Tag games are fast-paced fun and they require no equipment. In Back-to-Back tag, two players are "It" to start the game. They hold hands and can only tag others with their free hands. When a child is tagged, she joins hands with "It." To be safe, two children can stand back to back for 10 seconds and cannot be tagged. The game ends when all children are tagged. A variation on this game is Amoeba tag. Children link together as in Back-to-Back tag, but one or more can split from the chain to tag other children.
Relay games teach cooperation and foster a friendly competitive spirit. In "Bucket Brigade," each team has two buckets, one filled with water and the other empty. Children scoop a cup of water, pour it into the empty bucket, then pass the cup to the next child. The first team to fill their second bucket is the winner. In a game called "Rubber Boots," each team has a pair of galoshes or fishing waders. The first child in line puts on the boots, runs to a designated goal and back and gives the boots to the next child. The first line to finish is the winner. You can vary the game by substituting various items of clothing such as silly hats, mittens or button-down shirts.
For these games, you can divide kids into two or more teams. These games can be played indoors or in a designated outdoor area. In Bottle Bowling, players use a soft ball to knock over bowling pins, made from empty 2-liter bottles. For Scavenger Hunt, hide small objects -- the winning team is the one that finds the most objects, or the one that finds a specific object decided on ahead of time.
Simple yoga poses are a good way to warm-up or cool down in physical education classes. For Sunrise/Sunset, children take several deep breaths. On the last breath, they raise their arms high above their heads, stretching at the waist and keeping feet still. When children return their arms to their sides, they take several more deep breaths, this time bending at the waist as if diving into a pool of water. Children can also do gentle side stretches with the same method of slow, deep breathing.