As we know all too well here at Camp Galileo, play doesn’t just offer a chance to kick back and have some fun: it’s also an opportunity to learn.
What better way to foster play-based learning in your home than striking up a family team game? Whether you start with a tried-and-true classic like charades, or take your game night outdoors for a mini soccer match, family team games offer an opportunity to build connections and grow kids’ brains.
In this guide, we’ve compiled a list of nine family-friendly games to play with your entire clan—it’s time for some friendly competition!
Classic Team Games for All Ages
If you’re looking for family team games you’re already familiar with, there are a few classics that can easily be turned kid-friendly:
- Charades – A perfect game for families of all shapes and sizes, charades gives kids a chance to refine their motor skills and work with non-verbal cues. The rules are simple: start by asking everyone to write something down on a scrap of paper (a famous person, a TV show or movie, a sport or even a household object) and toss them into a bowl. Divide your group into teams (as many as you’d like) and have someone on the starting team draw a clue from the bowl. Then, they’ll need to act out what’s on the paper without using words until their teammates can guess the clue. They can use hand signals, gestures or props—anything but words. Consider setting a timer and keeping score; or, you can just play for fun without a time limit.
- Who Am I? – Who Am I? is like charades in reverse: instead of one person trying to get their team to guess what’s on their slip of paper, this game challenges the group to get a teammate to guess an item correctly. Playing is simple: assemble a few pieces of paper listing people, places or things (like you would for charades). Split into teams, and assign one member of each team to be the “guesser.” The guesser’s team will then draw a slip of paper, and the guesser will have to figure out who (or what) is on the team’s paper. The team can use anything (even words) to try to get the guesser to answer correctly. Again, you can score and time this game if you wish—or enjoy a more casual competition.
- Capture the Flag – Capture the Flag is a great game for the backyard or indoors on a rainy day, and a long-time favorite at summer camp—but you can play it at home, too! Divide your family into two teams and give each team a “flag.” These can be anything: scarves, pieces of colored paper, t-shirts or even random household objects. Each team has a set time to hide their “flag” somewhere in the established play area. After their flag is hidden, each team will try to find the other team’s flag. Teams can thwart each other’s efforts, secretly move their flag or use any other strategies they wish to keep their flag out of their competitors’ grasp.
Outdoor Team Games for Families
While all of the games above can technically be played outside, let’s touch on a few outdoor-specific competitions for kids and families:
- Boat Float – Another summer camp favorite (especially for creative or innovative thinkers), Boat Float challenges teams to make a small boat that can hold as much weight as possible without sinking. Boats can be made of anything from aluminum foil to scrap wood. To test each boat, fill a bucket with water and progressively add more small objects (like coins) into the floating boats to see whose craft is most seaworthy.
- Classic team sports – If you have a few inflatable sports balls and a few objects you can use as goalposts, bases, or a net, you can organize a classic team sport like touch football, volleyball, soccer or kickball. These games are likely already familiar to kids and will teach them to work effectively in teams.
- Bug/Animal/Plant Hunt – If you have a big backyard (or if you’re playing in a park or nature area), challenge your family to find and photograph as many unique animals, insects or plants as they can. The team with the highest number of unique specimens wins.
Indoor Team Games for Rainy Days
If a rainy day ruins your outdoor plans, not to worry! Here are a few family favorite games you can play completely indoors:
- Trivia – Using an online platform or a card-based game (like Trivial Pursuit), form teams and see which group can correctly answer the most trivia questions. Make sure to find a source with kid-friendly questions.
- Cooking competition – With just a few ingredients (enough for two teams to make a small dish), you can start a family cooking contest. To raise the stakes or the challenge level, give teams an assortment of random ingredients (a la “Chopped”), only allow them to use minor appliances (like the microwave) or set a time limit.
- Block towers – Using Jenga blocks, foam or other builder-friendly materials, split your family into teams and see which group can build a taller tower within a set time. This block tower activity will challenge kids’ practical physics knowledge and spark creativity.
Inspire Family Fun at Camp Galileo
At Camp Galileo, we love challenging our campers to think creatively and grow their brains through play—and we encourage our families to foster these skills at home, too.
And when you’re looking for the perfect play-based learning experience for your kids over the summer, we have just the program you’re looking for. From kindergarten to 8th grade, Camp Galileo provides kids with hands-on, educator-led STEAM activities, outdoor adventures and more. We also provide a Counselor In Training program for 8th-10th graders at select locations. Our camp is all about channeling innovation, building friendships and having fun!
Ready to discover the summer camp opportunity of a lifetime? Enroll at Camp Galileo now.
Sources:
- Caven Meg. “Prioritizing Play: The Importance of Play-Based Learning in Early Education”. US
Department of Education, Northeast and Islands. Regional Educational Laboratory Program. 6 July 2022. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/rel/Products/Region/northeast/Blog/100779
