Field day is a special day for students, teachers, and staff alike. A day that is worked on and planned all year long, filled with long hours of logistical work just to show off our love for our students and our schools. Not only does field day bring out team spirit and fun game activities, but it also gives the opportunity to build community, show off positive school culture and nurture the development of our youngest learners. Here are 53 unique and student-appreciated field day activities for your next field day!
1. Three-Legged Race
Competitive games have ruled field day for as long as most of us can remember. Kids from almost every generation will probably remember this wonderful outdoor or indoor activity! Use rubber bands or string to tie your students' legs together.
Learn more: Mom Hack Mondays
2. Tire Roll
A new twist on field day is this super fun tire roll. Check your local tire shop, dump, or car shop for old or recyclable tires! Paint them with team colors and let your kiddos celebrate their team spirit. You can definitely find other activities for use also!
Learn more: Crazy Games Florida
3. Tug Of War
Tug of war is such a great way to challenge players of any age. Your students will be so excited to play against each other and you're sure to be impressed by their teamwork and cooperation. A learning game that will exhibit cooperation.
Learn more: Our Family Lifestyle
4. Splash the Teacher
Who doesn't love field day events that even the teachers are involved in? Give your students a chance to splash the teacher! Have a signup sheet for brave teachers who would love to give their students a huge laugh! This will definitely be an award-winning game in your student's eyes!
Learn more: Join CCBA
5. Wheelbarrow Race
The wheelbarrow race is a classic field day activity. A basic game plan of gym mats is all you need for this super simple event with plenty of engagement for your kiddos.
Learn more: Agia Sophia Academy
6. Water Balloon Game
This water balloon game is perfect for a hot field day! Students will have so much fun with this activity. They will also be able to cool off a bit while experiencing a little friendly competition.
Learn more: Holy Family School Jax
7. Wack-A-Mole
Proving students with a variety of games is so important during their special day. This wack-a-mole is perfect for exactly that. Easy game monitoring and creation are great for students and teachers alike.
Learn more: Neyens PE
8. Water Bottle Bowling
There's nothing less enjoyable than promoting student focus. Kids won't even recognize how focused they are with this ball toss game mimicking an all-time favorite - bowling. By using sidewalk chalk - students will recognize the lines they need to stay behind.
Learn more: St. Thomas Apostle School
9. Read a Book
Sometimes competition can get the best of our little ones. It's important to help them understand and process all of their feelings. A book like Evie's Field Day can help students foster all of their emotions throughout the day. Maybe even make positivity banners for activity stations!
Learn more: Claire Annette Noland Books
10. Hungry, Hungry Hippos
As our kiddos mature they definitely want a high competition factor on their field day. Cut some noodles into circles, add in a few laundry baskets, and some scooters, and your older students will not want to stop playing!
Learn more: The Joy School
11. Obstacle Course
Just plain fun games set up throughout the schoolyard is a simple way to keep kids enjoying all of the games for field day. A simple course like this can be set up anywhere and completed by any age! Students can complete this in their free time.
Learn more: Spokane Public Schools
12. Pool Noodle Target
Using pool noodles for target play like this is a great way to keep your students engaged. Form the pool noodles into circles, tape them together, and have students aim for the center of the circle. Make it more difficult by having students through ping pong balls.
Learn more: Spokane Public Schools
13. Water Cup Balance
Honestly, this activity is a field day must. It's super easy to add to the list during the planning process using literally only a cup of water and students of all ages will want to continuously experiment with different ways to balance the cup!
Learn more: Fun with Rachel and Eli
14. Water Bucket Obstacle Course
Water games for even our older students are important for both social and emotional development. Making a watercourse that's a bit longer will help to take their bigger sizes into account but they will still be focused and competitive. Super simple, the first to fill their bucket of water wins!
Learn more: DreamTv Raw
15. Art Room Field Day
Sometimes field games just aren't enough for the huge difference in how our children's minds work. Setting up an art room like this is a great way to make sure that all students are being catered to and are finding something they enjoy!
Learn more: Cassie Stephens
16. May Pole Beauty
Not only is this team-building activity great for youth development, but it also looks amazing! Students always have fun with this and it makes for a perfect photo op for your website or an Instagram post of how awesome field day was this year!
Learn more: U City Schools
17. Zero Gravity Challenge
The zero gravity challenge comes with a super-easy setup and can be one of those fun cooperative activities. Set up a large space and have a few kiddos work together to keep the balloons floating! Add more balloons to keep it challenging.
Learn more: Mrs. L and Mrs. B Teach PE
18. Team Ski Races
Challenge players to work together with these wooden ski races! Having field day teams is such a great way to bring a new challenge level throughout the day. This is a hard, yet cooperative game! Make this more challenging by making the skis a bit longer and having more students walk on them!
Learn more: Mike Small
19. Simple Obstacle Course
This simple obstacle course can be set up in any schoolyard or parking lot. Just move a few benches around and let the kids climb under or jump over in a random time frame of your choosing. If students accidentally crawl under instead of jump over, have them start all over!
Learn more: Kidz R Us
20. Rock Painting
Creating creative objects is an amusing tactile activity for any learning style. Painting rocks is the perfect way to foster our less competitive students' enjoyment levels. You can have students search and find their own creative objects (leaves, sticks, etc.) or have a pile of rocks ready to go!
Learn more: Covenant Love Community School
21. Lifesize Jenga
Whether students are actually playing Jenga or just using the blocks to build something, this team-building activity will help bring STEM and fun competition into the day. Make sure students know how to play Jenga, include an instruction sheet.
Learn more: Elrod ES
22. Karaoke
A mix of games is important because you want to make sure field day is reaching each child's idea of fun. Karaoke is a great way to do just that! Your vocally talented students will be thrilled to have a space to show off their skills.
Learn more: Sussie Summers
23. Group Dances
Cooperative activities including teachers, students, staff are so important. Bringing culture into our classrooms through dance can be so rewarding and fun for students. You could even bring in a guest dancer to teach your kiddos some TikTok choreography.
Learn more: International School of Dakar
24. Tye Dye Shirts
This messy activity will have students super excited for the fun day ahead of them. Whether you make them ahead of field day or on the day itself students will love making their own t-shirts!
Learn more: Michelle Robau
25. Sponge Race
End-of-school-year water games are great for those first few hot summer days. Students of all ages will love this sponge pass - each team will be required to fill their cup first while walking along the balance beam.
Learn more: Beth Arsenault
26. 3 Headed Monster
Game monitoring might take on a new level with this game. Make sure activity station helpers are ready for some action with a game like 3 Headed Monster.
Learn more: Matt Pomeroy
27. Soccer Kick Challenge
The soccer kick challenge, also known as hula hoop soccer can be played with something as simple as a hula hoop tied to the net! Your students will love the challenge. Make it more challenging by telling students exactly where you want the ball to go.
Learn more: RG PE with Coach Lowe
28. Crazy Obstacle Course
A noodle obstacle course - bent noodles EVERYWHERE. Create a crazy course like this using cones and bent noodles. Students will have so much fun trying to complete it. This is one that is used during student free time. So have some volunteers ready to make sure the kiddos are all safe and using equipment properly.
Learn more: The Red Adam
29. Long Jump
Long jumps are always fun for students. Teach them how to accurately measure their jumps. This can be an annual event and students will see how their bodies develop as they grow bigger and stronger. Your kiddos will be excited to try to beat last year's score!
Learn more: Stephanie Gilpin
30. Whipped Cream Eating Contest
A messy and silly activity will be adored by students of all ages. A whipped cream eating contest is a great way to have students challenge themselves while laughing all the way.
Learn more: CJ Memories 4 Life
31. Milk Jug Relay
An easy relay race that might be a placeholder for the activity rotation schedule is simple and fun! Fill the jugs with water and make sure they have a screw-on top not just one of the pop on tops.
Learn more: Chancey Phys Ed
32. Tic Tac Toe Relay
Indoor games are just as important as field games. A simple hula hoop tic tac toe board like this can be made quickly and this is a game all kids should be familiar with! Give them some independence and watch their smiles grow. You can also use frisbees instead of fabric!
Learn more: Innovative Training 4 all
33. Penguin Race
The penguin race is a silly activity that students will be super excited to keep playing. Although it may be a simple game, the intensity can get a bit crazy quickly.
Learn more: Chancey Phys Ed
34. Paper Plane Corn Hole
I have never met an upper elementary student that didn't LOVE making paper airplanes. Here is a great place for them to use their creations. Have activity station volunteers or even students create the airplanes!
Learn more: Chancey Phys Ed
35. Sock-er Skee-Ball
Soccer Skee-ball can pretty much be an outdoor or indoor field game! Your students will have so much fun with this game. You will need to use a pretty small ball in order to get it into the smallest container. A tennis ball might be a perfect size.
Learn more: Chancey Phys Ed
36. Show Balance Challenge
A field event like this is great for students who want to be challenged but might need a little break from the intense competition. You can pre-teach this game in a physical education class before field day!
Learn more: The PE Specialist
37. Hula Hut Relay
An event with plenty of rules and regulations like this is great for a more controlled field event. Try to teach your students this BEFORE the actual field day. Make sure you have an activity station volunteer that knows the rules to keep this game running smoothly.
Learn more: Michael Lally
38. Scatter Ball
Scatter ball is kind of like the classic game SPUD. Being more steered towards our younger learners by using a die to choose the number. This can be played with a soccer ball or four square balls.
Learn more: Robin Arnold
39. Cross the Swamp
Kind of like a giant board game, this fun cross the swamp activity will be challenging and cooperative for our older students. Use the lily pads as markers or some other object of significance.
Learn more: Jordan Wintle
40. Helium Ring
A circle of hands that will bring team building to a new level. Include an instruction sheet with this activity so students know exactly what to do. A great field day project for older students is simple activities that help build teamwork.
Learn more: Outlife - Outbound Training
41. Plastic Cup Movement Challenge
A field day activity such as moving this paper cup will be so much fun and so rewarding for students. Challenging them to work together!
Learn more: The Sanatoga Post
42. Balloon Pop Relay
Again, a variety of games is super important. Including both outdoor and indoor activities. This indoor activity is great for a rainout or just for a little break.
Learn more: Katie Barton
43. Office Tennis
Office tennis is super easy and affordable for almost any school. If you don't have a clipboard, we suggest light books or pizza boxes!
Learn more: Missy McCurnin
44. Straw Cup Blow Race
This activity will take proper planning but isn't too hard to complete. Students will literally just blow the cup to the other of the table, be warned, it's a bit more tricky than you might think!
Learn more: Andy Leiser
45. Suck and Move Bean Race
Moving an object of significance, such as a bean is a great way to improve student focus. Students will love learning games like these.
Learn more: Andy Leiser
46. Eat the Donut Challenge
This may not be much a learning game, BUT it will most definitely be an award-winning game in your classroom.
Learn more: Ja Stacy 0909
47. Elephant March
Providing a mix of games that makes all of your kiddos laugh and have fun is essential to a successful field day. Pantyhose and cups might just make some of your students ROFL (roll on the floor laughing).
Learn more: The Chaos and The Clutter
48. One Hand Bracelet
A high challenge level, calls for an exciting activity. Set a random time or just let students complete an activity like this at their own pace!
Learn more: Westerly Library and Wilcox Park
49. Fill Your Bucket Relay
The competition factor will be praised by students of all ages in this game. Proper planning literally only consists of buckets, cups, and water.
Learn more: Musically Nowlin
50. Frisbees Through Hula Hoops
Throwing frisbees through hula hoops might seem like an easy task, but it's not quite as easy as you might think. Challenge your students will this super exciting activity.
Learn more: Campbellsville Elementary School
51. Balloon Craziness
A ball challenge balloon toss might be engaging in past field day events, but filling a room with balloons might be even more exciting! Have students work together to keep all of the balloons in the air!
Learn more: DMW Martial Arts
52. Lifesize Connect Four
A giant Connect Four board that sticks into the ground like this will be so much fun for your students. Include a signup sheet with this one to avoid any unforeseen arguments!
Learn more: Today's Adventure is
53. Squirt Gun Bottle Fill
Use a paper cup or large soda bottle to complete this event. This is a nice little cool down requiring 2-4 teams. Instead of a water balloon toss - team will be required to fill the bottle with water using only a squirt gun.
Learn more: Ashton ATM
20 Quick and Easy Grade 4 Morning Work Ideas