Chalk Tangle

This outdoor Twister-inspired activity uses sidewalk chalk and homemade dice to take the fun outside.

 Materials: At least 6 colours of sidewalk chalk and dice.

With sidewalk chalk, create a grid six squares across and six squares down. Randomly colour the squares with six different colours, making six squares of each colour.

With one of the dice, colour each side of the die a different colour with chalk. Participants all start standing in the colour of their choice. The die roller will call out a body part and then toll the die to determine which colour will receive that body part. Participants scramble to comply with the instructions without falling over.

 Tip: Dip your chalk into water before drawing with in on the sidewalk; the colours will be brighter this way.

 Modification for younger kids:

Make shapes smaller and closer together. Instead of reaching and staying still during the game, smaller kids can try to jump to the colour called.

This is a great activity for kids learning left from right. It will also help your children develop stronger core muscles as they balance on all fours.

 Modification for older kids:

Create a second die that has body parts listed: right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, head and so on. Roll both dice to play the game. The kids have to match both the colour and the body part.

Human Knot

Use group participants’ limbs wrapped together to create a life-size puzzle that requires giggles to solve.

Five or more kiddos works well and fewer than 10 is best. Have the kids group together (not orderly, it works best if this ‘hand grab’ is chaotic). Have the children raise their left hands and grab another raised hand. Then repeat with their right hands. Everyone should now be bunched up together, holding hands with two other people. They are one giant human knot!

Without letting go of each other’s hands, the kids need to figure out how to unknot the human pretzel that they formed. They will need to climb under and over each other in order to detangle the knot. In the end, the hands should make a giant circle.

 Modification for younger kids:

Creating a human know with fewer participants can make it easier to solve. Have one of the kids not in the knot give the participants directions to help them solve a problem.

 Modifications for older kids:

Watch them struggle. This can be a group activity with several groups of the same number of kids competing against each other to unknot the quickest.

Source: 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! By Holly Homer & Rachel Miller.