Top 10 outdoor games for 4th of July

July 4, 11:57 AMAtlanta Teachable Moments ExaminerCarol Aitken

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Outdoor games are never out of style.  Today, between lunch and dinner and fireworks, get outside and play.  To find more fun outdoor games like these, visit FamilyFun.go.com.

My Cup Runneth Over
Every drop counts in this soaking-wet sprinkler challenge.

You'll need and do the following: 

• Plastic tumblers
• Sprinkler

1. Two players or teams stand on opposite sides of an oscillating sprinkler. 
2. When the sheet of water passes into his or her side, each player tries to be the first to completely fill a cup or yogurt container. 
3. Players must keep both feet planted. Anyone who takes a step has to dump the contents of their cup over their own head.

Variation: Players gather around the perimeter of an impact sprinkler (the tick-tick-tick, fttttttttwp kind) and, without moving their feet, try to fill a cup as the stream of water passes by.

Bossy Ball
In this game of backyard catch, the ball calls the shots.

You'll need and do the following:

•  Masking tape 
•  Playground ball 
•  Permanent marker

1. First, randomly stick 7 to 12 strips of masking tape on a playground ball. On each strip, use a permanent marker to write a different rulefor throwing and catching the ball: "Overhead and backward," "Underhand between the legs," "Sitting down," "Standing on one leg," "Eyes closed," "In mid-jump," "While singing," and any others you can think of. 
2. The game is played like regular catch, but once the first player grabs the ball, she must look at the words under or closest to the palm of her right hand. She has to throw the ball as directed by these words -- and the second player has to try to catch it in the same manner. The second player then looks at the words under his right hand, and play continues. To make the game more challenging, see how many successful catches you can make, then try to beat your record.

Cold Potato Game
This simple game revolves around a different kind of sprinkler. Players must have quick reflexes and a good toss.

You'll need and do the following:

•  Balloons 
•  Safety pin 
•  Water

1. Using a pin, poke a hole in a balloon. Then fill it with water, so that it becomes a time bomb with a slow leak. 
2. Players stand in a circle and toss the balloon around. The idea is not to be the one holding the balloon when it runs out of water.
3. The focus really isn't on winning or losing--it's on how cool you get while playing the game.

Popcorn Relay Race 
Fancy footwork is the ticket to success in this event.

You'll need and do the following:

•  Plastic or paper cups 
•  Tack or small nail 
•  Thick rubberband 
•  Big bag of popcorn 
•  Shallow boxes 
•  Ruler

1. Before the game, find a pair of plastic or paper cups for each team. Then use a tack or a small nail to poke a hole in the center of each cup bottom. 
2. Push one end of a thick rubber band through the hole and into the cup. Slip a paper clip on the end of the band inside the cup, and gently pull the other end until the clip rests on the bottom of the cup. (The rubber band, worn around the ball of the foot, holds the cup in place atop a player's shoe). 
3. Set two large, shallow boxes 5 yards beyond the starting line, opposite the teams. 
4. Divide participants into teams. Designate one member of each team to be the person who fills up the cups with popcorn. These individuals will stand alongside their teams, behind the starting line. 
5. Instruct the first person in each team's line to slip the popcorn-filled cups over their shoes. At the whistle blow, they must sprint to the appropriate box and empty their cups into it, trying to lose as little popcorn as possible along the way. 
6. Racers run back to tag the next teammate in line and that person must then run to the team box with newly-filled shoe cups. 
7. The relay continues for 2 minutes or until one of the bags is emptied. The popcorn in each box is then measured with a ruler (or by cupfuls). The team with the most is declared the winner.

Cool-Off Game: Soggy Jog Relay 
Put on your swimsuits and start running in this wet and wild relay.

You'll need and do the following:

•  Soft, grassy area to run on 
•  Pair of loose-fitting sweatpants for each team 
•  Large bucket of water 
•  Lawn chair 
•  1 to 10 players

1. Line up the teams side by side, set the bucket of water between them, and position the lawn chair 20 feet away.
2. At the signal, the first child in each line dunks his team's sweatpants in the water, puts them on, and then runs around the chair and back to the starting line.
3. There, he peels off the sweatpants (like a banana) and gives them to the next runner to dunk and don (inside out or right-side out), and so on.
4. The first team whose members have all completed the task wins.

Flag Relay 
No running allowed -- march!

You'll need and do the following:

• Buckets of sand 
• Small American flags
  
  1. To set up the race, divide the group into 2 teams. For each team, place a bucket of sand filled with small American flags (1 per teammate) on the far side of the yard. 
  2. On cue, the first kid from each team races to the appropriate bucket, plucks a flag, and marches back to his team as quickly as possible (no running allowed!) to tag the next person. 
  3. The game continues in this way until all the members of one team have returned to the starting line with a flag in hand. At day's end, make everyone a winner by letting all the kids take home their flags as favors.

Water Squirtball 
In this one-on-one water showdown, players win points by squirting a beach ball over an opponent's goal line.

You'll need and do the following:

• Soaker-type squirt guns or garden hoses with pistol-type nozzles 
• Two beach balls

1. Designate two end zones in the yard using cones, Frisbees, lawn chairs or what have you. 
2. Hand the squirt guns or nozzles to the first two players (If you have just one spigot, divide your main hose with a Y connector, then attach two other hoses and nozzles). 
3. The ref turns on the water and the players try to blast the beach ball over the opposing player's goal line, while preventing the ball from crossing his or her own. 
4. The next person in line can challenge the winner.

Find The Leader 
This guessing game's aim is to determine who's truly the leader of the pack.

1. One player, the guesser, goes around the corner of the house (or into another room) while the remaining players sit in a circle and select a leader (quietly). 
2. The leader then initiates a series of motions--hand movements, claps, foot stomps and so on--which the other players copy. 
3. The guesser is then called back to watch the group. The leader must change the movements every 5 to 20 seconds. The   followers try not to give away the leader with their eyes.
4. The guesser gets three tries to identify the right person.

Egg And Wooden Spoon Race 
Teammates cheer each other on as they race to be first--while trying to avoid cracking under the pressure.

You'll need and do the following:

• Raw eggs 
• Wooden spoons
• Team flags or markers

1. Each team stands in single file behind the starting line and opposite their respective flags, set in the ground about 5 yards away. 
2. At the whistle, the first player in each line, balancing an egg on a spoon, races around his team's flag, then back to transfer the egg onto a spoon held by the next teammate. The recipient races to the flag, and the first runner hands his spoon to the third person. 
3. The race continues until one team finishes the course. Anyone who drops an egg must run to the starting line for another before resuming. 

Crazy Jump
Draw a starting line in the sand, then take turns seeing how far you can jump from it in a crazy pose. Here are some wacky challenges to get you started:

You'll need and do the following: 

• Open area of soft sand or grass, with all rocks and sticks removed.

1. The Flamingo: hop to the line and launch yourself from one foot.
2. The Yahoo: kick your legs to one side and tap your heels together as you soar. 
3. Helicopter: spin your body around 360 degrees as you fly in midair. 
4. Dizzy baby: turn 4 circles as you run to the line, then stop and jump.

Bonus Game -- #11!!!

Hunt the Ring 
Even preschoolers can participate in this guessing game, which offers a relaxing sit-down break at the end of the evening.

You'll need and do the following: 

• chairs in a circle 
•  a ring 
•  length of string, ribbon, or yarn

1. Players take seats in a circle and hold a string (long enough so that everyone in the circle is holding a section) onto which a ring has been threaded.
2. The person appointed "It" stands in the middle and closes her eyes for a moment so the ring can be passed to a new location.
3. "It" then opens her eyes and tries to guess where the ring is, as the players in the circle move their hands along and back and forth over the string, faking passes and returns and sometimes passing the ring. Whoever is caught with the ring in hand becomes "It."

Looking for more 4th of July fireworks, food, and fun? Click HERE.  Have a great day!

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Bored? Hot? crabby?  Blow up the baby pool. (c) CarolA