This game can include as many children as will fit into a circle in a given space. Pick a child at random to be the "goose," and have the other children sit in a tight circle. Then, have the goose walk around the circle tapping the other children on the head and saying, "duck." Explain to the child beforehand that he should pick one person from the circle and say "goose!" when he taps that child's head. Then, he should run around the circle and try to sit in the empty spot while the person he chose chases him. If the person he chose beats him to the spot, then the first child must be "goose" again, until he finally makes it into a spot in the circle.
This game helps children interact while still maintaining their own space and ideas. They get to choose where to hide and the one who is "it" gets to search out his friends. Hide and go seek works better with children who know how to count to at least 10, but an adult can help the "it" child to count and this will add an educational feel to the game and aid in helping the children learn to count.
This game is played in the same way regular tag is played, with one change. When a child is tagged, he becomes "it" unless he can name an object in a preselected category within five seconds of being tagged. For instance, if the category is fruit, the child must name a fruit within five seconds of being tagged. It works well with other categories such as numbers, names of classmates, colors, and months of the year or days of the week. This helps the children to learn through play. They are studying without even realizing it.
Musical chairs can be played using music that children like, such as a Disney sing-a-long or sound track to a favorite cartoon. If there are five children, place four chairs in a circle facing out so that the backs of the chairs are touching. Play the music and have the children walk in circles around the chairs, and when the music stops, the children must sit down in the nearest chair. The student left without a chair is "out." To avoid hurt feelings, allow this child to press the "play" button on the CD player or be of some assistance in another way. After each round, take away a chair so that there is always one less chair than there are children, and when there is a winner, allow this child to pick the next song and play again.
Scavenger hunts can be educational as well as entertaining for five-year-olds. Make a list of items familiar to the child, such as dolls, toy cars, etc., and draw a picture of the item next to the item's name. This will help the child to familiarize herself with the item spelling and the image. Then, give the child clues as to where the item is hidden, such as "Where the shoes go!" (and have a small toy car hidden inside of a shoe by the door), etc.