Family Relay Races

Hello everybody! Next week was supposed to be April Vacation so lets have some fun! These relay races are a fun way to stay active with your family. All you need is one family member and a stopwatch. If you have other people in your house that you can race against, that is fun too.

Egg and Spoon

Materials Needed: A hardboiled egg (one per player, or one per team), or plastic egg and a spoon (one per player)

For this one, you'll need someone to compete against or you if you have enough people you can create two teams. Each player gets a spoon and an egg (hard boiled or plastic).

Each team must carry their egg on their spoon from the starting line to a turnaround point and back again. Then, the egg is passed off to a teammate who takes their turn.

If the egg is dropped, the player must stop and retrieve it. The first team to complete the relay wins.

Variations: If you're willing to make a little mess, use a raw egg. In this version, kids will have to try to keep the egg from breaking or cracking for the duration of the relay. If you have bigger teams (and a full carton of eggs to spare) you can also play a version where each team is allowed one or two replacement eggs.

If you want to use the plastic variety, change the game up by skipping the spoon and having kids run the relay with an armful of colorful, non-messy eggs.

Don't have any eggs on hand? Use coins (one per player, though you may want a few spares) instead. In this take, you can place a small coin on the spoon and have kids try to keep it from falling as they race.

Whether you use eggs or coins, try increasing the challenge by adding obstacles to navigate through or require players to skip instead of walk.

Three Legged Race

Materials Needed: A long scarf, bandana, a long piece of fabric

Pair up with a family member. Standing side by side, use a bandana, scarf, or piece of fabric to tie the inside of your legs together to create a shared “third leg.”

Mark your starting point and stopping points, then let the race begin!

Variation: Make the race more challenging by carrying an object to the finish line, like a football or a small bucket of water.

Balloon Run

Materials Needed: One balloon per person

Mark your starting point and stopping points. Blow up a balloon for each player (You may need someone to help you tie it).

At the start put the balloon between your knees. Race to the finish line. If you drop the balloon you have to run back to the start and restart.

Dress Up Relay

Materials Needed: An assortment of dress-up items

Place two piles, boxes, or suitcases filled with dress-up items at each end of the playing area. Divide the group into two teams.

The first player runs to the pile, puts on all the dress-ups on top of their regular clothes, then runs back to the team.

When they make it back, the player must remove all the dress-up items and pass them off to the next player, who puts them on and runs the length of the playing space before returning to the team. Then, they'll remove the dress-up items so the next player can repeat the process.

Variations: You can create a dress up theme- for example you could do a day at the beach- with goggles, flippers, a hat, etc...

Drop a Penny

Materials Needed: Pennies and one egg carton per person

To set this relay up, start by marking off two lines: a starting line and a turn-around line. Divide your players into teams. Place a pile of pennies at the beginning line for each player. Next, place an egg carton for each player at the turn around line. (lid removed).

Race a teammate to see who can get all of the pennies in each spot of the egg carton picking up only one penny at a time and running back and forth between the pile of pennies and the egg carton. The person who fills their egg carton first wins!

Wheelbarrow

Materials Needed: none

Mark your start and finish lines, then get ready with your partner.

With your partner, one player will stand and hold the ankles of the other player, who must walk on their hands. Together, they'll head for the finish line as fast as they can. When they reach it, the players switch spots and head back to the starting line. The first team to make it back wins. Make sure to be careful with your partner!

Invent your own

Let’s see your creativity! Create your very own obstacle course and either share your pictures in the PE Padlet or tell me about it through email at jlance@sau53.org!

Just Dance Videos (3-4)

Keep yourself moving with these fun Just Dance Videos. You know how it works. Just copy your favorite character. Have fun!