50 Best PE Games for Elementary Students in 2023

Have you been searching for the best PE games for elementary students to participate in 2023? Well, search no more; we’ve got you covered.
This article reviews the best PE games for elementary students in 2023.

For many kids, physical education class is the highlight of the day! They enjoy getting up and exercising to take a break from the rigors of class. Classes in physical education should be enjoyable and give kids some creative alternatives to sitting down all day.
Running a few laps and then playing kickball or dodgeball was undoubtedly part of PE class in the past. Since then, there have been numerous remakes, modifications, and brand-new games in addition to old favorites.

Many possibilities exist, but the materials needed are still quite basic. As a PE facilitator, stock up on essentials like balls, hula hoops, bean bags, and parachutes. Whether or not your students are athletic enough, there’s a game meant for everyone!

Physical education teachers can significantly spice up their exercise courses by using everyday things. In this blog post, we have reviewed 50 PE games for elementary students and made some suggestions to increase the amount of time spent exercising in your elementary physical education courses!

Let’s dive in! Make sure you follow me till the end!

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50 Best PE Games for Elementary Students in 2023

Below are some of the 50 Best PE Games for Elementary Students in 2023.

• Volcanoes and Ice Cream Cones
• Throw and Catch Tic-Tac-Toe
• Jenga Fitness
• Jellyfish Scooter Tag 
• Throwing, Catching, and Rolling
• Rabbit Hole
• Rock, Paper, Scissors, Bean Bag Balance
• Air Pong 
• Spaceship Tag
• Dizzy Kickball 
• Pac-Man
• Cops and Robbers Tag 
• Wheelbarrow Race
• Cornhole
• Crazy Moves
• Table Top Tennis 
• Racket, Whack It
• Portable Balance Games
•  Zookeepers
• Connect Four
• Soccer 
• Movement Dice
• Topple Tube 
• Wall Ball 
• Rob the Nest
• Scooter Board Jumping
• Star Wars Tag
• Mario Kart Battle Boards
• Bridge Tag
• Crazy Ball
• Jump Rope
• Striker Ball
• Spider Web Scooter Crawl 
• Monster Ball
• Musical Hoops
• Halloween Tag
• Cone Race
• Hungry Human Hippos 
• Spider Ball
• Scooter Obstacle Course
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Cones
• Heads or Tails 
• Cross the River
• Fruit Salad Dodge Ball 
• Blob Tag
• Plant the Trees Agility Game 
• Tic-Tac-Toe Relay
• Balloon Tennis 
• Ninja Warrior Course
• Noodle Hockey

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#1. Volcanoes and Ice Cream Cones

This game is played in such a way that the class is divided into two teams, and then each group is assigned a role, one being an ice cream cone and the other being a volcano. Next, the cones are distributed evenly throughout the playground, with half facing the wrong direction. Finally, the teams compete to turn as many cones into ice cream or volcanoes as possible.

#2. Throw and Catch Tic-Tac-Toe

This game of catch and tic-tac-toe is enjoyable. Students must work in pairs while one waits in a hula hoop for their teammate to pass the ball to them. If they succeed, they mark the tic-tac-toe board with their color. The other teams move on if they drop it. The first team to score three straight victories!

#3. Jenga Fitness

This game is interesting on its own, but adding in some interesting physical difficulties is guaranteed to be popular with young pupils.

#4. Jellyfish Scooter Tag 

All ages will enjoy the game of scooter tag. In this game, students are divided into teams and given scooters of various colors to ride around the court while tagging the opposing teams. Members of the tagged team must then leave the court and move to the side. At the end of the game, the team with the most players wins!

#5. Throwing, Catching, and Rolling

This enjoyable PE exercise takes a lot of planning, especially requesting that the maintenance staff at the school gather industrial-sized paper towel rolls. We adore this exercise because it makes us think of the classic arcade game Skee-Ball!

#6. Rabbit Hole

Anyone with any degree of physical activity will enjoy this game. This game is played so that students enter the hula hoop’s area while taking care not to topple the hula hoop that is balanced on top of the cones. Students will then sneak out, pretending to be rabbits, to avoid being discovered by the fox.

#7. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Bean Bag Balance

This version of Rock, Paper, Scissors is one of the students’ favorites since it improves balance and coordination. In this game, the winner receives a bean bag, which they must balance on their head after students circle the playground searching for a rival.

#8. Air Pong 

The finest physical education lessons are those that incorporate a variety of abilities! Playing air pong is fun to exercise your coordination and motor skills. In this game, students must strike the ball onto the mat of their opponent. They must take care not to knock it off-limits.

#9. Spaceship Tag

This game is played so that each student is given a Hula-Hoop (spaceship) and then instructed to run about while avoiding tagging by the teacher (an alien) or colliding with other students’ spaceships. The instructor might introduce several levels of complexity after the kids become incredibly proficient.

#10. Dizzy Kickball 

Playing this game is entertaining and humorous! Before kicking the ball, students will spin around a few times while closing their eyes in a variation of the classic kickball game. Then as in regular kickball, players must run to their base.

#11. Pac-Man

Fans of classic video games like Pac-Man will like this live-action adaptation in which the pupils portray the characters.

#12. Cops and Robbers Tag 

Without playing a game of tag, physical education in elementary school would not be complete. Playing this game at the beginning of the school year will assist in teaching students healthy exercise habits. Use these policemen and robbers’ rendition of a tag to instruct pupils on playing without hitting other people. The police only pursue the robbers!

#13. Wheelbarrow Race

Wheelbarrow races are a tried-and-true activity that doesn’t require any special equipment and is sure to please your pupils.

#14. Cornhole

A fantastic physical activity for elementary school pupils is cornhole. This aids in teaching pupils how to use their gross motor abilities and hand-eye coordination. The students throw the beanbags into the game board with the cutout as their target. This is beneficial for lessons in physical education that will eventually go on to throwing and catching.

#15. Crazy Moves

Lay out mats all across the gym before shouting out a number. Before the mat is completely filled with the required number of bodies, students must sprint to it.

#16. Table Top Tennis 

Older elementary- or middle-school pupils will enjoy this project. More sophisticated motor abilities and hand-eye coordination are needed for this. These physical education courses offer a change of pace from their regular exercises. They can only use straws and cups to play ping pong.

#17. Racket, Whack It

Balls are launched at students as they stand with rackets in hand; they must either avoid the balls or swat them away.

#18. Portable Balance Games

For all levels of physical exercise, this is ideal! While children walk along the upside-down buckets, balance, and gross motor skills will be incorporated. Make careful you arrange them so that it is more challenging than merely placing them in a straight line.

#19. Zookeepers

Children will enjoy playing this entertaining Four Corners variation where the taggers are the zookeepers and imitate their favorite animals.

#20. Connect Four

To make two Connect Four boards that are 7 by 6 hoops deep, you’ll need a lot of hula hoops. Before being allowed to advance to the board, the students who are the tokens must build a basket.

#21. Soccer 

Play some soccer, perhaps. As they learn to control the ball while moving down the field, this will aid in running and coordination. Each team will play against the other, kicking the ball with only their feet as they advance toward the opposing team’s goal.

#22. Movement Dice

The only equipment needed for this excellent warm-up is a die and a sheet with the accompanying exercises.

#23. Topple Tube 

In this game, two teams compete by trying to flip cups to match their colors. They use wooden blocks with different-colored ends on each side to do the same thing. The teams move around, flipping their team colors so that they are on top of those of the other team. The other group is also working on this, which is challenging. By the end of the game, the team with most of its colors flipped up has won!

#24. Wall Ball 

Kids in fourth and fifth grades love playing wall ball! They find it appealing to simply throw the ball against the wall, catch it, and then throw it back. By kicking the ball rather than tossing it, they can still enjoy this pastime.

#25. Rob the Nest

After dividing the kids into teams, construct an obstacle course that leads to a nest of eggs (balls). To retrieve eggs and return them to their team, they must sprint relay-style through the obstacles.

#26. Scooter Board Jumping

This is an excellent preschool through first-grade activity. Students will push their feet against a wall to assist them in jumping from a seated posture and moving around on the scooter. This is a practical technique to develop leg muscles and gain scooter experience.

#27. Star Wars Tag

You will need two pool noodles of various colors to substitute for lightsabers. The healer will have one color of pool noodle, which they will use to release their pals, while the tagger will have the other color.

#28. Mario Kart Battle Boards

Introduce this Mario Kart Battle Boards game; if you want pupils to enjoy a wild and crazy ball game, they will ask to play repeatedly. Students avoid good mats. The “villains” attempt to damage the battle boards used by the heroes and knock a tennis ball out of a cone perched on a scooter.

#29. Bridge Tag

Once the tagging starts, this game transforms from a straightforward game of tag into something more enjoyable. Once tagged, children must use their bodies to create a bridge before anyone can release them.

#30. Crazy Ball

With three bases and a home base, this entertaining game is set up similarly to a game of kickball. Given that it mixes aspects of football, frisbee, and kickball, the crazy ball is genuinely absurd.

#31. Jump Rope

Young people of all ages enjoy jumping rope! Even your third- and fourth-graders will find this enjoyable. You can even turn this into a music movement activity by including some songs in this center for the students to sing along to as they jump. Give kids access to pedometers so they can track their activity accurately.

#32. Striker Ball

This is a fun game that will occupy your children while they practice quick thinking and strategic planning. We appreciate that a bit of setup is needed before playing.

#32. Spider Web Scooter Crawl 

There will be some preliminary preparation needed for this activity. Students can navigate a spider web maze you’ve made out of yarn using their coordination. To navigate the maze and maintain control of their scooters, they must lift the rope and duck underneath it.

#33. Monster Ball

You’ll need a large exercise ball or something comparable to serve as the giant ball in the middle. To transfer the monster ball into the other team’s territory, divide the class into groups and place them in a square on either side of the monster ball.

#34. Musical Hoops

Children must quickly run to stand inside a hula hoop, a twist on musical chairs in this musical movement game when the music stops. As the kids move through the rounds, the teacher keeps removing them. Students can increase their difficulty level by performing a locomotor action or adopting a specific posture within the hula hoops.

#35. Halloween Tag

Halloween Tags are ideal for playing in October. There are witches, wizards, and blobs with no bones, and it’s similar to tag.

#36. Cone Race

The target audience for this exercise is children in first grade and under. They will practice their motor skills as they attempt to lay cut-up pool noodles over tall plastic pipes or broom handles fitted into cones to hold them steadily. As students group the coordinating colors, this will also aid in improving color awareness.

#37. Hungry Human Hippos 

You must include this activity if your class aims to have fun! Students should be given scooters, instructed to lie on their bellies, and instructed to gather balls in the middle of the gym floor using a laundry basket.

#38. Spider Ball

Dodgeball games like this one are common in elementary school physical education. Starting with the ball, one or two players try to strike each runner as they cross the field or gym. If a player is struck, they can join in and turn into a spider.

#39. Scooter Obstacle Course

Children adore scooters! Students will love participating in this sporty exercise! Create a scooter-friendly obstacle course that students can ride through. The activity must be held within a gym for the scooters to slide across the floor.

#40. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Cones

In this game, students team up and stand on either side of a cone after the cones are lined up. Finally, shout out cones, heads, shoulders, or knees. Students must sprint to pick up their cones before their rivals if cones are summoned.

#41. Heads or Tails 

To decide which activities to complete during class, distribute coins to pairs of students and have them toss the coins. If you don’t have time to prepare for other fitness lessons one day, this is an excellent activity for an elementary school PE instructor to use. This is a helpful method for warming up pupils before an activity period.

#42. Cross the River

Students must complete several tasks in this entertaining game, including “Get to the island,” “Cross the river,” and “You lost a rock.”

#43. Fruit Salad Dodge Ball 

In this dodgeball survival game, some pupils are put in the center and must attempt to escape being hit by the ball. They must leave the circle if they are struck. This game is fantastic to play when there are at least ten kids in the class.

#44. Blob Tag

Select two students to serve as the blob’s initial members; when they tag additional students, they will integrate into the blob. Make sure to practice safe tagging and emphasize the value of gentle touches.

#45. Plant the Trees Agility Game 

Playing this game will help you become more agile. Even during recess, teachers may have pupils play this game. In this game, students will run to the other side when the whistle sounds, pick up bean bags, and bring them back to their side. They cannot be thrown, and students may only pick them up one at a time.

#46. Tic-Tac-Toe Relay

Our favorite elementary physical education activities are those that encourage pupils to think as well as move. Prepare to witness the excitement by gathering beanbags, scarves, and hula hoops.

#47. Balloon Tennis 

Try using this quick and simple idea in your physical education classroom! In this game, a plastic spoon, paper plates, and balloons can all be used. The balloons may be kept in the air by simply hitting them with the homemade paddle.

#49. Ninja Warrior Course

Your physical education classes’ favorite part of the day can be designing a course for ninja warriors in your gym. This is a wise addition to your exercise regimen because it requires a variety of talents, can increase agility and flexibility, and fosters friendly rivalry.

#50. Noodle Hockey

In this game, each pupil is given a pool noodle of a different color and then allowed to engage in a secure game of noodle hockey. A grassy area is selected, and each player is given a little ball to get inside the goalposts.

Conclusion

For many kids, physical education class is the highlight of the day! They enjoy getting up and exercising to take a break from the rigors of class. Classes in physical education should be enjoyable and give kids some creative alternatives to sitting down all day.

This article reviews the best PE games for elementary students in 2023.
So tell me, which of the PE games is your favorite? Which of the PE games interests you? Which elementary school sports games do you enjoy playing with your class? Let us know in the comment section!

Cheers!

FAQ

References

• www.weareteachers.com
• Teachingexpertise.com