5 Elementary SEPTEMBER PE Games Your Students Will LOVE!

🍎Looking for a handful of Awesome Elementary September PE Games? You’ve come to the right place because September is one of my FAVORITE months in the gym!

It’s a fresh start, students are excited to play, and it’s the perfect time to introduce fun Elementary September PE Games that get kids moving while building teamwork, cooperation, listening skills, and confidence.

5 Awesome Elementary September PE Games

After years of teaching elementary PE, I definitely have a few back-to-school games that I find myself pulling out every September because they simply WORK—and, more importantly, my students LOVE them!

So, I’m kicking off a brand-new monthly series featuring 5 of my favorite elementary PE games for each month of the school year!

We’re starting with September and five tried-and-true favorites:

• LIGHTNING TAG
• CHAIN TAG
• CLUCK, CLUCK, CHICKEN
• MESSY BEDROOM
• CROSS THE RIVER

Hi there, it’s so great to meet you! I’m Mrs. T. (or you can call me Jen) – a Michigan mom, wife, new grandma (aka “Jemma”) K-12 PE teacher, blogger (Love 2 Teach and Learn) and author of 59 CRAZY FUN Elementary PE Games that ROCK!

I love teaching PE class because I get to spend time telling Silly SPORTS JOKES and exercising, while laughing with my students.

I’m also on a serious mission to MAKE SCHOOL FUN AGAIN and I believe physical education class is the absolute perfect way to do just that!

READY! SET! LET’S PLAY!

GAME #1 LIGHTNING TAG

Lightning Tag is hands-down one of my FAVORITE games to teach during the first week or two of September because it requires NO EQUIPMENT, takes just minutes to teach, and works beautifully with every grade level from kindergarten through 5th grade!

It’s high-energy, easy to play, and the built-in Rock, Paper, Scissors component gives students an immediate, fun way to practice conflict resolution—plus, once students know the game, it becomes an AWESOME go-to activity to leave for a substitute teacher if I ever need to be absent.

And, that’s a HUGE win during the busy first month of school!

Equipment Needed

You will need:

• A Bunch of Awesome Kids Ready to Have a TOTAL BLAST!

That’s it – NO EQUIPMENT NEEDED! How cool is that?

Easy Game Set-Up

Have all students line up along the outside perimeter of the gym (if you have a black line – students can stand anywhere on that) or playing area and wait for the game to begin.

How to Play: LIGHTNING TAG

When the music starts, or the game begins, a regular game of tag begins.

In Lightning Tag EVERYBODY is it! 

When a student does get tagged they must:

• Sit down or take a knee
• Take note of who tagged them and watch that person closely

Then, as soon as the person who tagged them gets tagged and sits down, they can POP UP “lightning fast” and get right back into the tag game.

IMPORTANT RULE TO INCLUDE – If two students tag each other at the “exact” same time they should play “ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS” to determine who stays in the game and who sits down.

Lightning Tag is also GAME #1 in my 59 CRAZY FUN Elementary PE Games book.

Want your own FREE PRINTABLE LIGHTNING TAG LESSON PLAN? I Got You!

Snag your Easy-to-Follow Printable Lightning Tag Lesson Plan that includes, GAME SET-UP, DIAGRAM, EASY DIRECTIONS and TEACHER TIPS RIGHT HERE!

Bonus Game Teaching Tips

💡TIP #1:  To keep this game moving “Lightning Fast” the teacher can shout out “LIGHTNING BREAK” at any time during the game when they notice that a bunch of kids are sitting down.

💡TIP #2: Since students are tagging with their hands, and not pool noodles in this game, be sure to remind them to tag gently and only on the shoulders or below.

💡TIP #3: I also play an elimination round version of this game and the kids absolutely LOVE IT.

For the elimination round instead of getting back in the game once they get tagged they must stay seated until you have one person left – The Lightning Champ!

GAME #2 CHAIN TAG

Chain Tag is another September favorite because it requires almost NO EQUIPMENT—just two long pool noodles!

Students get an awesome workout while practicing teamwork, cooperation, spatial awareness, and cardiovascular endurance, and trust me—they’ll be tired from all that running AND from laughing so hard!

Best of all, Chain Tag is fun, silly, incredibly easy to teach and play, and once your students know it, it becomes another perfect go-to game to leave in your emergency sub plans.

Equipment Needed

You will need:

• 2 Long POOL NOODLES
• A Bunch of Awesome Kids Ready to Have a TOTAL BLAST!

That’s it – NO OTHER EQUIPMENT IS NEEDED! How cool is that?

Easy Game Set-Up

FIRST, Choose two students to be “IT” and start the CHAIN.

THEN, give them each a long pool noodle and send them to the middle of the gym or playing area.

FINALLY, have all other students line up around the outside perimeter of the gym.

How to Play: CHAIN TAG

When the music starts, or the game begins, the CHAIN must link together (hold hands or link arms) and each hold a pool noodle with their outside hand. 

The CHAIN begins chasing the other students, trying to tag them with one of their pool noodles, staying connected at all times.

If a student gets tagged by the CHAIN, they must now join the end of the chain by holding the hand or linking arms with the person who tagged them. They also take the pool noodle from the person who tagged them and hold it with their outside hand.

The game continues until there is only one student left who did not get caught by the chain. They are declared the WINNER and can start the chain for the next round with the partner of their choice!

Bonus Game Teaching Tips

💡TIP 1: I make a rule where if a student gets tagged, but the chain has broken apart, or the entire chain is not together, they do not have to join the chain, and instead, continue getting chased by the CHAIN.

💡TIP 2: I like to emphasize that this is a TEAMWORK and STRATEGY game and it is very important that the CHAIN work together as a team if they are going to stay together. Others can get creative and strategize about how they can avoid getting caught by the chain.

💡TIP 3: The sweet spot for this game is 2nd – 12th grade students. It can get a little tricky with K-1 but you decide based on your students.

💡TIP 4: BE PREPARED! This is an excellent cardiovascular warm-up game. Your students will be TIRED and will need access to water. 

▶️Here’s a quick HOW TO PLAY VIDEO TUTORIAL. Grab your 🎁FREE Chain Tag Lesson Plan HERE and CHAIN TAG is also GAME #2 in my 59 CRAZY FUN Elementary PE Games book.

GAME #3 CLUCK, CLUCK, CHICKEN

🐔Cluck, Cluck, Chicken is one of my favorite September PE games because it gives kids permission to be SILLY, laugh together, relax, and start building that all-important classroom gym community right from the beginning of the school year!

Since most students are already familiar with Duck, Duck, Goose, it’s incredibly easy to teach—but when you simply add in a squeaky rubber chicken – the FUN level absolutely SKYROCKETS!

Equipment Needed

For this Awesome Chicken Game you will only need a few pieces of equipment including:

• 1 squeaky RUBBER CHICKEN
• BEAN BAGS (enough for each student to have one)
• A BUNCH OF KIDS READY TO HAVE A TOTAL BLAST!

Easy Game Set-Up

FIRST, have all of your students sit in a circle.

THEN, place the bean bags in the center of the circle.

FINALLY, choose one student to be the “CLUCKER” and give that student the squeaky rubber chicken.

How to Play: CLUCK, CLUCK, CHICKEN

When the game begins, the clucker moves around the circle gently tapping each person (on the shoulder or back) in the group with the rubber chicken, and saying “CLUCK” with each tap.

After they have gone around the circle at least once, tapping each student, they choose one person that they want to chase them, stop, squeak the chicken once, and drop it in that person’s lap.

The clucker then runs around the outside of the circle while the person who is “IT” chases them, trying to tag them with the rubber chicken before they make it back to the open spot in the circle and sit down.

The student with the chicken becomes the new clucker and a new round begins.  

After a student gets a chance to be “IT” give them a bean bag to balance on top of their head to signify that they have already been the chaser and the clucker should choose somebody without a bean bag on their head to be the next chaser.

Play as many rounds of Cluck Cluck Chicken needed to give everybody a chance to be both the clucker and the chaser.

Bonus Game Teaching Tips

Here are a few teacher tips for you that will make this Awesome PE game even more incredible.

💡TIP 1:  It’s really fun to play ‘The Chicken Dance’ song when playing this game. I like the version by: #1 Party Band

💡TIP 2:  I usually buy my rubber chickens from Amazon and play a bunch of fun PE games with them.  If you search “Rubber Chicken Dog Toys” you will find a TON of super unique and funny rubber chickens that your students will love playing games with.

💡TIP 3: Another fun variation of this game that I play outside during my field day is: “DUCK, DUCK, SPLASH” where instead of using a rubber chicken, dump a cup of water over the person you want to be the chaser.

💡TIP 4: Depending on the age/grade level of the students you are playing with, you can simply make your circle smaller or larger. Sometimes, I play with my high school kids and we make the circle GIANT SIZE – they love it.

▶️Here’s a quick HOW TO PLAY VIDEO TUTORIAL and CLUCK, CLUCK, CHICKEN is also GAME #27 in my 59 CRAZY FUN Elementary PE Games book.

GAME #4 MESSY BEDROOM

Messy Bedroom is one of my absolute FAVORITE games to play in September because it sneaks so many important beginning-of-the-year skills into one ridiculously fun activity!

Students work with a partner to practice teamwork, cooperation, communication, problem-solving, and working together toward a common goal.

It’s an awesome way to help students build positive relationships and learn how to be a great teammate right from the start of the school year.

Equipment Needed

To play this Messy Bedroom PE game, you’ll need a few pieces of equipment including:

• A Large Variety of Equipment (Pool Noodles, Hula Hoops, Bean Bags, Jump Ropes, etc.)
• Sleep Masks or Blindfolds (One for Each Group)
• Different Colored Cups (One for Each Group)
• Bucket Filled with Plastic Coins
• Kids Ready to Have SO MUCH FUN!

Easy Game Set-Up

FIRST, divide your students into teams of 2 or 3. I prefer partners for this game, but groups of 3 will work too. Give each team a set of equipment to make a mess with on the gym floor – hula hoops, bean bags, pool noodles, jump ropes – NO BALLS.

THEN, have teams line up behind one of the end lines in the gym.  Give each team a blindfold and a colored cup. Place a bucket filled with gold plastic coins on the opposite end of the gym.

How to Play: MESSY BEDROOM

Give each team a set of equipment to make a “mess” with. 

Tell them that the large rectangle (I usually use the volleyball lines) in the gym is the bedroom that they get to “make messy.” Give each team a set of equipment to make a mess with, scattering objects throughout the gym. 

Then have students line up with their team at one end of the gym.

When the game begins, the first person in line puts on the blindfold.

Then his/her team members must guide them through the “messy bedroom” using teamwork, cooperation and communication skills.

The entire team must travel together, trying to make it through the messy bedroom without anybody stepping on anything. Teams only get 2 misses per trip.  If they step on a 3rd item, all must go back to the start line and restart.

When students make it across the messy bedroom successfully they can get one gold coin from the bucket and bring it back to their team cup. The team that collects the most coins wins or gets a point – you decide. 

*Switch blindfolds after each trip across the messy bedroom.

Bonus Game Teaching Tips

💡TIP #1: I like to play for a certain amount of time (2-3 minutes), then stop and let the teams discuss strategies for how they can improve their cooperation and communication skills as a team before playing another round.

💡TIP #2: You can use sleep masks for blindfolds. I got a bunch of animal face ones that are so cute and cheap from Amazon. The plastic gold coins can be found at either The Dollar Store, any Party Store or, of course, on Amazon. 

💡TIP #3: Once teams get their coin after a successful trip, have the student that is blindfolded remove it. Then team members should run back to the start line via the outer edges of the gym – NOT running back through the bedroom.

▶️Here’s a quick HOW TO PLAY VIDEO TUTORIAL and MESSY BEDROOM is also GAME #35 in my 59 CRAZY FUN Elementary PE Games book.

I also love this game so much that I dedicated an entire episode of the CRAZY FUN PE with Mrs. T. podcast to MESSY BEDROOM!

Listen below as I walk you through why this PE Game is so incredibly AWESOME!

🎧LISTEN RIGHT HERE:

GAME #5 CROSS THE RIVER

Cross the River might just be the ULTIMATE September icebreaker and get-to-know-you PE game—because it is definitely the most requested and most played game in my gym by FAR!

Students “cross the river” when they can answer YES to fun questions like, “Do you like pepperoni on your pizza?” or “Do you like to play video games?”, so they’re moving, running, and dodging while discovering all sorts of fun things they have in common with their classmates.

Best of all, I get to learn more about my students too, making it an AWESOME way to start building relationships and creating a connected gym community right from the beginning of the school year!

Equipment Needed

To play this PE game you will need just a few easy-to-grab equipment items.

• 1 GIANT BALL (Fitness, Yoga Ball or Beach Ball works well)
• BASKET/BIN filled with Soft Balls (enough for each student to eventually have one)
• KIDS READY TO HAVE SOME SERIOUS FUN!

Easy Game Set-Up

FIRST, place a basket filled with soft balls on one sideline of the gym.

NEXT, choose one student to be in charge of the MASTER BALL (I like to use a large fitness ball or a big beach ball for this).

THEN, send the student with the MASTER BALL to the middle of the gym.

FINALLY, have all other students line up on one of the two baselines or end lines in the gym or open space area where you are playing.

HOW TO PLAY – Cross the River

When the game begins the teacher calls out one of the fun “CROSS THE RIVER” Prompts. Here are a few fun examples:

CROSS THE RIVER IF…

• You like pepperoni on your pizza
• You have ever been to Disneyworld or Disneyland
• You like to play video games
• You know how to whistle
• You have letters on your shirt today

If a student’s answer is “YES” to the question, he/she must cross the river (run across the gym from one baseline to the opposite baseline.) You can grab my 40 Prompt List RIGHT HERE or the full PE Teacher Lesson Plan HERE.

The student with the MASTERBALL tries to throw or roll the ball and tag students who are
crossing the gym (river) with the ball (waist and below).

If a student gets hit with the MASTERBALL, he/she must go get a ball from the basket of balls on sideline and they are now trying to help get students out as they “cross the river.”

*The student with the MASTER BALL can go anywhere in the gym, however,
the students who get out must release their ball from behind one of the two
sidelines.

Continue giving prompts and having students cross until you have only one student remaining. The last student is the winner of the game and now becomes the MASTERBALL thrower for the next round of play.

Bonus Game Teaching Tips 

Here are a few simple tips to make this awesome game even better.

💡TIP #1: This game is a great ICEBREAKER or “GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER” Community Building Game. It’s perfect for the beginning of the year but once you teach it to them they will want to play it all year long.

💡TIP #2: Cross the River is a great game for practicing key PE standards and skills including OVERHAND THROWING ACCURACY and DODGING.

💡TIP #3: The sweet spot for this game is second grade through fifth grade, however, I often play with my kindergarten and first grade PE students and they do pretty well with it. And sometimes, I play with my middle school and high school PE students – they love it too!

💡TIP #4: It’s important to remind students to be safe and aim for the waist down when
throwing the balls. I make a rule where you are not out if you get hit with the ball above the waist.

💡TIP #5: I love to use the microphone that attaches to my speaker system in the gym when I play this game and announce the fun prompts. Additionally, I often allow a student to be the “River Caller” and use the microphone to call out the prompts to their classmates. THEY LOVE DOING THIS.

💡TIP #6: Finally, I give the “River Caller” my 40 Prompt Cheat Sheet but I also allow them to be creative and make up their own prompts too.

▶️Here’s a quick HOW TO PLAY VIDEO TUTORIAL and CROSS THE RIVER is also GAME #36 in my 59 CRAZY FUN Elementary PE Games book.

CLASS DISMISSED

And there you have it—5 of my FAVORITE Elementary September PE Games to kick off an awesome new school year!

From high-energy tag games to silly icebreakers and teamwork challenges, these five games help students move, laugh, cooperate, build relationships, and feel like part of your gym community from day one.

I hope Lightning Tag, Chain Tag, Cluck Cluck Chicken, Messy Bedroom, and Cross the River become September favorites in your gym too—and stay tuned because I’ll be back with 5 more favorite PE games for October!

Hey PE Friend – I’ve go AWESOME NEWS for you! You can snag all 5 of these easy-to-print September PE lesson plans and games RIGHT HERE in my Elementary SEPTEMBER PE GAMES Fun BUNDLE.

Mrs. T’s K-5 PE GAMES GROWING BUNDLE

EVEN BETTER – I’m ready to help you save some SERIOUS TIME & MONEY!

If you want the absolute BIGGEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK? These 5 September gym games are also included in my *HUGE* “ALWAYS GROWING” K-5 PE Games GROWING BUNDLE too!

Be sure to check out my other unique and fun Physical Education Resources for physical educators (Instant Funny Bulletin Board Kits, Fun Classroom Decor, Learning and PE Games) in my Love 2 Teach and Learn TPT store RIGHT HERE!

Happy Teaching, Learning, Laughing and Loving! Thanks for swinging by to check out my 5 favorite elementary September PE Games.

Have a FABULOUS Day filled with plenty of FUN and FITNESS!

And remember… If you had fun, YOU TOTALLY WON!