Pre K-1st Grade Biking Games

All games listed below are appropriate for campers in Learn to Bike or Explorer Camps (pre K - 1st grade).

Supplies: These biking games use a variety of common biking camp supplies such as cones and sidewalk chalk.

Note: All are active games designed for riders of ANY ability to play together (from scooting to riding on 2 wheels, and anywhere in between).

All My Neighbors

Set kids up in a circle and mark spots on the ground with chalk. The instructor starts in the middle and says, “All My Neighbors who… like the color blue!” Then everyone who likes the color blue scoots to find a new spot like musical chairs. When a child cannot find a spot they are in the middle and get to do the next “All My Neighbors who…” Make sure your circle is wide enough to accommodate little bike scooters!

Stop on a Dime

Create a single straight line, about twenty-five feet long. One end is the start line, the other end is the finish line, which you should mark clearly with a bold line. Have the kids begin at the start line, and ride toward the finish, aiming to stop pedaling and apply their brakes so that their front wheel ends up squarely on the main finish line.

Long Roll

Find a spot that is either flat or goes slightly uphill. Create a start line and a mid line about 25 feet past that. Direct your kids to start pedaling at the first line and pedal like mad until they reach the next point, where they must begin coasting. The object of this event is to roll as far as they can, scoring more points the farther they go before touching the ground.

Spiral

With chalk, draw a two-foot wide path that goes in a spiral around a large (five-foot diameter) circle. Have each kid ride the spiral from outside in as slow or fast as they want.

Newspaper Delivery

This is a fun event that allows kids to play at being a newspaper delivery person. For this you’ll need two to four targets (clothes baskets, large tubs, trash cans, etc.) and an equal number of rolled newspapers (or other similar objects). Give the children a 'newspaper' and challenge them to throw it into a target while riding their bike.

Balance Beam

With chalk, draw one main line about 30 feet long. Have each kid ride the course, following the centerline from one end to the other as slow or fast as they want. Challenge campers to use their eyes to look where they want to go.

Swim, Fishies, Swim!

Directions: Set up two parallel lines 30 to 60 feet apart. If the playing area is quite large, set up side boundaries as well. Have the group stand behind one line. Ask two volunteers to be sharks. The rest of the group are fishies and do not want to be caught by the sharks. The sharks stand inside the boundaries.

The campers can be on bikes and scoot across the playing area. The sharks can be off of bikes in order to more easily tag fish. If your group is not quite coordinated enough to play this on bikes, feel free to play by running.

When the sharks yell, “Swim, fishies, swim!” the entire group of fishies must scoot/run through the playing area without being tagged by the sharks. They must stay inside the boundaries. Once the group of fishies reaches the other side, they are safe. Fishies who have been tagged (or who have gone out of bounds), stay frozen where they were tagged and become seaweed.

The game continues when the sharks again yell, “Swim, fishies, swim!” Each round will result in more seaweed until, eventually, there are no fishies left to swim.

Simon Says

Designate a leader, who will call out commands. For example: Simon says “frog hop to the yellow cone!”, “Scoot to the red cone,” etc. Campers can also take turns being the leader.

Red Light/Green Light

Designate a leader. Start with the 'classic' traffic light colors. Green=go, yellow=slow, red=stop.

Then, get creative and make up actions for other colors! Orange could mean roar like a lion, purple could mean ride in a circle, etc.

Freeze Bike

Instructors will need a portable speaker or some method of playing music. Play any fun, kid-friendly song or rhythm and let kids ride around while the music plays. When the music stops, all bikers have to FREEZE! ...until the music starts playing again. Encourage kids to be creative and ride in a way that matches the music (slow, fast, hoppy, rhythmic, smooth, etc.)

Bike Rodeo

Instructors: set up a large, open area and mark boundaries with cones. Make it large enough for kids to ride big laps around the perimeter. Have campers line up at one end.

Who can name all the different things we know how to do on a bike? (Scooting, pedaling, standing up, slalom, slow riding, bunny hops, ramps, etc.). Let’s show off our bike skills in a bike rodeo!

Instructors: use your best rodeo announcer voice! Call out the first ‘event’ and have each camper ride a lap (plenty of space in between) doing their best scoot, pedal, slalom, stand-up, pop-over, etc. Yee-haw!

Nominate a camper or instructor as the Rodeo Clown to tell a silly joke or sing a silly song between each event.

Next event: pick another biking skill. Let campers ride together, then one at a time. Cheer for each other!

Continue with new & different ‘events.’ Ask for suggestions from the campers, or make up new ones! (Ride in a figure 8 or around cones! Combine standing on the pedals and riding over a ramp! Can you yell yee-haw while you do a bunny hop? Etc.)

Victory Lap: have each camper take a lap around the circle in their favorite ‘event’. Cheer for each other! End on a high note.

Avid City Obstacle Course

First, have campers use sidewalk chalk to draw their own version of Avid City complete with stop signs, windy streets, rivers, trees, etc. Add ramps, branches, cones, or other obstacles. Then, campers can take turns riding through their city. Have them ride on the streets, over the river, stop at stop signs, and park their bikes in the parking lot. How does their city work for bikers? Do they need wider streets? More stop signs? Let campers add to their chalk city if desired. Bonus: now, let campers take turns being the ‘traffic cop’ and play Red Light/Green Light!

Drip, Drip, Drop-on bikes!

Before you start: Be sure to give campers a chance to ‘opt out’ of getting wet if they want. Some kids don’t like getting splashed!

Have campers ride laps around a large circle. Instructors: pick a spot on the perimeter of the circle, and have a full, squeezy water bottle handy. Give each camper a ‘drip’ (small squeeze on their head or neck) and call out ‘DRIP!’ as they ride by. Then, choose one camper to give a ‘drop’ (BIG squeeze!) and call out DROP! As they ride by. Then, immediately call out STOP! And all bikers have to FREEZE!

Continue riding & Drip/Dropping until all bikers are wet & cooled down!

Bike Wash!

Use a sprayer (for washing), sign (for drying their bike), and noodles (for scrubbing). Create a course where campers take a big lap and enter the “Bike Wash”. Ask if they want the premium wash (spraying the camper and the bike with water!) or just the bike wash (just the bike). Use the noodles and scrub down their bike (make it fun!). Fan them dry with the sign! Have the kids take turns helping with parts of the bike wash. You can also add the Bike Wash element into a larger obstacle course or other chalk course you've made for additional fun!

Nature Obstacle Course

Use cones, ropes, noodles, chalk, etc. to build a bike nature obstacle course with the campers! Let the kids help out with building it! Some ideas for the course: using old rope to create a “snake pit” they have to roll over, use the chalk to draw a “lake” that the kids have to lift their feet off the ground and glide through, use the cones as “tree stumps” that the kids need to weave through, have one of the instructors pretend to be a “cheetah” chasing the kids for a section so they can work on going fast and getting speed! Add whatever additional elements you'd like! Think about framing this as a group initiative and how they can improve their time as a team.

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