Your school may already have a four-square board painted on the blacktop. If not, create one with sidewalk chalk. Draw the outer boundary square 12 feet long, then divide that square into four 6-foot squares. Place one child in each square. Number the squares, 1, 2, 3, and 4. The child in the number-one square starts the game by bouncing the ball once in his own square, then hitting it to another player. The receiving player must allow the ball to bounce once in his square before hitting it to another player's square. Play continues until a player is hit by the ball or does not allow the ball to bounce once in his square before he passes it on. A player can also get out by allowing the ball to bounce twice before passing it on. If the ball lands out of bounds, the serving player is out. The player who is out moves to the end of the line of waiting players, and the open space is filled with the next player in line.
Spread the children across the playground about 5 feet from each other. Younger children can be closer together. Have the first child throw the ball to another child. If the throw was bad and the other child is not able to catch it, the throwing child sits down. If the catcher drops the ball, he hands the ball to another player and sits down. Play continues until two players are left. The last two players put one hand behind their backs and toss the ball back and forth until someone drops the ball.
Tie two or three jump ropes together to form a circle. If the ring is too small for all of the players, start a second ring or form a bigger rope circle by adding another jump rope. Have the students line up outside the ring, holding the rope in both hands. The ring master, "it," stands inside the circle and tries to touch a person's hands. The children on the outside can drop the rope to avoid getting touched, but must pick it back up quickly. If a player is tagged, he becomes the ring master.
Two students turn the jump rope while calling out the letters for the word "help." When the jumper misses, the next person in line must jump based on which letter was missed. The H stands for high-water jumping. Turn the rope high enough so it does not touch the ground as it rotates. The E means eyes closed. The jumper must jump with his eyes closed. If this is too difficult for younger children, change the E to easy over. Turn the rope slowly. L stands for leap frog. Jump like a frog over the rope, touching the ground with hands and feet between each turn. P stands for hot peppers. Turn the rope quickly, speeding up after each jump. When a jumper misses, he takes over for one of the turners. Give everyone a chance to jump.
Establish the physical boundaries of the game. Select one person to be the seeker. The seeker closes his eyes and counts to 50. The remainder of the children find places to hide. (Playground tunnels and slides make creative hiding spots.) When the seeker finds a player, he links arms with the player. The linked children begin looking for another player. Continue to build the chain until the last player is found. The last player becomes the seeker.