7 Fun Outdoor Games for Kids: End of School Year Party Ideas

Family Fun

How much did you love field day at school? It was always one of my favorite days. Just because our kids are homeschooled doesn’t mean they have to miss out on the fun. So to celebrate all their hard work this year, we threw an end of school year party with seven outdoor games, using water balloons and a few things from around the house.

What you’ll get from this post

  • Two dry games and five wet games, in the order we played them
  • Exactly what you need for each one (mostly stuff you already own)
  • How to turn the water games into timed challenges or team races
  • What didn’t work for us, so you can skip our mistakes
  • How many water balloons to fill, and a shortcut that saves a ton of time

Watch on YouTube

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Chapters

  • 0:00 Why we threw an end of school year party
  • 1:21 Game 1: Face the Cookie
  • 2:02 Game 2: Defying Gravity
  • 2:25 Game 3: Parachute Volley
  • 3:07 Game 4: Fill It Up
  • 3:49 Game 5: Cup to Cup
  • 4:51 Game 6: Water Balloon Toss
  • 5:13 Game 7: Water Balloon Fight

Why we celebrate the end of the school year

We’ve had a few field days and end of the school year parties with the homeschool co-op where we live, and they’ve been so much fun. I love having holiday class parties for my kiddos throughout the year, and I wanted to end this school year with a bang.

We still do some light school work over the summer, one to two days a week, to keep them fresh and to finish up a few curriculums. But I think our kids earned a super fun party to kick off summer.

You can play these with just your own kids, or invite some friends or another homeschool family over and play as a group. Every game adjusts to however many kids you have. We did the two dry games first and then moved on to the wet ones.

Game 1: Face the Cookie (dry)

This one comes from Play Party Plan’s minute to win it games. Each kid puts a cookie on their forehead and has to get it into their mouth using only their face muscles. No hands!

It was hilarious, but it seemed close to impossible. It’s meant to be a one-minute game, but I gave them two minutes to try and then just let them eat the cookie.

Game 2: Defying Gravity (dry)

This is another minute to win it game from Play Party Plan. Give each player two balloons. They have to keep both of them up in the air for one minute.

The kids thought it would be easy. It wasn’t. We had some wind, and that made it way trickier than playing inside.

Game 3: Parachute Volley (wet)

This game and the next three come from ABCDEElearning’s field day activities. That list is really meant for big schools, so they used an actual parachute. If you don’t own one, you can use something you already have: a trash bag.

We only had three kids playing, so we used a kitchen-size trash bag and one water balloon. Each kid holds a corner, and they work together to see how many times they can toss the balloon up and catch it without dropping or popping it.

Honestly, this was pretty hard with such a small surface to catch on. I’d go with a bigger trash bag or a lightweight sheet, or get yourself a play parachute.

Game 4: Fill It Up (wet)

You need a sponge and two bowls.

  1. Fill one bowl with water. Mark a line inside the other bowl at about two cups.
  2. Line the kids up between the two bowls. The first person gets the sponge.
  3. On “go,” they dip the sponge in the water and pass it down the line.
  4. The last person squeezes the sponge into the empty bowl, runs it back to the front, and everyone else takes a step back.
  5. Keep going until the water reaches your line.

To make it a challenge, give them two minutes to reach the line. If you have enough kids for two teams, they can race each other.

Game 5: Cup to Cup (wet)

This one is a lot like Fill It Up. You need a cup for each child and two bowls. Fill one bowl and mark a line at about two cups in the other.

The first kid in line dips their cup in the water, lifts it over their head, and tries to pour as much as they can into the cup of the person behind them. The water moves down the line, and the last person dumps it into the bowl at the end.

You can time it with the same two-minute goal. Or use a measuring cup to see how much they got in one minute, then play again to try to beat it. And again, and again, if you like.

Game 6: Water Balloon Toss (wet)

Everyone gets a partner and a water balloon. Partners start 2 feet apart and toss the balloon back and forth. After each catch, they take a step back. They keep going until they drop it and it pops. Then they grab a new balloon and start close again.

Game 7: Water Balloon Fight (wet)

This summer camp classic needs no introduction, and our kids loved it the most.

You’ll want at least 25 balloons per kid so they can really go at it. Filling that many takes forever, trust me. Save yourself some time with the Bunch O Balloons self-sealing water balloons. They fill and tie themselves, and they were “so worth a few extra dollars.”

What you’ll need

  • Cookies: for Face the Cookie
  • Regular balloons, two per player: for Defying Gravity
  • A parachute, a big trash bag or a lightweight sheet: for Parachute Volley. Our kitchen bag was too small.
  • A sponge and two bowls: for Fill It Up
  • A cup for each kid and two bowls: for Cup to Cup. A measuring cup is handy for keeping score.
  • Water balloons, at least 25 per kid: for the toss and the big fight

Key takeaways

  • Start with the two dry games, then move on to the wet ones.
  • Every game works for a small family or a big group.
  • Turn the relay games into challenges with a two-minute timer or a measuring cup.
  • For Parachute Volley, go bigger than a kitchen trash bag.
  • Plan on at least 25 water balloons per kid for the fight. Self-sealing balloons save a lot of time.

What viewers say

So many fun ideas, and such a great idea in general! I need to do this “field day” with my kids. Maybe a contractor bag for the “parachute”—although a parachute would be super fun!

@RootedHomeLife on YouTube

So many fun ideas for celebrating end of school! We celebrated by going to Wisconsin Dells. Love the water over the head game—these would be fun at a birthday party too!

@TheMumfordMob on YouTube

Hey so glad we found you great video great ideas defo doing them THIS week and will follow more of your videos x

@ascendwithemily on YouTube

Things we mentioned

Want more party games? Come hang out with our crew on YouTube. We share homeschool, family life and lots of fun ideas. Subscribe to The Johnson Crew on YouTube.

FAQ

What are easy outdoor games for an end of school year party?

We played Face the Cookie, Defying Gravity, Parachute Volley, Fill It Up, Cup to Cup, a water balloon toss and a water balloon fight. You can play all seven with water balloons and a few household items.

Can homeschool kids have a field day?

Absolutely. We’ve done field days and end of the school year parties with our homeschool co-op, and these games work with just your own kids or with friends over.

What can I use instead of a parachute?

A trash bag or a lightweight sheet works. We used a kitchen-size trash bag with three kids, and it was too small, so go bigger if you can.

How many water balloons do I need for a water balloon fight?

Plan on at least 25 balloons per kid. Self-sealing balloons that fill and tie themselves save a lot of time.

More from our crew

Full transcript

Hi everybody. I'm Sarah from The Johnson Crew and today we're going to play seven super fun outdoor games for our end of the school year party using just water balloons and a few household items. So stay tuned. How much did you love field day at school? It was always one of my favorite days. We've had a few field days and end of the school year parties with the homeschool co-op where we live and they've been so much fun.

Who says just because you're homeschooled means you have to miss out on all the fun? I love having holiday class parties for my kiddos throughout the year. I actually have a whole playlist you can check out of holiday class party ideas and games. And I want to end this school year with a bang and celebrate all of their hard work over the last year. Now, we still do some light school work throughout the summer, like one to two days a week, just to keep them fresh and also because we need to finish up some of their curriculums.

But I think they've earned a super fun celebration and a party to kick off the summer. So, I've partnered up with some other awesome homeschooling mamas here on YouTube to bring you some awesomely fun ideas on how you can celebrate the end of the school year with your kiddos. So, be sure to check out that playlist next. I'll put it up at the end of this video and put a link to it in the description box below.

Now, you can do these games with just your kids or you can let them invite some friends over, maybe another homeschooling family over and do them with a group. All these games can be easily adjusted depending on the number of kids you have. I'm going to show you the two dry games first and then we'll get into the wet ones. The first game is from playparty plan.com and I'll put the links below to all of these games.

It's called face the cookie. Have them place a cookie on their forehead. They have to use only their face muscles, no hands to get it into their mouth. This one was hilarious but seemingly impossible. This is actually meant to be a minute to win it style game, but I gave them two minutes to try and then just went ahead and let them eat it. This is also from playpart.com and is another minute to win a game.

Give each player two balloons and they have to keep them up in the air for 1 minute. They thought this would be easier than it was, but there was some wind, too, so that made it way trickier than doing it inside. This game and the next three games come from abcdlearning.com. This post is really for big schools, so they used an actual parachute and maybe you own one of these.

Or if you don't, you can just use what you already have at home, a trash bag. Since we only played with three kids, we used a kitchen-siz trash bag. The only other thing you need is a water balloon. Have each kid hold a corner and work together to see how many times they can toss the balloon up and catch it without it dropping or popping. This proved to be pretty hard with such a small surface area to catch it on.

So, I would say opt for a larger trash bag or a lightweight sheet or get yourself a parachute. I'll leave a link below to one. Number four. For this game, you need a sponge and two bowls. Fill one bowl with water and mark a line inside the other bowl. That's about two cups worth. Line up your kids in between each bucket. The first person in line will be given a sponge.

On the go signal, they will dip their sponge into the bowl of water, then pass the sponge down the line, and the last person in the line will squeeze the sponge out into the bowl at the end of the line. That last person will then run the sponge back up to the front of the line, and everyone else takes a step back, and they will start the process all over again.

You can make this a timed event and give them two minutes to reach the water line in the bowl. Or if you have enough people for two teams, they can verse each other. Number five. This is a similar game to the last one. For this game, you will need a cup for each child and two bowls. Fill one bowl with water and mark a line inside the other bowl that's about two cups worth.

Line up your kids in between each bowl. The first person in line will dip their cup into the bowl of water and lift the cup over their head and try to get as much water as they can in the person's cup that's behind them. This will continue throughout the line and the last person will dump the water in another bowl at the end of the line. You can make this a timed event and give them 2 minutes to reach the water line in the bowl.

Or you can use a measuring cup to see how much they got into the bucket within 1 minute and then do it again to see if they can beat it and again and again if you like. number six. Each child will get a partner and a water balloon. They will stand 2 feet away from each other to begin and they will toss the water balloon back and forth to each other.

After they catch the balloon, they will take a step back. They will keep doing this until they drop their balloon and it pops. When it pops, they will get another balloon and start close again. This summer camp classic needs no introduction. The kids loved this one the most. You're going to want to have at least 25 balloons per kid to let them really go at it. And that can be kind of timeconuming to fill all of those up.

Trust me. So save yourself some time and pick up the Bunch of Balloons fill and tie water balloon kit. So worth a few extra dollars. And I'll leave a link below for you. You can find it at Walmart or Amazon. It's awesome. I'd love it if you introduce yourself to our homeschooling community down below in the comments. Let us know what game you're most excited about playing with your kids.

If you're just finding my channel for the first time, welcome. My name is Sarah and I have four kids. I'd love to have you join us here every week. My channel is all about homeschooling, mom life, and traveling as a family. So, if that interests you, go ahead and hit that subscribe button below and join this fun community. Thank you for joining us today. Wishing you a strong finish to your school year and an amazing summer.

See you soon.

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