The end of the year is a great time to have fun with our students, making memories they will possibly remember for a very long time. However, unstructured fun can lead to mass chaos quickly. Here are 7 Easy Minute To Win It Games for Kinder to play with your kinders that are easily modified and low prep.
What I love about these games is that each child can complete the activity by themselves or you can put them into partners or teams to compete against one another. You decide on how “competitive” you want it to be depending on your students. Either way, one of the things teachers REALLY want at the end of the school year is to have some fun with our kids and these will help.
I would also like to start by saying that many of these games can be played with or without a timer. For kindergarten, we like to play without a timer most of the time.
7 Easy Minute To Win It Games for Kinder
Block Towers
The object of the game: To stack as many blocks as you can without them tipping over.
Materials needed: these square one inch blocks, basket
Directions:
- Put one inch blocks into the basket.
- Take one out at a time to stack as high as you can.
- When the tower falls, count how many blocks you were able to stack.
- Try again and again to see if you can beat your high score.
Cookie Face
The object of the game: To get a cookie from your forehead to your mouth without dropping it. This is a great game to start with because everyone can play at the same time.
Materials needed: cookies (Oreo’s are good)
Directions:
- Place the cookie on your forehead.
- Put your hands behind your back.
- Try to get the cookie into your mouth.
Cereal Box Mix Up
The object of the game: The students will put a cereal box puzzle together.
Materials needed: cereal box cover(s), scissors
Directions:
- Cut the front of the cereal box into 16 equal squares.
- Place the pieces into a pile face down.
- Race to see which team can put their cereal box back together the fastest.
For an added challenge you could cut the cereal box cover into a more difficult kind of pattern or have the students complete the challenge with one hand behind their back.
Solo Tower
The object of the game: Stack 21 cups and take them down, without any of them falling.
Materials needed: 21 plastic drinking cups
Directions:
- Give the students a stack of cups. Have them stack the cups into any formation without them falling.
- The student then needs to unstack the cups without the structure falling, all within less than one minute.
Decide the number of cups that would be appropriate for your group of students. Obviously, the more cups you use the more difficult the challenge will be. The size of the cup may also make the game more/less challenging.
Race to the Finish Line
The object of the game: Blow as many pom-poms or race to blow a plastic cup across the finish line, using a straw.
Materials needed: Masking/Painters tape, straw for each student, these assorted pom-poms or cups, timer.
Directions for Pom-Poms:
- Mark a start and finish line on the table using some kind of tape the players can easily see.
- Line up pom-poms along the start line.
- Give each player a straw. Have them blow as many pom-poms as they can past the finish line at the other end/side of the table.
Directions for Cups:
- Mark a start and finish line on the table using some kind of tape the players can easily see.
- Line up one cup for every player along the start line.
- Give each player a straw. Have them blow their cup to the finish line.
- Person who makes it there first wins.
Decide on an appropriate length from start to finish for your group of students. Obviously the further apart, the more challenging it will be. Any size pom-pom/cup and straw can be used for this challenge, however, a smaller straw and bigger pom-poms/cups will make this challenge a bit more difficult.
Super Sorter
The object of the game: Sort a handful of colored objects into the matching container, using tweezers, in less than one minute.
Materials needed: a handful of colored objects (Skittles, M & M’s, Pom Poms), matching containers, tweezer, timer
Directions:
- Have the student sort all of the objects provided into the container with the matching color using a tweezer in less than one minute.
You could make this challenge more difficult by increasing the number of colored objects, having the students use a straw to suck each item up and then put it into the container, have the students use chopsticks or a clothespin to move the objects to the appropriate container or you could also choose a container with a smaller opening to make the challenge more difficult.
Kernel, Kernel, Where are you?
The object of the game: Find 3 colored popcorn kernels in a bowl full of kernels in less than one minute.
Materials needed: small bag of popcorn kernels, dark/bright colored sharpie, clear bowl
Directions:
- Color 3 kernels using a dark or bright colored sharpie. Put all the kernels into a bowl.
- Have the student find all three colored kernels in less than one minute.
To make this game more challenging use a bowl that is not clear, making the kernels more difficult to see on the outside. But be careful to not use a bowl that is colored too similar to the colors of the colored kern.
There you have it, 7 Easy Minute To Win It Games for Kinder. These games will be challenging and will surely make your last days with your students something to remember.