There is no “I” in a team. And teamwork is an important aspect of life. While kids have to learn to be independent and stand independently, they also have to know that working together is valuable, too! Team building activities for kids communication skills, social skills, creativity, strategic thinking, confidence, and just helping each other out best as they can. It’s something that kids should learn early on because this is an essential thing that they will then be able to carry on as they grow up — in school and their relationships with their family and friends.
Team building activities for kids are a super fun way to help children learn about teamwork. These are great tools to guide them into getting to know each other, learning about each other and things around them, communicating well, trusting each other, and working together. We’ve listed some awesome team building activities for kids for you to teach kids the art of teamwork while having a fantastic time!
23 Awesome Team Building Activities For Kids
Kids love games and activities. And the best part is their great ways to get them to learn, too! Plus, it’s a super fun learning experience for everyone! Let’s play!
1. Flip The Sheet
This is one activity that will get kids to bond AND encourage creative thinking. Give the kids a flat tarp or bedsheet, and get them to stand over it. The challenge for them is to turn over the sheet until they are standing on the opposite side, without their feet touching the ground or stepping off the sheet. They’ll have a blast strategizing on how to give the sheet an excellent ole flip! You can also divide the kids into two groups and have them race to see which group can do it first!
2. Getting To Know You Balloons
Anything with balloons is bound to be a blast for kids! Give them each a deflated balloon along with a piece of paper, where they each will write a get-to-know-you query, like “What’s your favorite subject?” or “What is your dream pet?” or “Name the one thing that always makes you smile.” The kids will then put their paper into their balloon, inflate the balloon, and tie it up. Once that’s done, have them release their balloons and bop them around to mix them up. After a while, let them grab onto the balloon nearest to them and sit in a circle. Each kid can then take turns popping the balloon they have, reading the question, and answering it.
3. Hot Seat
Divide the kids into two teams, and have the teams sit together facing a whiteboard or blackboard. Get a chair for each team and place it in front of the board, facing the respective teams. Yep, chairs — aka, hot seat! To start the game, a volunteer from each team will sit on the hot seat. Write a vocal word on the board behind the hot seat. The teams will then take turns and try to have the teammate in the hot seat guess the word on the board, working together so that each member gets to give a helpful clue. The first hot seat kid who thinks gets the point for their team! Then the next round begins.
4. Birthday Blues
This one is about a fun subject matter – birthdays! – and encourages communication too. The task is to get the kids to line up according to their birthdays, from January 1 to December 31. They’ll have to talk to each other to find out the info they need. You can divide them into two groups and make it a race — or you can make it more challenging by banning talking and having them communicate through other means!
5. The Circle Of Silence
This one is super cool! Pick one kid to be “it” and blindfolded, and have the others form a circle around him/her. Hand the kids in the circle a tin can full of marbles, which they have to pass around the entire circle without the marbles making a sound! If the marbles make noise, the “it” has to guess which direction the noise came from, and if correct, the person who made the noise then becomes “it’!
6. All Aboard
For this, you’ll need some rope. Have the kids make a circle with the rope on the ground, which will be their “lifeboat.” Then, they should go aboard the lifeboat – or inside the rope circle. They can also carry “bags” with them. Now, have them get out of the circle, reduce the circle size a bit, and then have them board again. Each time, make the circle smaller and smaller so they’ll have to find creative ways to fit still all and be all aboard!
7. Dr. Pretzel
This is an excellent twisting time for all! Choose one pretzel maker and one Doctor Pretzel. Have Dr. Pretzel turn away from the group, and then have the pretzel maker get the rest of the kids to hold hands in a circle. The pretzel maker will then direct the kids to twist, turn, and step over each other’s interlocked arms to form a big, twisty human pretzel. Once done, call Dr. Pretzel to figure out how to un pretzel everyone without breaking off any linked hands!
8. Group Hop
This one involves the two Cs – communication and coordination. Split the kids into groups of 4 to 6. The kids in each group should then stand in a straight line. Their right hand should be on the shoulder of the kid in front of them, and their left leg should be extended forwards to that the one in front of them will be holding their ankle. Once everyone’s set, each group should start hopping as one — and see which group can hop together for longer and avoid toppling over!
9. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Tag
Talk about a cute twist to a classic! Form the kids into two groups. With the kids, establish a home base for each group as well as boundaries for their base. Before each round begins, each group has to talk to each other and decide if they are rock, paper, or scissors. Then the two groups will line up facing each other, and on your count of three, they will flash their respective pick of rock, paper, or scissors. The losing team has to avoid being tagged by a team member that won the round.
10. Hula Fingertips
Have the kids stand together, forming a circle, and raise their arms, extending their index fingers. Then, place a hula hoop on top of the circle, just touching their fingertips. The challenge is for the kids to slowly lower the hula hoop onto the ground while keeping their index fingertips on the hoop – no looping their fingers around the hoop or hooking it!
11. Mingle, Mingle, Mingle
This is a great activity to get kids to interact! Have them all go around the room saying “Mingle, mingle, mingle” quietly. The facilitator will then call out a group size, like groups of four, after which the kids have to form in groups of that size. They will then break up and mingle again until a new group size is called. The twist is that they should not be in the same group with someone they were already in a group with the previous turn! This will get them to mix it up and, well, mingle!
12. Sneak Peek
A problem-solving task will always open doors for communication. Get some LEGOs or building blocks and create a small structure with it before the activity begins. Make sure they don’t see it! Now, divide the kids into groups of about 5, and hand each group enough LEGOs or blocks to duplicate what you made. To start, have one kid from each group come up and look at what you made for 10 seconds, then return to their group to tell them what was seen so they can start building for about a minute. Every group member will get to look at your creation up close and relay back to their group. Afterward, you’ll all have fun seeing which group was able to recreate most of what you originally made.
13. Pass The Hoop
Time for the kids to listen, strategize, and work together! Have them stand in a circle and place a Hula Hoop on one kid’s arm. Then have them all link arms. The challenge is for them to get the Hula Hoop around the circle without breaking their hold on each other’s hands!
14. Bumpity Ump Bump Bump
First of all, everyone should remember these four directions: Left = state the name of the kid on their left, right = state the name of the kid on their right, it = state the name of the kid who is “it,” and self = state your name! Okay, now have the kids stand in a circle, with the “it” in the center. The “it” then approaches someone in the circle and gives them one of the four directions. Then quickly, the “it” will say “Bumpity-ump-bump-bump,” and the kid has to follow the direction correctly before the “it” finishes saying it! If they are not able to, then they become the next “it.”
15. Human ABCs
This is as simple as A-B-C! Have the kids spread out, and then call out a letter, which each kid will then try to form with their bodies. After a few rounds, once they get the hang of it, call out a simple word like CAT or DOG, and the kids will have to form in groups, with each one creating one letter to spell out the word. To up the challenge, go for longer words or even phrases as you go along!
16. Bravo!
Have the kids pick an “it.” The “it” will then step out of the room, and the kids will choose an object, which they will then hide somewhere in the room. The “it” will then be called back in and try to find the hidden object. The kids are not allowed to speak, but they can guide the “it” by applause. They will clap louder when the “it” gets nearer the hiding place and clap softer and slower when he is farther! The applause becomes louder and faster until the object is found.
17. Golf Trampoline
Give the kids a large sheet with a lot of slits cut into it. The kids will then hold onto the edges of the sheet, stretching it out. Now, place a golf ball on the sheet. They have to move the ball around on the sheet without having the ball slip down into one of the slits!
18. No-Hands Stack-Up
This lets everyone practice patience and commitment and still enjoy their socks off! Count the kids in the group and tie that same number of strings onto one rubber band. Each kid will then hold one string. They will use this contraption to pick up cups and then stack them up to create a pyramid, going as tall as they can go with no hands!
19. Body Parts
Here’s another activity that will get kids to mix it up and mingle! Have them roam around the room, continually moving. Then, call out a number and a body part, like, for example, “six elbows” or “three heads.” The kids will then have to form groups with the right number of body parts! The one who isn’t part of a group will then call out the next round of instructions.
20. Creative Solutions
Divide the kids into teams. Then, pick a handful of objects, around 5, like a hairbrush, a cap, a pen, a cup, and a plushie. Now, give out a situation, and the teams will have to figure out how to solve the problem with only the objects you picked — for example, Darth Vader is about to attack, how will you protect yourselves? Give them time to solve it, and then share their ideas with everyone! The more outrageous the scenarios you give out, the more fun it will be!
21. Tallest Tower
Have the kids form two teams. Now, give them about 15 minutes to form as tall a tower as they can using only objects found in the room! Once the time is up, measure away and see which team can build the tallest tower. Remember, the tower should be standing independently!
22. Spider Web
This activity will encourage kids to open up and connect and realize that they still form bonds no matter their differences. Have everyone form a circle. Hand one kid a large ball of yarn or twine, and then let them share a story of a funny moment or an embarrassing story of theirs. After they share their story, they will then toss the ball to someone else, anywhere in the circle, while holding the yarn/twine ends. The next kid catches the ball, tells their story, and then tosses the ball to someone else while holding their part of the yarn/twine. After everyone has gotten their turn, let them see the web they have weaved, tangled, and beautifully connecting them!
23. Don’t Wake The Dragon
The backstory: The kids are villagers ruled by a fearsome dragon, who is currently sleeping. They will only cross the village (aka the room) if they are arranged in the correct order of their height. To do that, they must arrange themselves by communicating without sound, so the dragon doesn’t wake up! After they’re done, they have to cross the room and then shout “Boo!”
These team building activities for kids are fun, attainable, and very easy to follow. Let kids do these simple activities for a ton of learning, a ton of team working, and a ton of fun fun fun! Let the activities begin!
Hi, I am Claudia, I run TheQueenMomma’s content creation team, personally focusing on topics which add joy to people’s life. You would usually see me writing on topics like Jokes, Riddles, Truth & Dare as well as Baby Names etc.
In my professional career, I have a Bachelor’s and Master’s in sociology and specialize in media and crime. Once I finished my education, I began my career working as a journalist, reporting on various topics like crime, justice and family law. Even though I valued journalism, I came to the realization that I wanted to have a more immediate impact in people’s lives as well as bring joy to them.