[Teacher Tips] 5 Ideas for Virtual Field Day Activities
[Teacher Tips] 5 Ideas for Virtual Field Day Activities
If you’re a teacher of younger grades, you know the field day is something students look forward to all year. It’s an awesome, albeit chaotic, day where students get to be outside learning how to compete and be part of a team. As we’ve learned over the last few weeks, virtual learning doesn’t mean these school traditions need to stop altogether, they just need to be adapted. That’s why we put together this list of simple activities students can do at home with their siblings or parents. We did our best to make sure these at-home field day events will be inclusive as not every student has the same resources at home. A fun way to have students participate in field day together is to have them take videos of themselves completing the challenges below, and upload them to whatever project management tool you’re using.
The Egg Relay
A favorite of birthday parties everywhere, the Egg Relay requires a spoon, a real or plastic egg (a ball works too), and a pair of shoes to use as cones. Have your students place the shoe/cone at the opposite end of the yard from their starting point. While balancing the egg on the spoon in one hand (no cheating!), have students run to the cone and back. The first one to get around the cone and back with their egg still balanced on the spoon is the winner!
The Washcloth Relay
The Washcloth Relay is pretty simple. All you need is a sponge or washcloth and a couple of cups or bowls. To set up this challenge, you place one cup full of water at the starting point, and at the other end of the yard you place an empty cup. Players start with their dry washcloth. When the timer starts, they soak their washcloth or sponge full of water and run to the other end of the field to their empty cup. At the empty cup, they ring out their sponge, filling the cup with water. They then run back to the starting point and do it again until the second cup is full.
The Obstacle Course
The Obstacle Course is a fun one for students to freestyle, but here are some guidelines. Have students look around the house with their parents to find 5-6 random objects that they can jump or step over. These objects could be as simple as pillows, small stuffed animals, a stack of books or a backpack. The important thing to note is that the items should not be easily broken (kids are clumsy!) or anything that could fall or tip over. Have students evenly space them out in a large open space, like a yard or living room, and determine a starting line and a finish line. At the starting line, when the student’s parent or sibling say “Go,” the student will treat each object like hurtles. Depending on age they can either jump over the hurtles or just step on each one. They just need to make sure they don’t completely avoid the object. Once they get to the finish line, they win! The best part is that once students have completed their ‘course’ they can set another one up, or try to beat their best time.
The Crawl
This hilarious crawling challenge involves, you guessed it, crawling. To set up this challenge, all students need is a soccer or basketball sized-ball and some shoes for cones. Place one shoe at the end of the field, similar to what you did for the Egg Relay. At the starting point, students will get on all fours with the ball in front of them. To complete the challenge, they have to push the ball with their heads down the field, around the shoe, and back to the starting point all while crawling. Remember, they can’t use their hands to push the ball!
The Toss Game
This game does require a partner, so parents, guardians, or siblings will need to be involved, but for equipment, all the toss game needs is a ball or beanbag. How it works is the student and their partner stand 6 ft away while facing each other. The student then tosses the ball to their partner, and if their partner catches it, they both take one big step back – widening the space between them. The objective is to see how far apart they can get before they drop the ball.
There are so many great ideas out there that you can incorporate for a virtual field day for your students. To make instructions as clear as possible, be sure to record a video of yourself completing the challenges so that they can watch you get involved too. Ultimately, make sure your kids stay safe and have fun! And don't forget, May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month! celebrate with your pre-k to 6th grades with a FREE downloadable resource packet from Edmentum. In this packet, you’ll find fact sheets, critical thinking questions, and activities to help get your students up and moving all May long!
