No teacher (or student for that matter) likes to hear that you’re going to have indoor recess. But with indoor recess preparation you can dread that announcement a little less and your students will enjoy the variety of activities you have ready and waiting for them.
Grab a box or tub where you can store all of your great indoor recess materials. Then fill it up with the great ideas below.
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1. Print – Copy – File!
The following is a list of items that will serve you well are you do your indoor recess preparation. Print, copy, and file them in your indoor recess box.
- Charade topics to hand out
- Pictionary words to hand out
- A list of categories & letters to use for Scattergories
- Several sets of these fun & educational Magic Square Puzzles to hand out!
2. Shop and Box!
Shop the thrift stores and online (Amazon & Ebay work great) for the following items and then box them up for a rainy day such as this. (Warning: If you have them out all the time, the novelty will wear off and then the kids will be bored by them when indoor recess occurs!)
- Scrabble or Scrabble Junior
- Boggle
- Mini-white boards/dry erase markers, socks
- A yoga dvd
- A meditation dvd (or audiofile)
- Audiobooks
- Balloons (for balloon volley ball and balloon kickball!)
- Puppets for skits and shows
- Headbandz
3. Tried and True Indoor Games
Write out and add a list of tried and true indoor games that kids will love to your Indoor Recess folder! For example:
- Heads up 7 up (even thought – if I’m being honest – I don’t get why kids like this game…)
- Spelling & Vocab review ‘bees’
- The Stoplight Game
- Musical Chairs (but have kids sit on floor mats/carpet squares to prevent dreaded chair injuries that occur with the high level of treachery that this game causes!)
- The Hot/Cold game with hidden objects
- Twenty Questions (& a list of challenging objects)
- Magic Square Puzzles
Adding to these ideas…remember – if the kids are going stir-crazy and they need to move around, you can make almost any activity appealing to kinesthetic learners!
4. Holiday or Seasonal Activities
Having a holiday or seasonal section for your indoor recess folder is another great idea. As the calendar says a special holiday is drawing near, you’ve got an entirely new set of activities that will keep your students busy – while still learning!
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If you take the time for indoor recess preparation you’re sure to reap the benefits all school year long. The sense of relief that will wash over you when that first indoor recess announcement is made will be worth the extra moments of set up now. Plus you’ll be the envy of all the teachers down the hall!
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