Volunteer Teacher Resources - Outdoor Activities
Relays -- Separate the children into teams, one person starts and tags the next when they complete their turn between the designated start and finish area. Try different relays depending on the age of the children. For example: running, jumping, hopping, crawling, skipping etc. Again you could have the older children help the younger ones. Chances are the kids will help you to come up with different races.
What you need: an area to run, could be marked by markers or trees, chairs, whatever is around.
Ball Skills -- Have the children split into pairs, if you have enough balls. Get the children to practice rolling to each other, chest passes, dribbling, bouncing, and aiming for a goal or target. You could also get them to individually roll a ball with one hand, from their feet, up their legs and body to their head and then back down. Have them switch hands and then talk to them about which hand is easier.
What you need: tennis balls, footballs, basketballs... anything that the kids can use to practice throwing and catching.
Scavenger Hunt -- This is a fun easy way to fill in some time with the children. You could use pretty much anything to hide - sweets, fruit, and objects from the classroom, pictures, and pieces of paper/material. Hide the objects around the playground or classroom and then show the children what they are looking for. If you're working with mixed ages you could pair up older children with the younger ones so they work as teams.
What you need: Classroom or playground, small objects, pictures or paper.
Guessing Objects -- Place lots of fun items in a bag so the kids can’t see them. Next, have turns at reaching into the bag and describing one of the items to the class, the person who guesses correctly can go next. You may have to practice describing the items first, using words like soft, smooth, heavy and prickly. You could also play a similar games with different foods and using a blindfold let the kids taste, smell and feel the foods. You could use sweets, crackers, bread, fruit or whatever is available.
What you need: a bag, objects of different shapes and textures i.e.: wooden blocks, leaves, toys, feathers, bark, and sand.
Science Nature Table -- Start the nature table with a few things that you have found such as rocks, seeds, shells, feathers, flowers etc. Show them to the class and talk about where you found them, what you like about them. Encourage the children to bring in things they find at home, let them show the class and talk about why they have brought them in. A magnifying glass might be a good idea so the children can investigate them closer.
What you need: A table or desk set up in the classroom, interesting items you have found in nature.