Newspaper Games

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Most of these games need only newspaper and few random items you can find in your room.

Kid Circus

Resources: newspaper, masking tape, 1 unbreakable item per child (beanbag, gluestick, duplo block etc)

• Give each child a piece of newspaper and get them to tape it down (2 opposite corners is enough) to form a circle, leaving at least 1m between each piece of paper.
• Put one item on each piece on newspaper.
• On "go" the children are to run and grab other items and take them back to their piece of paper.
• The first child with 3 items on their sheet wins. The game should take about 5 minutes. If you want it to take longer, increase the amount of items the children need to collect (up to 5)
  • Children can only hold one item at a time.
  • Children cannot throw items.

Monkey

Resources: newspaper

• Scrunch newspaper into balls (the amount will depend on how many children you have)
• Place the balls in the centre of the room.
• Have everyone stand touching the walls. 
• When you say "monkey" the children rush into the middle and throw the balls.
• If a child gets hit they are out and sit down in a designated spot.

Alternative for older children: The first time a child gets hit, they get the letter "M", but can keep playing. The next time they get hit, the child gets "O", until they have spelt the whole word, "Monkey" when they are out of the game.

Snowball Fight

Resources: newspaper, something to mark a line.

• Scrunch a newspaper into lots of balls.
• Divide the room into half.
• Put half the balls on one side and half the balls on the other side of the line.
• On go, the children must throw the balls to the other side. The children can only throw one ball at a time.
• The game finishes after a pre-determined time (quick games, such as 1 minute are good). Count the number of balls on each side and see who has the least amount of balls. This team wins!

Three Blind Mice

Resources: Newspaper, 3 blindfolds, 3 unbreakable items

• Lay out a maze of newspaper.
• Blindfold three children. Have them each start at different parts of the maze.
• Put the items in different places in the maze.
• Get the children to crawl on the newspaper through the maze, feeling for where it is until they find an item. This is harder than it sounds - it could take the children some time, particularly if you make lots of dead-ends. Remember the children can't see it is a dead-end so it takes them time to feel every direction and know it is a dead-end!

Save the Island

Resources: Newspaper, a squishy ball

• Put lots of newspaper on the ground in a grid (the Island).
• Each of the children choose one piece of newspaper to stand on. (They must stand two feet on the newspaper, not sitting etc)
• Have the leaders stand around the outside of the island and throw the ball at the newspaper.
• The children are to try and catch the ball or knock it away from their newspaper.
• When the ball hits the newspaper, the piece of paper is removed.
• If the piece of paper a child is standing on is hit, the child must move to another piece. However, they cannot touch the ground to get to another piece.
• There can only be one child to a piece of newspaper.
• A child is out when their newspaper is hit and:
  • there is no free piece of newspaper left
  • they cannot step/jump to another piece of newspaper without touching the ground.

Copright kidsministryresources.pbwiki.com, 2008. May not be reproduced without written permission.