| Planning a birthday party for your | | | | travels the farthest. Also ask that the |
| preschooler? Party games are a great way to | | | | location, date, and time that the balloon is |
| keep young children entertained and engaged | | | | found be written on the postcard by the |
| in the party. Make sure every child gets a | | | | person who finds the balloon and that the |
| prize of some kind so child every goes home a | | | | person drop the postcard in the mail. Place |
| winner! | | | | the postcards in ziploc bags and attach them |
| | | | to the balloons. Set a date for when the |
| Bean in Your Shoe | | | | contest ends, and launch the balloons! |
| | | | |
| One player goes out of the room. A dried bean | | | | Farm Animals |
| is given to one of the players to put in his | | | | |
| or her shoe. Play some music and have all the | | | | Secretly give the name of a farm animal to |
| players dance, each child pretending to have | | | | each player. The leader yells "Go!" and each |
| a bean in their shoe. The player that left | | | | player acts out their animal at the same |
| the room comes back and tries to guess who | | | | time. At the end of 2 minutes, each player |
| has the bean in their shoe. If they guess | | | | calls out as many of the animal names as they |
| right, the person with the bean in their shoe | | | | can remember. The player that remembers the |
| gets to guess next. If they guess wrong, they | | | | most animal names correctly wins the game. |
| get to leave the room again and try again. If | | | | |
| they guess wrong a second time, they get to | | | | Dog Bone |
| choose who gets to leave the room next. | | | | |
| | | | All players are seated in a group. One player |
| Hot and Cold | | | | is selected to be the dog. The dog sits with |
| | | | his back to the rest of the players. A bone |
| Have the players hide an object while one | | | | (eraser, ball, or some other object) is |
| player leaves the room. When the object has | | | | placed on the floor behind the dog's back. |
| been hidden, the player that left returns to | | | | One at a time, each player tries to sneak up |
| the room and guesses where the object has | | | | behind the dog and steal his bone. If the dog |
| been hidden. This player must move around one | | | | hears a sound from the player trying to sneak |
| step at a time while the other players call | | | | up behind him, he "barks" and the other |
| out "Warm!" or "Cold!" or "Colder!" or | | | | player returns to their seat. If someone is |
| "Warmer!" or "Boiling!" until the player | | | | successful in stealing the bone, that player |
| finds the object. The closer they get, the | | | | returns to their seat and hides the bone. All |
| "warmer" they are. The further away they get, | | | | of the players then say, "Dog, Dog, where's |
| the "colder" they are. | | | | your bone?" The dog has three chances to |
| | | | guess who stole his bone. The person who |
| Lucky Number | | | | stole the bone gets to be dog next. |
| | | | |
| Give each child five buttons. The players go | | | | Break the Balloon |
| from player to player, exchanging buttons | | | | |
| with each other. They can give away as many | | | | Each child receives a balloon. The first |
| or few as they want, but they cannot refuse | | | | child to blow up their balloon and pop it |
| buttons from other players. After | | | | wins (show the children how to tie the |
| approximately 2 minutes the leader calls | | | | balloons before the game begins). |
| "Stop!" The leader then calls out a "lucky | | | | |
| number" between one and twenty. Whoever has | | | | Blind Man's Bluff |
| that number of buttons wins. | | | | |
| | | | Choose one child to be blindfolded. Let the |
| Cat and Rat | | | | child wander around the room until they touch |
| | | | another child. The blindfolded child tries to |
| This game is best for 10 or more players. The | | | | guess who they have touched. If they are |
| players hold hands in a circle. One player is | | | | correct, the other child gets to blindfolded |
| the rat on the inside of the circle, and one | | | | next. If they are wrong, they get to be |
| player is the cat on the outside of the | | | | blindfolded one more time. If they are wrong |
| circle. The cat tries to break through the | | | | a second time, they get to choose who gets to |
| circle to get to the rat. The players in the | | | | be blindfolded next. |
| circle try to prevent the cat from getting to | | | | |
| the rat. When the cat succeeds in breaking | | | | Penny Dropping |
| through the circle, the players the cat broke | | | | |
| between are the next cat and rat. | | | | Give each player 5 pennies. Place a jar on |
| | | | the floor behind a chair. Have the players |
| Balloon Race | | | | take turns kneeling on the chair and trying |
| | | | to drop their pennies into the jar. Their |
| Give each child a self-addressed postcard. | | | | hand should not go lower than the top of the |
| Have the children dictate to an adult notes | | | | back of the chair. Whoever gets the most |
| to write on their postcard that state they | | | | pennies in the jar wins the game. |
| are having a contest to see whose balloon | | | | |