Now that the weather is nice and you’ve probably finished your high-stakes testing, it’s time to focus on skills that might not have been on the test. But you know they’re important! Some outdoor team-building exercises can help with collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills. Try some of these fun activities!
The Parachute
Nothing beats the parachute to show students the value of working together. They are affordable, colorful, and offer lots of fun. Just make sure the students don’t get carried away (literally!). Add some balls to create a non-competitive team exercise.
Geocaching
Think of geocaching as a technological scavenger hunt using GPS capabilities to find objects all across the country. Use the coordinates of objects placed by other geocachers and practice GPS tracking skills to locate them. There might not be any in your schoolyard, so you can place some yourself, have the kids place them for another class, or go on a geocaching field trip.
Blind Soccer
Have students choose a partner or pair them up randomly. One is blindfolded and put on a small soccer field while their partner is on the sidelines, giving them verbal directions. The blindfolded players try to kick a soccer ball into an unguarded soccer goal.
Read More: 10 Soccer Ball Drills and Games for Physical Education
Organize the Zoo
Give each student an animal to mimic. They are only allowed to make the sounds of that animal. Students then have to organize themselves in a line from smallest to largest animal by communicating as their animal.
Communicative Red Rover
Split students into two teams and give them about 10 minutes to discuss general facts about their lives (number of siblings, hobbies, after-school activities, etc.). They then play Red Rover, but instead of calling for names, they call for people who match a certain trait.
These fun, non-competitive outdoor team-building exercises are a great way of getting in those 60 minutes of play while promoting teamwork. If you’d like to add more competitive group games like Gaga, beanbag toss, or croquet, we have all the supplies you need in the School Specialty online store!
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