling. These options may have a cost, so make sure to check the details of the programs.

Your health care professional may recommend weight-loss surgery  if you aren’t able to reach a healthy weight with meal planning, physical activity, and taking diabetes medicines that help with weight loss.

If you are pregnant , trying to lose weight may not be healthy. However, you should ask your health care professional whether it makes sense to monitor or limit your weight gain during pregnancy.

Both diabetes and smoking —including using tobacco products and e-cigarettes—cause your blood vessels to narrow. Both diabetes and smoking increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke , nerve damage , kidney disease , eye disease , or amputation . Secondhand smoke can also affect the health of your family or others who live with you.

If you smoke or use other tobacco products, stop. Ask for help . You don’t have to do it alone.

Feeling stressed, sad, or angry can be common for people with diabetes. Managing diabetes or learning to cope with new information about your health can be hard. People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes may develop anxiety or other mental health conditions .

Learn healthy ways to lower your stress , and ask for help from your health care team or a mental health professional. While it may be uncomfortable to talk about your feelings, finding a health care professional whom you trust and want to talk with may help you

• lower your feelings of stress, depression, or anxiety
• manage problems sleeping or remembering things
• see how diabetes affects your family, school, work, or financial situation

Ask your health care team for mental health resources for people with diabetes.

Sleeping too much or too little may raise your blood glucose levels. Your sleep habits may also affect your mental health and vice versa. People with diabetes and overweight or obesity can also have other health conditions that affect sleep, such as sleep apnea , which can raise your blood pressure and risk of heart disease.

NIDDK conducts and supports clinical trials in many diseases and conditions, including diabetes. The trials look to find new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease and improve quality of life.

What are clinical trials for healthy living with diabetes?

Clinical trials—and other types of clinical studies —are part of medical research and involve people like you. When you volunteer to take part in a clinical study, you help health care professionals and researchers learn more about disease and improve health care for people in the future.

Researchers are studying many aspects of healthy living for people with diabetes, such as

• how changing when you eat may affect body weight and metabolism
• how less access to healthy foods may affect diabetes management, other health problems, and risk of dying
• whether low-carbohydrate meal plans can help lower blood glucose levels
• which diabetes medicines are more likely to help people lose weight

Find out if clinical trials are right for you .

Watch a video of NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers explaining the importance of participating in clinical trials.

What clinical trials for healthy living with diabetes are looking for participants?

You can view a filtered list of clinical studies on healthy living with diabetes that are federally funded, open, and recruiting at www.ClinicalTrials.gov . You can expand or narrow the list to include clinical studies from industry, universities, and individuals; however, the National Institutes of Health does not review these studies and cannot ensure they are safe for you. Always talk with your primary health care professional before you participate in a clinical study.

This content is provided as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public. Content produced by NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK scientists and other experts.

NIDDK would like to thank: Elizabeth M. Venditti, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.