Children have an enormous capacity for learning new concepts. However, when their minds are not stimulated, they subconsciously erect walls that prevent the absorption of these concepts. The same is true when teaching kids martial arts. While the physical activity offers a tactile experience which aids the learning process, the routine can quickly become monotonous. When it does, a child can easily lose interest; they may go through the motions during their classes, but fail to truly absorb and memorize what they’re learning.

In today’s article, I’m going to provide a short list of creative martial arts games for kids. They’re designed to make the training fun and exciting while stimulating their minds. You’ll find that children are not only willing to participate, but they’ll become more mentally engaged in learning various skills associated with the martial arts.

#1 – Group Hog Tie

Separate the kids into small groups of 4 or 5. Provide each group with a soft rope or pliable belt. The objective of Group Hog Tie is for the group to use the rope (or belt) to tie the hands and ankles of one member of the group. The target member of each group should maneuver their arms and legs in order to prevent their being tied.

You’ll need to watch each group carefully to ensure that the students don’t use too much force in trying to subdue their group’s target members. This game teaches the children to cooperate with one another toward achieving a shared goal (tying up the target student).

#2 – Blindfolded Judo

This game pits two kids against each other while blindfolded. The goal is for each student to successfully throw his or her opponent and then pin them to the ground. Judo is a perfect style for this game because it focuses primarily upon throwing rather than striking. Technique, timing, and balance are crucial. Blindfolded Judo not only improves a child’s reflexes, but trains them to rely upon senses other than sight.

#3 – Tag Until Thrown

Every child knows how to play tag. One person is “it” and must make contact with another to transfer the “it” status. Tag Until Thrown follows similar rules. First, identify the type of throw you’d like the children to learn. For example, you may want to teach them how to perform an Osoto Gari leg throw or a Tai Otosha body throw.

Next, choose a student to be “it.” That child’s goal is to tag others. When another student is tagged, the “it” status does not transfer to them. Instead, the tagged student is frozen. The only way to “un-freeze” them is for another student to perform the correct throw on the frozen child. The objective is for the “it” student to freeze all of the other kids.

#4 – Stampede

This game begins by choosing one child from the class. Instruct the other kids to line up against one of the walls of the dojo. The first child stands in the middle of the room and selects one person to cross to the other wall. The chosen student must do so by crawling on their hands and knees.

The goal is for the first person (in the middle of the room) to overturn the chosen one and pin them. If they do so successfully, the pinned person becomes part of the first student’s team in the middle and another person is chosen to cross. Otherwise, if the person in the middle fails to pin their opponent, and he or she reaches the other side, all of the other kids begin crawling simultaneously.

These martial arts games can transform an otherwise monotonous class into a fun experience that kids look forward to. The games are designed to involve the children mentally and physically while sparking their natural competitiveness. Most importantly, they’re more likely to learn and retain key skills because they’re enjoying themselves in the process.

Playing outdoor games is part of growing up. We all have childhood memories of playing our favorite outdoor games with the kids from the neighborhood and our best friends from school. Now it is up to us to pass down the legacy to our children. Show them that playing outside is fun and teach them that physical activity is essential to their wellbeing.

Below is a list of five classic outdoor games your children are sure to love.

1) Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a simple jumping game that is easy to set-up and easy to learn. To play outdoors, all you need is a package of colored or plain white chalk, child-safe items like colored stones for the players to use as their markers, and a patch of concrete to draw the hopscotch board on.

Since there are a number of ways to draw a hopscotch board, experiment with a few different patterns and use the version your children like best.

The classic, old school way to create a hopscotch board is to use chalk on concrete to outline eight blocks in the shape of a lowercase letter “t.” Masking tape can be used as a substitute if chalk is not available or if you are playing indoors. Every player will need to find a small object that can be used as a marker. This is where you can get creative! Just make sure you don’t pick your mom’s favorite breakable figurine. Think more along the lines of a button, beanbag, or bottle cap.

Each player takes turns tossing his or her marker in block number one. The objective is to keep your balance as you hop over block one standing on one foot, then onto block two, three, four, etc. until you have reached the eighth block. To complete your turn, you must jump back through each number back to block two, bend over (still on one foot!) pick up your marker, and jump into block one and out of the hopscotch board. This completes the turn of one player. It is then time for the other players to take each of their turns.

There are a quite a few factors that determine whether a player is out and loses a turn. These things include failure to place your marker in the proper block for that particular turn, stepping into the block your marker is in, and losing your balance while attempting to pick up your marker. A player is also considered out if he or she steps on a line or uses both feet to hop into the next block. That player then loses his or her turn and must leave the marker in the block to try again after all the other players have taken their turn.

2) Red Rover

This game is fun when you have a big group of kids involved. Pick teams of equal size. Each team member holds hands tightly to create a chain. One side starts by picking someone on the opposing team to invite over to their team. Everyone shouts, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Emily right over!” Emily then breaks free and runs toward the other team. The goal is to break the link of the other team. If Emily is successful, she gets to pick someone from that team to join her team. If Emily is unsuccessful, she has to join the opposing team. This continues until one side has all of the team members. The best thing about this game is that everyone is a winner in the end!

3) Four Square

Much like hopscotch you can create your own four square arena by drawing one with chalk or using masking tape. You will also need a rubber ball, or any ball that is good for bouncing. Draw or lay out a large square that is divided into four inner squares. There is one person per square. The first player in the top square bounces the ball to the player in the square to the left of his or herself. This sets off the play. Everyone has to use hands to bounce the ball, in one bounce, around the square until someone fumbles and is out. The players rotate bringing a new player into the square to replace the person who fumbled. A person is out if they catch the ball, if it takes more than one tap to bounce the ball to the next person, or if a person steps out of his or her designated square. The goal is to move up into the top square. Like Red Rover, in this game, everyone is a winner.

4) Tag

Tag is one of the oldest and most exciting outdoor games for children. An added benefit of playing tag is the level of physical activity – it is a great source of exercise! While there are many variations of this classic chasing game, two remain the most common with kids today: traditional tag and freeze tag.

In traditional tag, one person is chosen to be “it,” the person who must try to catch the others. When the person who is “it” touches another person, that person must chase after another and the game continues.

Another variation of tag is freeze tag. The player who starts out as “it” can tag as many people as he or she likes. When the person who is “it” tags a player, that player must stands still or “freeze.” The frozen players can only be unfrozen once a free player crawls in between their legs. The object of the game? For the “it” player to freeze all other players. As you can imagine, freeze tag can go on for quite some time if players are fast!

5) Duck Duck Goose

This is an all time favorite. All the players sit in a circle. The “it” player walks around the outside of the circle tapping the other players on the head saying, “duck, duck, duck, etc.” When he or she gets to the person they choose to be the new “it” person, they say “Goose!” The “goose” then has to chase the other player and tag them before he is able to sit down in the goose’s spot. If the “it” player gets to the seat before being tagged the “goose” is the new “it” and the game continues.

These are five classic old-school games that every child should know. While a playground with swings and slides and monkey bars is always fun, nothing beats these basic games you can play almost anywhere. With spring in the air, now is the perfect time to take your kids and their friends outside and show them how to have a good time. Get going!

Alicia Randall is a full-time nanny living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who writes about topics related to children’s play in her spare time. For more information on playground equipment, please visit www.swingset.com.

There are many websites offering various levels of typing games for kids. Most of it can be downloaded from the internet without having to pay a dime! So, there should not be any excuses for you to find one for your kids to learn how to type as early as possible.

Below are some of the useful tips when searching typing games for your kids:

Installation procedures should be easy – the installation procedures and requirements should be kept to the minimum. Preferably the process should be automated and can be installed in your computer without difficulty.

User friendly – the typing games that you are considering for your kids must be user friendly and easy to understand in terms of layout. If it is not user friendly, then it would be tough for your kids to continue the games and therefore they will lost the interest of learning typing.

Interactive Features – quality typing games for kids should contain interactive feature. This ensures that your kids would have an enjoyable educational experience in terms of learning a skill.

Typing test – good typing software should come with timed test in order to measure your kids learning progress. The main purpose of typing test is to keep track speed and accuracy of typing.

Typing lessons – there must be enough lessons for kids to cover the whole keyboard rather than just certain section of the keyboard. It is important to be able to type switching between the main keyboard and the numeric key pad.

The above are only a quick guide for you to consider when selecting typing games for kids. There are of course other factors that you need to into consideration such as the suitability of the software whether it fits your kids’ age and maturity or not.

Anyone who has taken kids on a long trip knows what a challenge it can be to keep them entertained. Kids that are bored do not stay quiet very long. Getting them involved in a game of some kind can make a world of difference. Put a stop to the inquiries about how much farther there is to go and get their brains active. Kids that are left to come up with their own games will often end up arguing and often whining and crying. Don’t let your family trip become stressful and exhausting. Plan ahead for verbal games the kids can play.

1. The classic punch buggy game has always been fun and popular. However, it’s probably not a good idea to encourage the kids to punch one another. Have them do something else when they spot a punch buggy like tap the roof or race to see who can yell the colour out first.

2. Start a story and have the kids add the next line. It’s a great way to encourage their imagination and have a laugh at the wacky things they come up with. Jot down a list of story starters if it helps you get started. Once you start them off, there is a good chance they will take over and tell you the story rather than require you to tell it to them. Creative thinking is a good way to pass time when the boring scenery is flying by.

3. I Spy is a game that most of us grew up playing. The good news is that it’s still widely popular among kids. It can also easily be played in the car. Use objects within the car or outside like a car in the neighbouring lane or some scenic object in the distance. It will get the kids looking out the windows in interest instead of in an attempt to find something else to complain about.

4. There are fun games that can be played with license plates. Make up your own fun words using the letters off the cars ahead of you. Get the kids to try to make up silly sayings or phrases to go with the license plates. It should keep them busy long enough for you to come up with the next verbal game to play. Perhaps give them little treats or rewards for doing well at the games. It is some inspiration to get involved.

5. Have a spelling bee. There is nothing wrong with working on some educational skills in the car. Have a small spelling bee tournament or a math quiz. The best kinds of games are the ones that force you to use your brain. If your child enjoys a particular subject in school, have them play games using that subject. Flashcards can also be a part of verbal travel games, especially for practising a second language. Ask your kids if they have any input on games they would like to play when stuck in the car for a long period of time.