Amoeba Tag

• This game offers a creative twist on traditional "tag, you're it" games. Perfect for outdoor birthday parties and barbecues, it will get a large group of children involved in the same activity. To play, appoint one child to be the "amoeba". When this child tags a fellow player, they must join hands and not let go of each other as they try to tag other players. Every person that has been tagged is now part of the amoeba. When the amoeba consists of six people, they must split up into two separate amoebas of three players each. The game ends when every player is part of an amoeba grouping.
  
  

Build a Poem

• Instead of throwing out your old magazines, collect them for this creative rainy day activity that the whole family can participate in. Use scissors to cut out interesting words, phrases, and pictures from the magazines. Be sure to collect small words such as "and," "the," and "as." Ask each family member to pick out one of the pictures, and then use the cut out words to write a poem describing the picture. Store the pictures and words in an envelope for later use.
  
  

Water Balloon Volleyball

• An ideal game on a hot, sunny summer's day, this game requires a volleyball net and at least four people to participate. Split the players up into two teams of at least two people each. Provide each team with a large towel (or sheet) and a basket full of water balloons on their side of the net. Each player should grab a corner of their sheet to keep it taut during play. Place three water balloons in the middle of the sheet, then launch the balloons over the net to the other side, where the other team attempts to catch them, unbroken, in their sheet. The other team then launches the unbroken balloons back over to the starting team. When all of the balloons have been broken, each side should count the amount of broken balloons on their side of the net. The team with the least amount of balloons wins.
  
  

Make your own Constellation

• Provide each participant with a piece of blue construction paper and a sheet of star stickers. Invite each person to randomly position the stars on their piece of paper, and then trade papers with one another. Using markers or paint, connect the lines between the stars to form a picture that will form their newly discovered constellation. What each player sees in their constellation is completely up to them. It could be something natural, like a flower or an animal; it can be something silly, such as a taco or a two-headed dragon. Once their picture is complete, have the group come up with a funny story of how that particular constellation came to be immortalized in the night sky.