Spud - Physical Education or Recess Game

How many of you have to have structured play outside instead of a typical recess?  This is where your students have to be moving playing some sort or organized game or organized rotation of things.  When I taught 2nd grade sometimes we would play kickball or play a game that was one of my student's favorites called Spud instead of going to the playground.  This is a great game that will work for any grade level!

Here's how you play spud.

1. Have students stand in a circle.
2. Give each child a number starting with 1.  Tell them not to forget their number!
3. The teacher goes to the middle of the circle and throws the ball high in the air and yells a number.
4. All students who are not that number run away from the ball (you may want to have boundaries so they don't run too far!)
5. The child whose number is called runs to the ball and yells SPUD! 
6. All other children must freeze!
7. The child whose number was called takes 3 giant steps toward the closest child and throws the ball below the shoulders at another student.
8. If the child hits another student with the ball that students gets an S.  If they already have an S they get a P and so on.  If the student misses the child or the ball is caught no letter is given.
9. Any child who spells SPUD sits out, which has rarely happened in a 30 minute game with me.

Play continues each round starting with #3!

Do you have to have structured play at your school?  How do you handle structured play?  What games or activities do your students play?

I again apologize for no pictures, I'll get some sort of picture up that can be pinned as soon as I get my computer back.  If your kiddos give this game a try and you want to send me pictures of it to use please do! tigermagic@bellsouth.net 

Thanks for hoppin' by!