Anyone have a good book / website recommendation for preschool / primary age team games please?

[FrannyandZooey]

I don't know where to start looking. Thanks.

Oh should possibly have specified team games as in sports

things like stuck in the mud and so on

The New Youth Games Book. Sorry, can't remember author - will have a look tomorrow when I go into work. Has lots of team building activities.

Ooh thank you WriggleJiggle. Is it good for very young ones, eg 3 - 5 year olds? I don't want anything too complicated.

all other suggestions gratefully received

Hopeful bump?

If you google "non competitive games", Franny, you will get loads of suggestions, from the Woodcrafters, Scouts, nurseries etc ...

Stuff like this .

Oh lionheart thank you for replying

you know I think I am not doing so badly for non-competitive games and I can occasionally make them up when I am feeling inspired

it is more the competitive sort that I can't get my head round, and I have this new-ish job coaching sports to preschoolers where I am meant to be doing competitive team games as well as all the other fun stuff

I need things like

erm

well I don't KNOW you see, I don't really get team games, but I need some anyway

You mean the stuff where you appoint two captains and tell them to pick their teams, one by one?

And the littlest, puniest one doesn't get chosen but learns a lifelong lesson about the survival of the fittest etc, etc.

That's serious stuff.

Have you come across Val Sabin ? I haven't used this material myself, but have heard good things about it. Not sure how many actual competitive games are included though....

I've used a few ideas from this site , adapting them for use with younger children. May be of use.

There's some stuff in the Woodchips handbook here If this is too young have a look under Pioneer resources.

moms lobby also has some good suggestions, but that might be considered disloyal.

(I know this because I have a little party coming up at the week-end and have been wasting time googling).

I remember playing lots of those games at Brownies, gladrag. Great fun. Especially Pirate Ship.

Ooh thanks everyone

lionheart no, they don't pick the teams themselves!

The 4s and 5s do relays each week and I have just got the 2s and 3s doing them surprisingly successfully. Yes you are welcome to come and watch, Cat64

An example of the type of thing I am looking for is a game called Hills and Valleys. You lay out a load of those shallow cone marker things, some right way up, some upseide down. Half the group are 'hills' and half are 'valleys'. When you blow the whistle they have to try to put as many of the cones into "valleys" or "hills" as possible before the whistle blows again.

Another game we played this week was to have a load of bean bags and one special bean bag of a different colour. Again the children were in two teams, this time either side of a bench. The aim is to throw as many beanbags over to the other team's side as possible, and also to NOT end up with the special coloured bean bag on your side when the whistle blows.

These both work well but I need more games. I will follow up all the suggestions you have given me here, thanks so much

ps lionheart if you were truly worried about the competitive element so young, well, I certainly know what you mean. However I am an employee for this session and have to follow the structure that they want, to a certain extent. I don't have a "winning" team (although I have noticed that the other coaches do), I just encourage them all to do their best and then give each team a clap at the end and praise what they have achieved. This is a pretty small part of the session - the rest of the time we play parachute games and dance and all sorts of stuff