Ideas for creating active play equipment

Try these different games and options for equipment to get children active in the backyard or play areas.

Outdoor games and equipment

You could try these great games and activities designed to encourage active play:

If the weather's no good, give some of these indoor game activities a try:

throw soft balls into a bucket and vary the distance
musical chairs
dancing to songs
follow-the-leader
make an obstacle course
heads and shoulders, knees and toes
act out a children's story book
ten pin bowling in the hallway using recyclable bottles or cartons
hide and seek
jump or hop over a piece of rope or long piece of string. Count how many jumps or hops, then try and better it
dress–ups
build a cubby house, tent or fortress using sheets, chairs, tables or cardboard boxes.

Object	Alternative item
Rolling wedge	Prop one side of a couch cushion up on pillows.
Beanbags	Sew scrap material in a square or rectangle and stuff with dried beans, dried corn or sand.
Buckets	Use ice-cream containers, boxes or a washing basket.
Skittles	Line up empty plastic bottles and cartons.
Markers	Use empty ice-cream containers.
Parachute	An old bed sheet or blanket makes a great parachute.
Potato sacks	Use old pillow cases or sacks from hessian material.
Building blocks	Use empty food or milk cartons.
Soccer goals	Lay out markers to kick between or cut the front out of a extra large box laid on its side.
Goal rings	Secure hula hoops with tape between the backs of two chairs or use an upright box with a hole cut out.
Horse sticks	Long objects such as pool noodles or food-wrap cylinders or any long objects are good options.
Totem tennis pole	Suspend a tennis ball in an old stocking from a tree branch or veranda cross beam.
Balls	Balloons or beach balls make great 'soft' options.
Balance beam	Masking tape, a line drawn with chalk or a skipping rope.
Tunnel	Cardboard boxes.
Target	Old sheet with a target drawn on it or a target drawn on a wall with chalk.
Throwing items	Bath sponge, scrunched up scarf or paper bound with masking tape.
Bats	Large sheet of rolled-up paper bound with masking tape or inside tubes of food wrap or cut up pool noodles.