Warm Up PE Games
All of these games are designed to be played for between 5 and 10 minutes at the beginning or end of a PE period. When playing tag games, I like to use a specific colour dodgeball (ours is the “Evil Red Ball”), to distinguish who is “It.” This way, after a minute or so, you are able to blow the whistle, give the kids 5 seconds to give their ball to someone new, and re-start the game again with a totally different dynamic. Also, remember how much kids feed off of your energy! The goofy names for each game often lend themselves well to silly sounds, actions and movements. The more buy-in you give to the game, the more the kids will believe in what they are doing and want to play too!
Hula Hoop Prison
Equipment: 2-5 evil red balls. 5-7 hula hoops (depending on class size). Description: Lay the hula hoops out around the gym. Pick 3 – 5 students to be evil red balls. If you get tagged by the evil red ball, you can either go into an empty hula hoop or, if someone else...
Kitty Corner
Equipment: Cones to mark playing area (if outside). 2-5 evil red balls. Description: Pick 3 - 5 kids to be your cats, give them their evil red balls and have them start in the middle of the gym. Have all other kids turn into mice, and tell them to go to 1 of the 4...
Bye Bye Tag
Equipment: 2-5 evil red balls. 2-5 good green balls. 5-10 hula hoops. Description: Scatter the hula hoops around the gym. Pick 2-5 students to be “it” (red balls). Pick 2-5 students to be “savers” (green balls). If you get tagged by an evil red ball, sit down and wait...
Opposite Game
Equipment: NONE Description: Line your whole class up, beside one another, against one end of the gym. Whatever you say, they have to do the opposite. The goal is to make it to the other side of the gym without making a mistake. If you make a mistake, you go back to...
Builders and Bulldozers
Equipment: A whole bunch of equipment that can be right-side up or knocked over/upside down (cones, frisbees, batons…etc.) Description: Assign half of the class to be builders (their job is to make sure that everything in the gym is right-side up). Assign the other...
Frisbee Flip
Equipment: 1 frisbee for each group of 2 students. Description: Have kids pick a partner and face that partner at the center line. Give each group of two a frisbee, and have the partners decide who will be “top” and who will be “bottom.” Have one partner flip the...
Zombie Tag
Equipment: NONE Description: Pick 3-6 people to be zombies. They are not allowed to bend their elbows or their knees. Their job is to “infect” everyone else. If you get touched by a zombie, then your elbows and knees lock, and you are now part of the zombie army! Play...
Ghost or Ghoul?
Equipment: NONE Description: Have the kids get into partners and sit about 2 feet apart at the center line. Establish end lines on either end of the playing area. Have the kids decide who is the “ghost” and who is the “ghoul”. When the teacher shouts “Ghost!”, the...
Dead Ant Tag
Equipment: 2-5 evil red balls. Description: 2-5 people are it, and are given evil red balls. If you get tagged, you lie down and stick one leg and one arm in the air. If someone attaches themselves to your leg (with their two hands), then they can’t be tagged. If...
Prince, Princess, Chevalier
Equipment: NONE Description: Put kids in partners and have them face one another, width-wise, from across the gym. When you yell “Prince,” they have to run and meet in the middle, one of them has to take a knee and have their partner sit on their other knee and point...