Activities
Field day is one of the end of the school year activities that students look forward to all year long. When students participate in field day, they learn valuable skills related to self-control, waiting their turn, and sportsmanship in addition to just having a really great time. The goal of field day isn’t to crown winners, but for everyone to have fun and get some exercise. However, it can be tricky to plan enough activities to entertain children for several hours.
Here are 50 engaging field day activities to get you started!
1. Target throw
Set up several open targets and see how many shots students can make into the target with foam balls.
2. Free throw challenge
Set a timer for two or three minutes and see how many free throws a student can make in that amount of time.
3. Long jump
Measure to see how far students can jump.
4. Bean bag toss
Lay out several hula hoops and see how many bean bags students can underhand toss into the hoops.
5. Hula-hooping
Have several students compete to see who can keep the hula hoop going the longest.
6. Sack race
Have two or more students stand in burlap sacks and hop to see who can reach the finish line first.
7. Water balloon toss
Set up several laundry baskets and see how many water balloons students can make into the basket without them popping.
8. Tug-of-war
Create two teams and have them each stand on opposite ends of a rope. The team who pulls the first person on the other side over a line in the middle of play is the winning team.
9. Egg and spoon race
Give each student an egg and a spoon. The kids must race to the finish line holding their egg on the spoon. If the egg falls off the spoon, the student has to go back to start and try again.
10. 100-yard dash
Line students up, blow the whistle, and have them race to the finish line. This activity can be set up with any distance.
11. Three-legged race
Tie two students together at the ankles and then have groups race to see who can reach the finish line first.
12. Blanket pull race
Put students into groups of two. One person sits on a blanket and the other person pulls the blanket on your mark. The winner is one team who pulls their blanket across the finish line first.
13. Bowling
You can use bowling pins or filled water bottles to set up the ten pins. Students can use rubber balls or basketballs in place of a bowling ball.
14. Human ring toss
Inflate several pool rings. Have several students stand with their hands at their sides. Other students will toss the pool rings trying to get them over the heads of the students standing still.
15. Frozen t-shirt race
Ahead of time, soak several oversized t-shirts in water and then freeze them. Challenge students to see who can thaw and put on the t-shirt first.
16. Stack it
Provide several plastic cups or small buckets and see how tall students can stack them before they fall over.
17. Paper airplanes
Have students make paper airplanes and the see who can get their plane to fly the furthest.
18. Soccer relay
Have one student stand on each end of the play area. One student dribbles a soccer ball to the player on the other end who then dribbles it back to the starting point. Make it even more challenging by setting up cones students have to dribble around.
19. Balloon pop relay
Set this field day activity up by setting out two chairs and having enough inflated balloons for all the kids participating. Divide the kids into two teams. On your mark, the first players from each team will put their balloon on a chair and sit on it until it pops. They will then tag then next person on their team. The winning team is the one who pops all their balloons first.
20. Jump ropes
Have two students compete to see who can jump the most times without missing.
21. Army crawl race
Have students crawl on their bellies to see who can reach the finish line first.
22. Fill the bucket
Set up two empty buckets and have a large number of small balls ready. Two kids will race to see who can throw all their balls into the bucket first.
23. Balance beam
Students can simply cross the balance beam without falling off or you can set up two balance beams and have students race to see who can get across first.
24. Baseball hit
Give one child a baseball bat and see how many baseballs he can hit in a row.
25. Basketball layups
This works just like the free throw challenge except students make as many layups as they can in the time given.
26. Balloon stomp
Tie a balloon around the ankle of each player. The other players will try to pop each other’s balloons by stomping on them.
27. Water balloon piñatas
Fill large balloons with water and tie them from trees or other structures. Give students plastic baseball bats to see how quickly they can pop the balloons.
28. Water gun challenge
Set up stacks of empty cups – one stack for each player. Players will use water guns to squirt the cups over. The winner is the first person to knock over his entire tower.
29. Tire roll
Use old tires and have a race to see who can roll their tire over the finish line first. If the tire tips over, the player must go back to start and try again.
30. Wheelbarrow race
Have one student get in plank position while the other student holds onto his ankles like a wheelbarrow. On your mark, teams will try to reach the finish line first.
31. Water cup balance
Give each participant a plastic cup filled with water. Students must balance the cup on their heads while they race to the finish line.
32. Three-headed monster
Give groups of three students an oversized t-shirt, which they all three need to fit into. Groups of three will then race other groups of three to the finish line.
33. Soccer goal challenge
Set up a soccer goal with a goalie and give students a certain amount of time to see how many goals they can make.
34. Straw and cup race
This game requires students to use their straw to blow an empty cup. The first person to get their cup across the line is the winner.
35. Frisbee hula hoop target
Have one student hold up a hula hoop while another student tries to throw a frisbee through the hoop. Once the student is successful, partners switch places.
36. Balloon toss
Partner students up and give each group a filled water balloon. Students start facing each other about a foot apart. One student tosses the balloon to the other. After each toss, the students take a step back. If the water balloon breaks or hits the ground, that group is out.
37. Discus throw
Use a paper plate or a frisbee as a discus and measure how far students can throw it.
38. Giant tic-tac-toe
Draw giant tic-tac-toe boards using sidewalk chalk and let kids have fun making three in a row.
39. Pool noodle baseball
Play a game of traditional baseball but mix it up for field day: use pool noodles as bats and whiffle balls instead of baseballs.
40. Javelin throw
Divide pool noodles into shorter pieces and let students use them as javelins.
41. Hoopscotch
Set up a hopscotch grid but use hula hoops instead of drawing boxes.
42. Shoe kick
Line players up and have them kick off one of their shoes. The winner is the person who kicks his shoes the furthest.
43. Parachute game
Have students spread out around a parachute. Put a beach ball in the middle and see how long they can bounce it around without it falling off the parachute.
44. Watermelon seed spitting
Let the students have a healthy snack while playing a fun field day game. See who can spit their watermelon seed the furthest.
45. Balloon squeeze
Two students will hold a water balloon with their stomachs. They will not be able to use their hands. See who can reach the finish line first without dropping their balloon. You can use air-filled balloons in place of water balloons.
46. Make bubbles
Set up several sets of bubbles and bubble wands. See who can blow the biggest bubble.
47. Spider race
Have two students stand back-to-back and link their arms to become a “spider.” They will race other “spiders” to see who can cross the finish line first.
48. Backward race
This is just like a regular race except students must run backward.
49. Vertical jump
Measure how high students can jump. This is like long jump only students are jumping up instead of out.
50. Leap frog race
Put students in teams of two. One person crouches down on the ground while the other person leap frogs over. After leaping over, the first partner will crouch and the second partner will jump over. This continues until one team reaches the finish line.
Any or all these activities will help create an epic field day your students will never forget!
