25 Awesome Team-Building Activities for Kids

Looking for great ways to help students learn to work together, listen carefully, communicate clearly, and think creatively? Try some of these awesome team-building activities for kids. They’re a super way to give your students the chance to get to know one another, build trust as a community, and, best of all, learn valuable life skills that will last long beyond their school years.

Benefits

Team building games for kids are a great way to build community as you start a new school year—or any time of team for that matter. Not only are they super fun (and what kid doesn’t like fun?), they’re important for a number of other reasons. Team building activities for kids help students:

Develop communication skills

When students work together, they learn how to express ideas clearly and actively listen. Both verbal and non-verbal communication skills are critical for classroom participation and success in the real world.

Encourage problem solving and critical thinking

Many of these games and activities involve challenges or puzzles. Working together to solve them helps students think creatively, plan strategically and persevere when they get stuck.

Foster collaboration and cooperation

Working on a team or with a partner isn’t always easy. Kids need to learn how to respect others’ ideas and perspectives and work to compromise. In addition, they need to stand up for their own ideas and actively participate.

Boost confidence and promote leadership skills

Making a contribution and accomplishing a goal as a team member is very rewarding. And when a student develops the strength to take the lead, it boosts their self image in long lasting ways.

Promote social inclusion and foster friendships

Engaging with people you don’t know very well can sometimes feel risky. But team building games provide a structure that allows for students to move out of their comfort zones. In addition they give students a chance to interact with new people, build empathy for others and support a sense of belonging.

Teach conflict resolution skills

Team building activities for kids are a perfect tool for teaching conflict resolution skills. After all, conflict can occur in any group setting. Conflicts allow you the opportunity, as their teacher, to model and guide them through a constructive process for a happy ending.

Jump to:

• Problem Solving Activities
• Get to Know You Team Building Activities for Kids
• Outdoor Team Building Games for Kids
• Games and Activities That Foster Cooperation
• Circle Games for Building Community
• STEM Team Building Activities for Kids
• Other Team Building Games for Kids

Problem Solving Activities

1. What’s My Name

• Objective: This game encourages students to mingle, ask questions and use deductive reasoning skills as they try to figure out whose name is stuck to their forehead .
• Materials: Post-it notes
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Write the names of famous people your students will know, such as actors, athletes or characters from a book or show on sticky notes.
2. Once every student has a name on their forehead, set a timer and have students circulate around the room asking yes or no questions to figure out who they are.
3. Continue play until everyone guesses their identity or time runs out.

2. Categories

• Objective: Students work cooperatively in small groups to categorize items into groups
• Materials: A tray with 20 unrelated items, or an image of 20 unrelated items
• Participants: Groups of 3-4

How to play:

1. For this activity, prepare a tray with 20 unrelated items. For instance, a book, an eraser, a juice box, etc. Alternatively, create a document with 20 images of things to project on the screen.
2. Divide students into groups and set a timer.
3. Have each group divide the items into four categories that make sense to them. For example, things you wear, things you use with your hands, etc.
4. Have groups work quietly so that their ideas are kept secret.
5. When each group is finished, give each one time to present their categories and their rationale behind their thinking.

3. Flip-the-Tarp Challenge

• Objective: To cooperatively flip over a tarp while standing on it
• Materials: Flat sheet, tarp or blanket
• Participants: Teams

How to play:

1. Divide students into two teams. One team will do the challenge while the other team watches, then they will switch places.
2. Gather one team on a flat bedsheet, tarp, or blanket. They should fill up all but about a quarter of the space.
3. Now, students must work together to figure out how to flip over the sheet/tarp over without anyone stepping off or touching the ground.
   

4. Scavenger Hunt

• Objective: Students work together to get to know the classroom/school (and each other) with a scavenger hunt
• Materials: Scavenger hunt lists
• Participants: Partners

How to play:

1. Pair students up randomly.
2. Prepare a list of important things to find in the classroom and have students copy it into their journals. For instance—pencil sharpener, non-fiction books, turn in basket, etc.
3. Have students work with their partner to check off all the items on the list.
4. This is also a great idea to get to know the layout of the school as well. For instance—library, nurse’s office, lost and found, etc.

Get to Know You Activities

5. Yes, No, Stand Up

• Objective: This easy yes/no game is a fun way for younger kids or English language learners to get to know one another
• Materials: A list of yes or no questions
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Before the game begins, prepare a list of yes or no questions to ask students For example, Do you like chocolate? Is your favorite color blue? Do you like soccer?
2. If their answer is yes, the student stands up. If their answer is no, they sit down.
3. Pause between questions to give students time to look around and find students they have answers in common with.
4. If time allows, let students come up with questions of their own.

6. Spiderweb

• Objective: Students sit in a circle and pass a ball of yarn as they get to know one another.
• Materials: Ball of multi-colored yarn
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Sit in a circle. The leader chooses a topic (favorite food, favorite place, funny story, one thing that makes me unique, etc.).
2. Play begins when the first person, holding a large ball of yarn, shares their answer with the group.
3. Then, keeping a hold of one end of the yarn, they toss the ball (gently) to someone else in the circle.
4. Play continues around the circle until every person has had the chance to share.
5. In the end, the yarn will form a “spiderweb” of color, reminding the students that they are all connected in one community.

7. Birthday Line-Up

• Objective: Students must cooperate to line up in birthday order
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes, depending on your grade level.
2. The objective is to have students line up in order of their birthdays—January 1 through December 31 before time runs out.
3. To accomplish this, they will need to talk with one another in order to figure out who goes in front of whom.
4. Try this activity with other fun ways to line up—by height, alphabetically, by foot size, etc.

Outdoor Fun Activities

8. Caterpillar

• Objective: Groups of students (caterpillars) move forward without stepping outside of their hula hoops
• Materials: 1 hula hoop per student
• Participants: Groups of 4 (if possible)

How to play:

1. Line up teams of four at the end of a field. Have each student stand in the center of a hula hoop on the ground, forming a “caterpillar”.
2. To move forward, the last player in line steps into the hoop with the player in front of them, picks up their empty hoop, and passes it overhead to the front of the line.
3. The front player then places the hoop on the ground in front of them and steps into it. Every player then shifts forward, moving the caterpillar.
4. The first team to cross the finish line wins.

9. Balloon Battle

• Objective: Using a pool noodle and balloon, students race to score a goal
• Materials: Pool noodles, balloons
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. This fun game teams students up as they try to bat a balloon using a pool noodle over each other’s goal line.
2. Divide students into two teams and let play begin.
3. Periodically blow a whistle to have students substitute in so that everyone gets a chance to play.
4. The first team to score 10 points wins.

10. Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag

• Objective: For this fun tag game, students play rock, paper, scissors to determine who chases who
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Before you begin, stake out the boundaries and position a home base at either end for each team.
2. Divide students into two teams.
3. At the start of each round, both teams will huddle up and decide whether they are rock, paper, or scissors.
4. The two teams line up facing each other, and on your signal, all players flash rock, paper or scissors.
5. The kids on the losing team must run back to their base before they are tagged by the kids on the winning team
6. If your kids love this game, try one of these fun tag game variations.

11. Orange Relay

• Objective: Students will race to pick oranges up using only their knees and hop to transfer them to a target.
• Materials: Oranges, hula hoops
• Participants: Teams

How to play:

1. Have students line up in two equal teams.
2. Place a bowl of oranges at the front of each line. The first two students each take an orange and squeeze it between their knees.
3. Next, they hop or take tiny steps to deposit their orange into a hula hoop across the field.
4. Once their teammate’s orange is deposited, the next student goes. Play continues.
5. The team that transfers the most oranges in 2 minutes (or whatever time limit you wish) is the winner.

12. Tic-Tac-Toe Relay

• Objective: Students play an IRL tic-tac-toe game
• Materials: Hula hoops, bean bags
• Participants: Teams

How to play:

1. Set out hula hoops in the shape of a tic-tac-toe frame.
2. Divide students into two teams and give each team a supply of different colored bean bags.
3. One student from each team runs to the frame and drops a bean bag in their preferred spot.
4. They return to the start and tag the next runner, who does the same thing.
5. Play continues until one team achieves a tic-tac-toe!

Team Building Games for Kids that Foster Cooperation

13. Hula-Hoop Pass

• Objective: Students work together to pass a hula hoop around a circle.
• Materials: Hula hoop
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Have your students stand in a circle and join hands.
2. Unclasp one pair’s hands and place the hula hoop between the two. Then have them rejoin their hands.
3. The object of the game is to pass the hula hoop all the way around the circle without unclasping hands.
4. Students work together using listening, coordinating, and strategizing skills to figure out how to maneuver their bodies all the way through the hoop to pass it on.

14. Elbow Pass

• Objective: This simple passing game helps students work together, look each other in the eye and have a good laugh
• Materials: Four square ball or similarly sized ball
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Have students stand in a line.
2. The first student will hold a ball between their elbows in front of their chest and passes it to the next player.
3. Continue until the ball reaches the end of the line.
4. If the ball drops, the game starts over at the beginning.

15. Move On, Back Up, Flip

• Objective: Students stand connected in a circle and must cooperate to follow directions.
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Start with students in a circle with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them.
2. At the signal “Move on,” students take one hop forward together.
3. At the signal “Back up,” students take one hop backward together
4. And at the signal “Flip,” students will turn 180 degrees and place their hands on the shoulder of the person who was behind them.

16. Straw Balance

• Objective: This fun balancing exercise requires coordination and cooperation.
• Materials: Plastic straws
• Participants: Whole group

How to play:

1. Have your students form a large circle and give each one a plastic straw.
2. The challenge is to balance each straw between one person’s right pointer finger and the left pointer finger of the person next to them.
3. Challenge your students to make movements such as rotating the circle, squatting down, raising one foot, raising your right hand, etc.
4. The goal is to make the movements while keeping the straws connections intact.

Circle Games to Build Community

17. Bumpity-ump-bump-bump

• Objective: Students race to follow directions and learn one another’s names.
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Students stand in a large circle with one student in the middle.
2. That student walks around the inside of the circle, stops in front of one person, and gives them a direction.
3. There are four choices: Left = say the name of the person to the left. Right = say the name of the person on the right. It= say the name of the person who is ‘it.’ And Self = say one’s own name.
4. After they give the direction, they say “bumpity-ump-bump-bump!”
5. The student who was given the direction races to say the name of the correct person before the student finishes the phrase.
6. If they can’t, they’re the next person on the inside of the circle.

18. Zip, Zap, Boing!

• Objective: This is a super fun game that involves strategy and fast thinking.
• Participants: Whole group

How to play:

1. This super-lively circle game involves careful listening, quick thinking and three actions—Zip, Zap, and Boing.
2. Zip means point to the person on your right. Zap means point to the person on your left. And Boing means point a classmate on the opposite side of the circle. (Boing cannot be passed to the person standing right next to you.)
3. All students place their palms together in front of their chest. This will act as their pointer.
4. The first person starts by calling out one of the actions and points their hands the right way. The person they’re pointing at chooses the next action and play goes around the circle.
5. Try to play as fast as you can. If you perform the wrong action, you are out. Last player standing wins.

STEM Team Building Activities

19. Marshmallow Towers Challenge

• Objective: This STEM activity challenges students to create a sturdy tower.
• Materials: Marshmallows, wooden toothpicks
• Participants: Partners/small groups

How to play:

1. Divide students into partners or groups of equal numbers.
2. Pass out an equal number of marshmallows and wooden toothpicks to each group.
3. Challenge the groups to create the tallest, largest, or most creative structure in a set amount of time, each member taking turns doing the actual building.
4. Afterward, have each group present their creation.

20. No-Hands Cup-Stacking Challenge

• Objective: Using patience and perseverance, students will stack cups using pipe cleaners (or strings) and a rubber band
• Materials: Stacking cups, rubber band, pipe cleaners, string
• Participants: Pairs of small groups

How to play:

1. Pair up beginners or younger students and begin with a rubber band with two pipe cleaners attached.
2. Each student will take the end of one pipe cleaner.
3. Together, they will maneuver the rubber band to fit over the top of the stacking cup. (No hands allowed!)
4. One by one they will work together to create a tower of stacking cups.
5. Divide older kids into groups of 4 or 5 and attach that number of strings to a rubber band and complete the same task.

21. No-Hands Drawing Challenge

• Objective: Students will work together to maneuver a pen with strings.
• Materials: Markers, string, paper
• Participants: Small groups

How to play:

1. Just like the activity above, this hilarious “no hands” exercise requires cooperation and patience.
2. Divide students into small groups and give each group a marker with the matching number of strings attached.
3. Tell the students what they will be drawing. For example, a tree, a house or a shape.
4. Groups will gather around a desk or small table as each student holds the far end of their string, pulling the line taut to support the pen upright over the paper.
5. The challenge is to manipulate the pen to draw whatever image is called for.

Other Team Building Games and Activities

22. Hot and Cold

• Objective: Students guide a “finder” to locate an object in the classroom with the prompts “hot” or “cold” to lead them in the right direction.
• Materials: Classroom objects
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. One student, the “finder”, steps out of the classroom.
2. The rest of the class picks an object (for instance, the pencil sharpener) in the classroom for the finder to find.
3. When the finder comes back in, they begin walking around the classroom in search of the object.
4. If the finder is far away from the object, the only advice the group will give is to say “cold.” When the finder gets close, the group will say “hot.”
5. Play continues until the finder picks the correct object.
6. Variation: Instead of saying “hot” and “cold,” students can applaud softly for cold or vigorously for hot.

23. Body Parts

• Objective: Following directions, students will try to be the first to snatch a plastic cup.
• Materials: Small plastic cups
• Participants: Pairs

How to play:

1. Students stand facing their partner. A plastic cup is positioned on the ground between them.
2. When the leader calls out a body part, the players must move both hands to that spot—knees, toes, shoulders, hips, etc.
3. When the leader says “cup!” each person tries to grab the cup.
4. The students who snatches the cup remains in the game. The other players are out for the round.
5. Students pair up with new partners and play continues until one person wins.

24. Human Alphabet

• Objective: Students will form letters of the alphabet with their bodies.
• Participants: Individuals and partners

How to play:

1. Have students spread out and show them how to form letters with their body. For instance, stand tall and spread arms straight out to form the letter T, or raise arms at an angle to form the letter V.
2. Once they get the hang of individual letters, call out short words. Start with two-letter words (on, so, it), then three (and, now), then four (past, four).
3. Student must team up to correctly form each word.

25. Back-to-Back Artists

• Objective: This blind drawing activity requires teamwork and clear communication as one student directs the other to draw a picture.
• Materials: Drawing paper, pen or marker, sample drawings
• Participants: Partners

How to play:

1. Pair students up and have them sit back-to-back.
2. Give one student a blank piece of paper and a pen or a marker. Give the other student a picture of a simple object.
3. The student holding the illustration will not tell their partner the name of the picture. They will verbally describe how to draw the picture, step by step, to their partner.
4. The other students must draw the picture using only the verbal cues given by their partner.
5. When they are done, the pair will compare the drawing and the original to see how close they came.

Do you have favorite go-to team-building activities for kids? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook!

For more great ideas, check out 45 of the Best Cooperative Games To Promote Camaraderie and Healthy Competition.

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