5 Easy and Fun PE Gym Games for First Grade

Get ready to discover 5 fun and fantastic gym games for first grade. From dancing games to animal activities, ignite your firsties passion for PE today!

In this blog post we’ll explore some seriously awesome and unique PE games designed specifically for first grade students. These 5 heart-pumping PE tag and team gym games for first grade are packed with opportunities for developing coordination, imagination, teamwork, balance, and so much more.

Hi there! I’m Mrs. T. and I’m a teacher from Michigan. I’ve taught kindergarten, third grade, sixth grade and my all-time favorite, elementary PE. I love teaching PE class because I get to spend time telling silly jokes and exercising while laughing with my students.

The following five PE games are so much fun to play with my first grade students. Additionally, this group of games can easily be added to your collection of favorite kindergarten PE games.

The 5 best PE gym games for first grade are:

• LAVA RIVER RUN
• HOT POTATO TAG
• HUNGRY HUNGRY MONSTERS
• RING-AROUND-THE-DANCER
• ZOO STOP-GO

5 Best Gym Games for First Grade

Let’s jump into some serious physical education fun! READY! SET! LET’S GO!

LAVA RIVER

Your first grade students are going to ABSOLUTELY LOVE the PE game LAVA RIVER RUN.

This super fun, high-energy elementary gym game is perfect for getting your young students moving, laughing, and learning.

Students will have a BLAST as they use the gym floor to navigate through an imaginary ‘lava river’ by hopping from one ‘safe spot’ to the next, avoiding the ‘hot lava’ all around them.

This game gives students plenty of opportunities to work together as a team while they improve their balance, agility, hopping, leaping and counting (math) skills.

This simple yet engaging activity is a surefire way to spark joy and enthusiasm in the gym and keep your students smiling while they are sweating.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

For this game you will need:

• Several Poly Spots (50-75 or so)
• Different Colored Buckets – 1 for each team
• Large Bucket – Filled with Plastic Gold or Colored Coins
• Kids Ready to Have FUN!

GAME SET-UP

Divide the class into equal teams (2-4 works best). Have students line up behind the gym end line with their teams. Assign each team a color and then give each team a bucket that matches their team color. Spread the Poly Spots out in a path -the length of the gym floor. Place the bucket with the gold or colored plastic coins on the opposite end line.

GAME DIRECTIONS

Explain to the students that the gym floor is the “LAVA RIVER” and the POLY SPOTS are the only “SAFE SPOTS.” When the game begins the first student in line should leap from spot to spot without touching the gym floor (falling into the lava river). Students should be trying to make it safely across to the bucket with the gold coins without losing their balance and “falling into the lava river.”

The students get “one life” or “one mess-up” each time they cross, meaning if they lose their balance and fall off of the poly spot, touching the gym floor just one time they can keep going, however, if they fall in the “lava river” twice during one trip down the river they must go back to the start and begin again.

Once they have successfully made it across, the student grabs one coin from the bucket and then runs it and drops the coin into their team’s bucket. The next person in line now gets to leap through the lava river. Play until there are no coins left in the bucket.

Once all of the coins have been collected, have the students work together as a team, using their math skills, to count up their collected coins.

GAME TIPS

Here are a few bonus tips to make this game even more fun for your students to play!

• I like to make a rule where once a student makes it to the coin bucket they CAN NOT run back through the lava river to drop off their coin. Instead, students should run along the far ends of the gym (that way nobody runs into each other and all students are moving in the same direction).
• A fun song to play during this game is: THE FLOOR IS LAVA by NIVIRO
• You can find the gold coins at almost any party store and sometimes you can find them at the Dollar Store. However, if you don’t have coins, you can use Unifix Cubes which are actually much easier for the kids to connect as they play and then count and compare at the end.

My students absolutely adore this PE game and ask to play it over and over again. You can GRAB YOUR VERY OWN COPY OF LAVA RIVER RUN RIGHT HERE!

HOT POTATO TAG

Get your first grade students moving with this super fun ‘Hot Potato Tag’ game!

HOT POTATO TAG is an extremely easy-to-set-up, high-energy activity perfect for PE class, recess, field day, or any time you just need to get your students active and engaged.

This tag game offers a great opportunity for your students to improve upon several key physical education skills including throwing (aiming), catching, and running.

Get ready for smiles for miles once you introduce this incredible game to your students.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

For this game you will need:

• Several Balls that are “SOFT” – You’ll need enough for each partner group to have one
• MUSIC
• Kids Ready to Have a BLAST

GAME SET-UP

Put students into groups of two and give each partner group a soft, medium-sized ball (Gator Skin Balls work great for this game). Then ask students to line up facing one another along the centerline of the gym.

GAME DIRECTIONS

The teacher begins the game by starting the music. When the music starts, each partner group begins playing catch with their ball like “hot potato.” The teacher randomly stops the music. The student who has possession of the ball when the music stops is the tagger. The partner without the ball, turns around and starts running to the baseline or endline behind them.

The “tagger” tries to throw the ball and hit their partner with the ball before they can make it safely to their endline. If the tagger succeeds and hits them with the ball before they reach the baseline, the tagger gets a point. If they miss, their partner gets the point.

After each round/point, have students line up across from each other with their ball on the centerline. The first player to score 5 points wins.

GAME TIPS

Here are a few bonus tips to make this awesome game even better!

• I love to play the “HOT POTATO” song by THE WIGGLES when playing this game.  My students think it is so silly but so funny and fun!
• I like to make a safety rule for this game that states that the tagger must hit their partner with the ball SHOULDERS & BELOW. If a student gets hit above the shoulders (neck or head) the student who got hit gets the point.

HOT POTATO TAG is also a very easy game to leave in a lesson plan for a substitute teacher. Just print off, throw a few balls in a tub and leave for a sub. Snag your own copy of HOT POTATO TAG RIGHT HERE! 

HUNGRY HUNGRY MONSTERS

HUNGRY HUNGRY MONSTERS is another first grade fan favorite.

This game is perfect for getting your first graders active, engaged, and working on their throwing and catching skills.

Students get to pretend to be hungry monsters waiting to be fed (thrown to) by their classmates. Besides practicing throwing and catching skills, this game offers opportunities for imaginative play, teamwork, hand-eye coordination, and friendly and fun competition. Additionally, it is the perfect game for teachers to easily assess their students’ throwing and catching skills.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

For this game you will need:

• 4-6 Different Colored Hula Hoops
• Large Tub/Bucket Filled with Small Balls
• Kids Ready to Have Fun Practicing their Throwing and Catching Skills

GAME SET-UP

Spread the different colored hula hoops out all over the gym. Then, depending on class size, choose 4-6 students to be the “Hungry Monsters.”  The “monsters” should each stand inside their MONSTER HOUSE (colored hula hoop). Place a large bucket filled with the small plastic colored balls in the middle of the gym.

GAME DIRECTIONS

Explain that the students standing inside of the hula hoops are the friendly, but VERY HUNGRY, MONSTERS. However, the hungry monsters are very picky eaters and will only eat one thing –  GUMBALLS (small plastic colored balls).

At the start of the game, the teacher dumps the GUMBALLS (small balls) out onto the gym floor. The remaining students are going to be FEEDING the hungry monsters. They should find a monster that they want to feed, stand in front of them and ask: “ARE YOU HUNGRY?” When the monster responds “YES” they throw the ball to the monster inside the hula hoop. If the monster catches it, they get to keep it inside of their hula hoop. If they miss the catch, they don’t get to put it into their house (hula hoop).

After playing for a few minutes (two minutes works well), end the round and have all the monsters count up how many GUMBALLS they caught. Switch Monsters.

GAME TIPS

• It’s fun to have students choose their own special monster name when it’s their turn.
• I sometimes also play this game with “FOOD SQUISHIES” and the kids LOVE IT!
• This is the perfect game to walk around with your clipboard while the kids are playing and easily assess your students on both “THROWING” and “CATCHING” skills.

Want your own copy of the AWESOME GAME? You can grab it RIGHT HERE!

RING-AROUND-THE DANCER

This easy-to-set-up, high-energy activity is perfect for getting your K-2 kids active, engaged, and expressing themselves through dance. Students will have a blast forming a circle and taking turns being the “Master Dancer” ‘in the middle, showing off their best moves while the others cheer them on.

With opportunities for creativity, social interaction, and physical activity, ‘Ring-Around-the-Dancer’ is a surefire way to spark joy and enthusiasm in the gym.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

For this game you will need:

• Fun Music
• Kids Ready to Show off their Awesome Dance Moves

GAME SET-UP

The set-up for this game is seriously so simple. Just find some fun dance music and have your students make a circle in the middle of the gym floor or playing area.

GAME DIRECTIONS

This game is extremely simple but always LOADS of FUN. Have your students make a circle. Then choose one student to begin as the “Master Dancer” and move to the middle of the circle.

 Put on some super fun kid-appropriate dance music and let the “Master Dancer” do their thing. Whatever dance moves they do, the rest of the class must follow their lead and do the same. 

Give them 30-60 seconds to “BUST-A-MOVE” and then let the “Master Dancer” choose the next “Master Dancer” who will move to the middle and be the next dance leader.

GAME TIPS

Try turning the dance party into a “FREEZE DANCE” party. Instead of having a leader, allow the kids to freestyle dance. Then when the teacher stops the music, they must freeze. Start the music up again and continue.

Turn this game into a “FLASH DANCE” by turning all the lights off and letting the kids dance around with flashlights in their hands, making fun movements & shadows with the flashlights on the ceiling & walls.

ZOO STOP-GO

Unleash the excitement of the ZOO STOP GO game in your elementary PE classes! This super fun and engaging activity combines the fun of movement with pretend play and creativity and puts the perfect imaginative twist on the class game of RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT.

Your students will have a blast listening to commands from the class zookeeper as they are scurrying across the gym or classroom floor moving, sounding, and acting like their favorite zoo animals. This PE activity offers so many opportunities for creativity, drama, pretend play, listening skills, physical activity and just plain FUN.

It’s a surefire way to spark joy and enthusiasm in the gym or in your classroom during a much needed BRAIN BREAK.

GAME EQUIPMENT

For this game you will need:

• STOP-GO PADDLE
• KIDS READY TO HAVE FUN

GAME SET-UP

Choose one student to be the “ZOOKEEPER” and give them the STOP-GO Paddle. Have the rest of the class line up on the opposite side of the gym on the baseline.

GAME DIRECTIONS

This game is very similar to RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT – just with an imaginative animal twist.  

The ZOOKEEPER chooses what animal they want their classmates to become. Students must try to make it from the opposite baseline across the gym to the ZOOKEEPER by moving and making the sounds that the chosen animal would make. Meanwhile, the zookeeper is in charge of flipping the paddle back and forth, shouting “GO” and “STOP” to direct their movements.

The first student to reach the opposite baseline where the zookeeper is standing is the winner and becomes the new zookeeper. All students go back to the opposite baseline and get ready for a new round. The new zookeeper chooses a new animal & the game repeats.

GAME TIPS

• You can easily make your own STOP-GO PADDLE by taping the GO/STOP cutouts, included in my ZOO STOP-GO Lesson Plan, to a wooden table tennis paddle. Additionally, if you don’t have a paddle, you can simply glue a red construction paper circle to a green circle with a large craft stick in the middle.
• I have a microphone that plugs into the speaker that I have in my gym. It is so much fun to let the ZOOKEEPER hold the STOP-GO Paddle in one hand and hold the microphone in their other while they do the calling. The kids ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

GAME OVER

So, there you have it, my PE Pals! With these five super fun and easy gym games for first grade, you’re all set to turn your gym class into the ultimate playground adventure. From hopping like kangaroos to leaping across the lava river, there’s no shortage of excitement waiting for you and your students.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get moving and grooving, first-grade style!

GOOD NEWS! You can snag all 5 of these easy-to-print First Grade lesson plans and games RIGHT HERE my FIRST GRADE PE GAME BUNDLE!

Be sure to check out my other unique and fun PE Resources and Games in my Love 2 Teach and Learn TPT store RIGHT HERE!

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