Field day is a day full of fun and excitement. As this school year is coming to an end, there is no better time than this to organize an outdoor event for students to bond with their peers and do something different apart from regular studies. The significance of games and activities for children is highly regarded, and a day dedicated to getting kids moving is a great idea. Not only for adults, but also encourages students to stay active, promotes teamwork and cooperation through team-building games and activities, fosters a sense of community, and boosts confidence and self-esteem in children.
If you have been thinking of organizing a field day for your middle schoolers this year, we have got you covered! In this write-up, you will find some exciting games and activities your students will love participating in while having a wonderful time with their teachers and peers.
Fun field day games and activities for middle schoolers
I. Individual Games
1. Cornhole
Here is a fun outdoor game for middle school students. All you need is a cornhole board and a few corn bags to set up this game. Mark a distance of around 10-15 feet, depending on the student’s age. Have the player toss the corn bag exactly into the corn hole. Use a simple tally system to record the number of tosses every student makes. The player with the maximum number of tosses wins the game. You can also reward the winner with bookmarks or a donut to celebrate their win.
2. Giant Jenga
Jenga is a popular game loved by people of all age groups. Setting up a giant Jenga for outdoor fun on a field day will surely make students happy. Arrange the blocks in rows of three. Alternate the direction of the blocks in each row. Create a stable stack of blocks. Players can come one by one and remove one block at a time and stack it on top of the structure. The game ends when a player causes the stack to fall apart. To make the game a little more challenging, ask the students to use only one hand to remove the blocks from the stack.
3. Sack Race
The sack race is an all-time favorite outdoor game for kids. Set up the race course by marking the start and finish line. Ensure the race course is free of rocks, sticks, or other obstacles that may cause injury. Give each student a burlap sack or a large trash bag and have them take positions at the race track. Signal the players to start the race. All participants must jump into their sacks and hop toward the finish line. The student who reaches the first wins the race.
4. Egg and Spoon Race
Children have a competitive spirit and love to race against each other. To add a little twist to the regular race, you can organize the exciting egg and spoon race. You can either use plastic or hard-boiled eggs for this purpose. Ask your students to take their positions at the starting point of the race track. Give each student a spoon to hold in their mouth and an egg to place over it. When the race begins, students briskly walk toward the finish line while ensuring the egg does not fall. The student who reaches the finish point first without dropping their egg wins the race.
5. Water Hustle
Here is a water game fit for a hot and sunny field day. Arrange two buckets of water and keep them at a running distance. Give the player a giant sponge and have them soak in the sponge with water from the filled bucket and run to the empty one, where they squeeze the water to fill the bucket. They must continue the game until all the water is transferred to the other bucket. Record the time required by each student to do this task. The student who takes the least time to complete the water hustle wins the game.
II. Team Games
1. Tug of War
Tug of war is a high-energy game promoting team spirit, coordination, and effort. It is an excellent lesson for students, stating the importance of teamwork to achieve winning results. All you need to do is divide a large group of students into two teams and give them a strong thick rope to hold from each side. Mark the center position using a cone or a flag. The students will have to use their strength to pull the other team past the marked point in order to win the game. The team that works in coordination and applies the maximum effort wins the challenge.
2. Relay Races
A relay race is another fun team game where one team member begins the game by running a specific distance before transferring the baton to the next team member or performing a given task and then tagging the next team member to do the same. The race continues until the last team member completes their portion of the race and reaches the finish line. You can choose to have the classic relay race with students passing the baton or bring in variations such as water relay or dress-up relay to add to the fun.
3. Three-Legged Race
Another great way to build teamwork, and coordination skills, and promote healthy competition among students is the 3-legged race. The objective of this game is to encourage students to work as a team as they try to coordinate their balance, speed, and movements so they can reach the finish line before anyone else. Make pairs of students and have them stand side by side. Tie one of their legs to one other to form a 3-legged entity. Signal the students as the game begins. The team that reaches the finish line without falling over is declared the winner.
4. Water Balloon Toss
Arrange a water balloon toss for some water fun! Let students make pairs to form multiple teams. Give a water-filled balloon to each pair, and let me toss it to each other while standing apart at a small distance. If both team members manage to catch the balloon, they must step back and try throwing the balloon again. The game continues until the balloon of most teams bursts, leaving only the winning team in the end. However, do inform the students not to toss the balloons at each other’s faces to avoid injury.
5. Dodgeball
A thrilling game to add to your field day games list is dodgeball. Make two teams with 10 – 12 members and have them compete with each other. Let the members of one team stand in a large circle. Two members of the other team must take their positions in the center of the circle. The members of the first team now use a ball and throw it toward the other team members, who must try to save themselves from getting touched by the ball. The player who fails to escape the ball is eliminated, and another member of the team comes in to take his position.
The game goes on until all the team members are out. Now is the time for the other team members to take a position in the center and try to dodge the ball thrown at them by the competing team. The team whose members manage to stay longer within the circle wins the game. Overall, dodgeball is a fun way of promoting situational awareness so students learn to stay alert in their surroundings.
III. Interesting Activities
1. Obstacle Course
To challenge your students a bit more, and nudge them to test their strength, agility, and endurance; you can set up a fun obstacle course in your school’s field. An obstacle course is a fun activity to boost spatial awareness in children. The course can include various elements such as a balance beam, wall climb, cargo net crawl, tire run, monkey bars, ropes, etc.
Remind the students that their goal for this task should be to complete the course as quickly as possible while overcoming every obstacle that comes along their way. An obstacle course can be a competition, but it’s better to keep it non-competitive to let students finish at their own pace based on their individual strengths. This will ensure that each student can focus on challenging themselves and enjoy the activity without the pressure of competition.
2. The Mummy Madness
Students often love an informal interaction with their teachers once in a while. It helps strengthen the teacher-student bond, which positively affects the learning process. Mummy Madness is a fun game in which students are allowed to wrap their teacher with crepe paper from head to toe.
To conduct this light-hearted and enjoyable activity, give each class a crepe paper roll. Let their teacher stand in the center while the students take turns wrapping them all over, just like a mummy, until the entire paper roll is over. Add to the fun by taking pictures of mummified teachers and their students for an unforgettable school memory.
3. Art Activities
Teachers should not restrict art integration to the classroom. In fact, incorporating art activities on a field day is a great way to encourage students to work on their creative skills in a relaxing outdoor environment. Your school art teacher can help prepare large paper murals, which students can fill with markers or watercolors to create beautiful pieces of art.
Set up large tables with various art supplies and let your students showcase their creativity. Another great way to add a touch of color to your field day is to provide students with colorful sidewalk chalk or spray paints. You can either draw some images for your students to color or allow them to create their own art pieces.
4. Treasure Hunt
Who doesn’t love the excitement of discovering hidden treasure? Your middle schoolers will enjoy searching for the secret treasure if you set up a treasure hunt for them on field day. The treasure can be anything, like a box of chocolates, a gift card, or even a cash prize if that’s what you like.
Hide the treasure and the clues in discreet places all over the field, and ask the students to follow a series of clues that will lead them to the treasure. The hunt will allow students to display teamwork and a problem-solving attitude to find their way to the precious treasure.
5. Follow Me If You Can
This is another enjoyable and engaging activity that requires students to follow the actions of a leader. Anybody can be a leader – a teacher or a student. All participants stand in line with the leader right in front. The leader leads the students forward around the school field. As the trail of students moves forward, the leader displays a series of actions or movements which the other students must mimic simultaneously.
Actions such as jumping, crawling, spinning, dancing, walking backward, etc., can be incorporated into the activity to make it entertaining. This activity promotes coordination and attentiveness as students try to replicate their leader’s actions. It can also be turned into a following directions game wherein the student who fails to mimic the actions of the leader loses their position and must step out of the trail.
Wrapping up,
Staying active and having fun is vital for children’s physical and mental development. A field day is a wonderful opportunity where teachers and students can shift their focus away from their studies and do things that encourage physical activity.
While it is important to ensure everyone at school has a good time on the field day, remember to consider safety measures. Set rules and boundaries for students to follow. Have first-aid kits and safety equipment ready. And always arrange for adult supervision to ensure every child is safe while enjoying themselves.
We hope this write-up has given you enough interesting ideas to plan for a successful field day that provides an opportunity to all students to bond with their classmates and teachers while promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.
I am Priyanka Sonkushre, a writer and blogger. I am the person behind “One Loving Mama,” a mom blog. Equipped with a Bachelor’s degree along with an MBA, my healthcare background helps me deeply understand learning difficulties. I know how challenging it can be for parents to find the right resources to help their children excel in life. So, here I am to blend my healthcare expertise with my parenting experience to create valuable and helpful resources for parents and teachers supporting children with learning differences. If you wish, you can follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn.