When we are thinking about dynamic and fun sports games, tennis often comes to the front of the mind, being so physically demanding yet enjoyable.

A tennis court, however, can be used for a multitude of other fun games as well, some of them being tennis variations. In this blog, we are going to take a look at 5 fun games you can play on a tennis court!

1. Badminton

Another super fun sport that will encourage children to move and have a blast at the same, time is badminton. While badminton courts are slightly different, a casual version of the game can easily be played on a tennis court too.

On tennis courts where the net can be elevated, it is even easier to achieve the full badminton experience, creating another entertaining, healthy sport that will improve the stamina and agility of your pupils.

You will need racquets, a shuttlecock, and a number of eager participants to join in on the fun!

2. Target Practice

Want to train your accuracy and aim? Set up some targets on the other side of the court. You can either create one big target or use smaller items to create a number of targets each worth different points.

Perfect for both solo and group play. More participants are always welcome and will make the game more exciting. Get your racquets ready and take turns going for all the targets. Whoever ends up taking down more on their try is the winner!

If your playground has the space for it, you could even invest in one of our vibrant target playground markings.

3. Dodgeball

Easily played with more than just four players and with no need for a racquet or a tennis ball. Make sure to take down the net and you are ready to go, as a tennis court has the perfect dimensions for a great game of dodgeball.

Reflexes, awareness, accuracy, and teamwork are some of the skills that dodgeball will help you to train. All you really need is enough people, as well as a ball which is easy enough to catch and throw!

4. Foot-Tennis

If you love football and tennis, you have to try this one. Instead of using a tennis ball and a racquet, simply grab your football and hop over to the closest tennis court.

The rules can be pretty much the same as tennis, however, you can use your feet, head, or torso to play the ball and send it on to the other side of the court, where the other team can let it bounce only once before returning it. You can modify the game even more, to the point where the ball cannot bounce on your side at all but allows more than a single touch of it with your foot instead.

You can play this with just two players and definitely with more than four. It’s a fantastic way to hone your passing skills as well as get active with your classmates and friends.

5. Line Tag

This is by far the simplest game on this list to play on a tennis court, as you don’t need anything specific to play it. Just like normal tag games, the goal is for ‘it’ to tag someone so they can take over their role.

In Line Tag though, the play area is marked by only the line of the tennis court, which makes the game even more interesting to play. You could make it possible to tag from across the lines for a more exciting experience, or, if you need more of a challenge, ‘it’ can tag players who are on the same lane as them. It’s a little like Pac-Man!

Those are a few of the fun games that you can enjoy on a tennis court if you don’t feel like playing tennis, or you simply do not have the right equipment. Be sure to check our selection for all kinds of top-quality thermoplastic playground markings, including tennis court line markings!

 

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3 Great Playground Markings For Your Primary School

The Best Playground Games That Children Can Play Together

Mazes And Why They Are Beneficial For Kids

Creating a play area with a fantastic look and feel is always easier when it includes colourful and well designed playground markings. Fun games, beloved sports, and lesson material-turned-fun playground markings are the most durable and least invasive way of making a playground as welcoming and as interesting as possible for your pupils.

In this article we will take a look at 3 great playground markings for your primary school that you may overlook, but can enhance play or be used for games and other activities – making your play area somewhere to remember! 

1. Dice Playground Marking

The enjoyment that board game playground markings offer is undeniable and our dice playground marking is the perfect addition to complement them! Using our dice design adds an extra challenge for your primary school pupils by combining hand eye coordination elements into their Snakes and Ladders game.

Not only is the dice playground marking a fantastic add-on to your board games, but it can also be used on its own to play a variety of fun games. Here’s some of our suggestions:

Dice Knock-Out

Choose a random number to go up to and then select a further few random numbers along the way to be your knock-out numbers. For example, the goal is 20 and the knockout numbers are 6, 11 and 18.

Each player takes turns to throw a pebble or beanbag onto the dice marking and add up their numbers, while trying to avoid being knocked-out and reach the goal first. This game can be very beneficial for improving maths for children, as well as their accuracy. You could even add multiplication and multiply throws per turn for more advanced gameplay.

Pig Dice

While the risk is lessened here, the overall experience is enhanced by the vibrant colour of the dice playground markings as the pupils improve their accuracy and maths too. 

The game starts with a throw and the participants with the lowest number go first. The goal of the game is to reach 100. Each participant has unlimited throws, and their numbers add up. Beware, though! If you happen to throw on 1 or above 100, your score is erased and you start from 0, automatically passing your turn. A participant can pass their turn at any time and keep their accumulated sum while allowing their friends to do their throws.

Those are just two of numerous games making this playground marking a fantastic choice for both solo and group play, while making your play area even more inviting. Speaking of throwing dice, another great playground marking that ties perfectly into the theme is…

2. Throw Line Markings

Apart from going perfectly well with the dice playground markings, where they can be used for deciding distances, they are a fantastic choice for a multitude of other games. Target games, for example, become much more immersive and easier to regulate with throw line markings.

They can be used to put even more emphasis on health too. Jumps, medicine ball throws, and other fitness related activities that help teachers test the physical capabilities of their pupils become much more enjoyable for the children with these vibrant designs. 

Can they be used for educational purposes? Yes, they can! Phonics Ponds are super fun to play around and jump in, but instead children can use a beanbag to improve their accuracy and learn too. Hopscotch is very beneficial for maths and with throw line markings you can make these games even more interesting, having the pupils aim a stone or beanbag where they want to land from further away!

3. Active Spots

One of the greatest benefits that playground markings bring to your play area is keeping children happier and healthier. The active spot markings help achieve that with ease.

Spin, stretch, squat, and jump are just some of our active spots and when added into your play area, they will be the source of a lot of laughter both during break times and in class too.

Adding multiple active spots that are close to each other will create a circuit for children to complete and see how many reps they can do of each activity. The Active Spot Circuit is the best way to test the theory, combining all those activities within several feet.

Apart from being super beneficial for fitness and mental well-being of the pupils, they can also contribute a lot when it comes to the development of their social skills!

Looking for more fantastic designs you might have missed? Find all of our quality playground markings and let us know if you would like a free quote.

 

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The Best Playground Games Children Can Play Together

Mazes And Why They Are Beneficial For Kids

How to Play Netball

Active play is important in order to keep children happy and healthy, and if they can play with a group of their friends too, the benefits are all the more. Social skills, teamwork and many friendships have developed during fun activities, which is why having opportunities for group games is a must for every playground.

In this article we will take a look at some of the best playground games children can play together in groups, and while there’s no way we can cover all the great games in one blog post, you will surely see some of your favourites here!

Traditional playground games

Without a doubt, well-known traditional games are the easiest way for children to get active and healthy together. Whether it’s at home in your garden, at the park, or on the school playground, you can play them with a single friend or more. With most of them requiring little or no equipment, the fun is guaranteed, and in large amounts for everybody. Even adults can join in on it!

Hopscotch, Duck Duck Goose, Noughts and Crosses, Capture the Flag and King Square are just a few of the fantastic playground games that you and your classmates, family members or friends can play together, and we have top-quality playground markings that will help you introduce them to your playground, too!

If you are looking for more classic games to try out, make sure to check out our series on how to play classic playground games!

Sports games

While forming teams for favourite sports games can be a bit trickier, team sports are possibly the best type of playground games to teach children the value of good teamwork, sportsmanship, and leadership. Each of the different sports have multiple variations available that work with less participants too, so the group size doesn’t always matter.

Working together to achieve a common goal can create a strong bond between participants and the sports games could even help children find their passion. We have amazing playground markings for sports like tennis, football, basketball and cricket. Whether you’re inside or outside of class, you’ll see people playing these popular sports every day, wherever a playground or large green space is available. And the better the playground is marked, the more fun the game is!

If you are looking for new, fun ways to play your favourite sport, you can check out some of our ideas for basketball variations, as well as more upcoming ideas for different sports. You will love our durable sports markings too!

Target games

A little bit of healthy competition is something that should be actively encouraged in children. Plus, hand-eye coordination can be especially beneficial for youngsters to learn. Target games have been enjoyed in groups, not just on the playground, but in most game clubs and pubs too.

The number of players can be as high as you wish, and fun is always guaranteed with these highly customisable games. From regular Darts to Bowling, you can find the perfect target playground markings for your playground! Want to learn maths in the playground? Target playground markings are your best resource and you can find out why in this post.

Board games and mazes

Very beneficial for improvement of cognitive skills, useful for education, as well as pure fun, board games and mazes are great playground activities to play with more than just two players.

Board games have been a popular outdoor activity for a long time, often being more interactive than the original box game. Co-operate with your companions in a game of chess and instead of using pawns, play the part yourselves to include an even larger amount of players!

Mazes are also a great way for children to be active outside with their mates and embark on an adventure together. Will they compete to be the first one to get through the maze or will they form a team and help each other through? Either way mazes are perfect for groups.

With our colourful playground markings, children can enjoy fun outdoor board games like Chess and Snakes and Ladders, and be active at the same time. Our maze playground markings on the other hand, will offer amazing themes and a complex network of corridors, for both the enjoyment of the students, as well as their urge for challenges!

These are just a few of the amazing games that you can consider for your children, pupils, or family members on the playground. If you want more healthy, active, and fun ideas for games, check out our blog, and for amazing high-quality thermoplastic playground markings, be sure to browse our wide range of designs!

 

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Mazes and why they are beneficial for kids

How to play netball

A Mile a Day and Fun games to Play

Finding your way through a maze can be a challenging but super fun activity, and apart from the satisfaction of reaching the middle or the way out, mazes can actually be very beneficial for children too.

Going one step further and combining mazes with playground markings offers even more benefits and in this blog, we’ll take a look at a few of the significant ones.

They support better problem solving

Whether it’s a full-sized labyrinth, a themed maze playground marking, or a complex network of coloured lines in a magazine or a notebook, working your way through one of them is sure to give your brain a workout. While the brain is not really a muscle, it does work like one and with more activity comes better focus, concentration, and decision making.

Mazes can help children think outside the box, finding unconventional methods to solve a maze much more easily, that could stick in their minds for other situations outside of play. For example, they can come up with a way of solving the maze backwards where possible.

Mazes can be educational too! One example is our vibrant maths maze playground marking which combines the fun of outdoor games with material from your lessons, to make it more appealing. For more maths playground marking ideas, you can check how maths can be all fun and games, in this blog post!

Mazes can sharpen memory

Mazes can be very beneficial for developing a sharper memory as a big part of going through a maze includes remembering the path taken. When going through a new maze, encountering dead ends is almost inevitable.

This is where remembering your surroundings can help map out the entrances you have gone through to avoid ending up in the same dead end again. In doing so, children can develop a more effective method for remembering information.

Our circular maze playground marking is the perfect, engaging playground game to encourage your pupils to practice their memory skills.

They teach patience and dedication

While putting your skills to the test, a maze takes some time and dedication to solve, especially if it’s a more challenging one. As well as being entertaining, mazes will subtly teach children the value of patience, and that success takes time and effort to achieve. It teaches children to never give up!

Mazes are beneficial for children’s mental health

While getting through a maze can be time consuming, it’s also very rewarding and fun. Plus, by successfully going through a maze, children can get a healthy confidence boost, which is very important for their mental health. They can also build relationships and work in groups to go through a maze, which ties into how…

They promote teamwork and development of social skills

You can be solo or cooperating with your classmates in order to find your way through a maze. Learning together and from each other is a great drive towards improvement, but also helps develop teamwork, social skills, leadership, and other important skills. It is also far more enjoyable sharing the journey with someone by your side as you both help each other, suggesting ideas and coming up with solutions.

Why are maze playground markings great for your pupils?

As well as the above benefits, maze playground markings bring their own positives for school children. Two major benefits of maze playground markings include:

1. Maze playground markings are more engaging. With vibrant colours and interesting designs, maze playground markings can turn the playground into its own little themed world, making it even more of a blast. With our pirate maze playground marking, all children can embark on a treasure hunt!
2. Physical health is actively promoted too. Apart from being very beneficial for children’s mental health, maze playground markings are the perfect opportunity for them to enjoy themselves outside in fresh air, improving their fitness and general motor skills with their friends.

Our thermoplastic playground markings are extremely durable and will last up to ten years even after lots of wear and use from infant and primary school children. What’s more, they are non-toxic and completely safe for kids.

Besides mazes, we offer a large variety of diverse, top-quality playground markings, which will inspire active play and outdoor learning, making your playground a place that students will love returning to!

 

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How to play netball

A Mile a Day and Fun Games to play

Play And Study With Our Target Playground Markings

Netball is a very popular and active sport, fantastic for developing teamwork skills, as well as improving hand-eye coordination and physical form. Plus, it can be great fun which in turn benefits mental health too. It’s no wonder why a game of netball is a firm favourite for primary schools.

Historically, the sport has been played predominantly by girls or women, but men and boys can certainly play too. It is unquestionably one of the most engaging and fun sports you could participate in on any playground. So, with that, let’s look at how to play netball!

How to set up your netball game

Netball is played on a rectangular court with two elevated rings, each located at the far ends of the netball court and serving as the goals. Two lines split the court into three equal sections and a circle marks the middle of the netball court where the centre passes are made. Within the goal third, there are also goal circles, otherwise known as semi-circles or Ds, where only two of the attacking and two defending players are allowed to enter.

No set up time is required when you’ve got thermoplastic netball court markings on your playground – you can get straight to playing!

Additionally, netball positions play a very big role in how the game is played, as they determine the actions and the zones in which certain players can occupy on the court. In netball there are 7 positions, which include:

1. Goalkeeper (GK) – the last line of defence in a team and one of the two positions allowed into their own goal circle. They can only play and move in the defensive third of their team.
2. Goal Defence (GD) – this player is allowed to play in both defensive and the centre thirds of their team, but not in the attacking third of the netball court. They are the only other players that can enter their own goal circle.
3. Wing Defence (WD) – wing defenders can play in both the defensive and centre thirds, however, cannot enter their goal circle.
4. Centre (C) – the centre players handle all centre passes from the centre circle. They are the only position allowed to play in all three thirds of the court, except the goal circles of both teams.
5. Wing Attack (WA) – they can play only in the centre or attacking zone but cannot enter the goal circle of their opponents.
6. Goal Attack (GA) – this position can play either in the centre or the attacking third of the netball court and is allowed to enter the goal circle along with the goal shooter.
7. Goal Shooter (GS) – goal shooters can only play in the attacking zone and can enter the opposing team’s goal circle.

Official netball matches are played with two teams of 7 players on court and 5 substitutes. When you are playing with your friends though, you could easily make smaller teams, make matches shorter or even play on a single goal. Additionally, you will need a netball ball or another similar one – they are slightly smaller than basketballs.

What is the objective of netball?

The aim of a netball game is to pass the ball around, only by hand, with the intention of throwing it into the ring of your opponents, scoring more shots than the other team. Each goal is worth one point and can only be scored by either the goal shooter (GS) or the goal attack (GA).

A netball match consists of 4 quarters, each 15 minutes in length, amounting to 60 minutes of total play time. Extra time of two halves by 7 minutes is played whenever a tie must be broken. If the game is still a draw at the end of the extra time, the match continues until one team gains a 2-goal lead to become the winner.

How to play netball

Once it is decided who will have possession of the ball, with a coin toss, the game starts with a centre pass from the centre circle, with the person who is making the pass standing inside of the circle alone, passing towards another player who is also in the centre third.

Teams take turns on the centre pass from the centre circle when the game restarts every quarter. A team starts with a centre pass every time they concede a goal, too. With the ball in play now, here are the rules you should know:

Attacking

Once the player receives the ball, they can either shoot, pivot, or pass towards another player. While holding the ball, players can’t take more than 3 seconds before passing, shooting, or pivoting. They can also take no more than one step while holding the ball, but they can freely pivot as it does not count as a step.

If a player who is not allowed into a certain zone receives the ball there, an offside is called and the opposing team receives a free pass. Attackers also cannot run into defenders who have established their position, or they risk fouling them.

Defending

A ball can be contested only once it has been thrown. If a defender pulls, slaps, or blocks the ball while it is in the attacker’s hands, the attacker can receive a penalty pass or shot. Players need to keep about a metre away from the attacker while marking them.

Thirds

Players cannot pass from their defending zone to the attacking zone (skipping centre third) or restart the game by passing the ball to a player in a different zone, from the one the game is being restarted from.

Whenever the ball goes outside of the netball court markings, a throw-in is awarded against the team who played with the ball last.

Now you know how to play netball, you are ready to explain the basics of netball to your friends, class, or even pupils, and join in on the fun that netball is!

 

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A Mile a Day and Fun Games to Play

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Importance of Role Play for Early Years

Having regular workouts is important to stay healthy and happy, which is why running, or at least walking, a mile a day is so beneficial. Lowering your stress levels, helping you become fit, and offering a chance to make new friends are just a few of the many benefits of daily exercise.

Running is fun by itself, but in this blog, we will give you some ideas of how to make it even more seamless and encourage children to enjoy it even more.

Games that make running even more fun

There are many games that you can use to immerse children and easily encourage them into completing their own mile a day and more. Here are just a few of them:

Mixed Activity Race

Instead of completing laps just by running, you can make the race more diverse by including a different activity for each lap. For example, start with running, then on the second lap switch to a one-legged race, then frog jumping, running backwards, and so on. This will make the race far less competitive and way more fun.

The more participants, the merrier it will be. Your pupils will have run an entire mile before they even realise it, while keeping active and laughing at the silly actions that they and their classmates complete.

Red Light, Green Light

If you want to go one step further and teach your kids as well as set up a fun game, this is one option which will do just that. While this game is super active and fun, it also improves pupils’ anticipation and awareness as it is directly related to road safety.

Have the entire class ready on the track and call out “Green Light” to let everybody know to start running. Give them a few seconds of running, then call out “Red Light” and everyone should stop. Repeat several times until the set number of laps is complete or everybody reaches the goal. Calling out “Yellow Light” in between red and green is also useful as it will teach pupils to expect a change in instruction and learn the different traffic light alerts more easily.

You can make the game more competitive by having the first to reach the goal be the winner. This way the children are encouraged to push themselves to build speed as quickly as they can in short bursts. Alternatively, you could make it all about learning by having everybody hold hands, helping each other out, which would make remembering the lesson from the game much easier!

Water Balloon Relay

This game is fantastic for when the weather is warm and sunny, plus it makes for a fun teamwork exercise, which includes running! With this game, the more competition, the more entertaining. This is because instead of a rod or a flag, participants will be passing each other a water balloon, while also trying to reach their teammates as fast as possible, without it popping.

Split your class into equal teams and set the distance each member will have to cover before they pass the balloon onto their teammate. If the balloon pops, aside from being cooled down, the participant will have to grab a new balloon and start from the beginning. To make the game even more fun, allow them to throw the balloon to the teammate next in line and enjoy the mayhem with your pupils.

One team might end up coming first, but all of them will be winners with this active and enjoyable game!

Sharks and Minnows

This game is a little different from the rest as it includes an element of ‘tag’ in it too.

One of your pupils will be a “shark” and will stand at one end of the track or field. Their classmates will play the role of “minnows” and will line up on the opposite side and wait for a signal by asking “Shark, shark, may we cross your ocean?”. Once the “shark” answers yes, the minnows must run towards the end where the “shark” is and must avoid getting captured.

Once the minnows reach the opposite side, all remaining minnows will have to run back to where they started from. However, the danger might have doubled or tripled for them! Whoever is captured, while running to one end, will join the “shark” as one themselves and will work together to capture the rest of the minnows. The game continues until only one minnow is left.

All the laps up and down the field or playground will certainly help children get their mile a day!

With so many possibilities, it’s easy to help kids be active and healthy. In addition, our Mile a Day playground markings are great for immersing children in all manner of games. They are colourful, safe, and very durable, so your pupils will love returning to your playground. Plus, they can be combined with any of our trail stations for more fun! We also have a large variety of other great playground markings so let us know if we can help.

 

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Play and Study with our Target Playground Markings

Importance of Role Play for Early Years

5 Fun Basketball Games for you to try

Target playground markings are the perfect resource to develop your pupils’ aim. But why stop there when you can use them for much more?

In this blog, we will give you some great ideas for games that you can play and study with our target playground markings which will make break times, and even lessons, much more engaging, active, and educational for your children.

Bullseye

This game is super simple and yet tons of fun. To set up your own game of Bullseye, you will need to draw four or more circles – starting with one in the middle and following up with another around it and so on.

Bullseye can be played with two or more players, but larger groups offer the possibility of forming teams, which makes the game more social and enjoyable. The goal is to throw an object, like a beanbag, and try to hit the Bullseye, grabbing the maximum number of points for your attempt.

Set up your scoring rules with each circle awarding more points the closer they are to the centre (the bullseye), which awards the highest number of points. Each participant should throw the same type of object as the others to make it fair.

To make this game more interesting, each player can get multiple objects that they need to throw, each of them differing in weight and size. This will make every attempt more unique and the game more interesting. Additionally, adding more circles will make for a more diverse score which is a fantastic way to teach maths, too!

A great playground marking to use for this game is our 2-Way Solid Target with bright and bold colours for each circle.

Darts on the Playground

Use a beanbag or a stone to mark the throws instead of darts. Even with the twist of not using darts, playing this fun game on the playground will surely bring smiles to the faces of your infant and primary school children!

Choose a variation of darts that you want to play. There are a multitude of games for you to pick from including 301, 501, and 701, which are all a race to 0. Round the world will have participants race to hit all numbers from 1 – 20 in order and the first one to do so is the winner. Make sure to check out popular darts variations to find the best fit or simply try them all.

Play with two or more players to maximise the fun or easily play this game in teams. Make sure to check out our durable dartboard playground marking, for a more permanent solution for your playground!

21

Another fun game that you can play with a friend, or a group, is 21. You will need to draw three lines, which will mark the spots from which you will be throwing. The first line should be closer to the target area and each line after that should be further from the others.

The closest line will give you the number of points you scored, without multiplying them, while the rest of the lines multiply your score depending on the order from the target area. For example, if you are throwing 4 lines away from the target area, your score will be multiplied by 4.

As for the target area, it can be in any shape you want. Mark as many areas within it, each awarding a different number of points. Keeping the areas awarding a lower number of points will help prolong the game, while higher point awards can make for more fun due to the potential of more mistakes! The goal is to reach a score of 21 without going over. If you score more than 21, your score gets restarted, and your opponents get to catch up to you.

Our solid target with throwing lines playground marking is the perfect marking for this game!

Maths Showdown

Target playground markings are super fun and a seamless way to perfect maths skills, learning how to divide, multiply, add, and subtract.

Draw a circle on the ground and split the inside of it into 10 equal sections, with the lines going towards the centre of the circle. Mark each section with the numbers 1-10 on the outer side of the circle. Then divide each section into 4 more sections by drawing inner circles, starting with a plus for the outermost section, then minus, multiply and divide for the one closest to the centre. You could also use one of our fantastic maths target playground markings too!

Split your pupils in two or more equal teams. Each turn, you will call out a starting number and have a member of one team throw a beanbag onto the markings. This will determine the other number and the sign for the equation. Have the other team then discuss the equation and come up with the answer for it. Reverse the roles for the next turn.

This can be an amazing way for a class to study maths as they can exchange thoughts and help each other out. With an accurate throw, they can also challenge the other team with a tough equation for maximum fun.

You could even make this game more competitive by having just one person solve the equation in each round, giving a point to their team if they do and vice versa.

Education and fun go hand in hand with our vibrant thermoplastic target playground markings. If you would love your pupils to enjoy plenty of fun play and learning on your playground, check out our wide variety of top quality playground markings and give our friendly team a call!

 

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Importance of Role Play for Early Years

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Role play is a fun and easy way for children to learn more about themselves, what they love, and what they could eventually enjoy doing in the future. It helps children to develop interests in different subjects and many children have discovered their dream profession thanks to participating in role play as a child and sticking with their choice through the years into adulthood.

Role playing also has an essential role when it comes to learning important skills such as creativity, discipline, working as a team, and socialising in general. It gives children a unique opportunity to act out and make sense of scenarios based on real life situations, whist letting their creativity run wild when it comes to how they would handle them. From firefighters and police to kings and queens, the possibilities are endless, the only limit is their imagination!

There are, however, a few different types of role play and each one benefits children in its own way.

Occupational Role Play

Occupational role play is when children take the roles of different careers and act them out. Some popular job roles children pretend to be include doctors, nurses, vets, builders, gardeners, shop assistants, cleaners, and even teachers. When taking on such roles, children engage themselves in a form of play that encourages them to show more empathy towards the people around them.

It’s not only tons of fun, but also very beneficial for children to imagine themselves as people with important roles inspiring care and an interest for the community. Occupational role play is also fantastic for naturally developing their communication and social skills.

There’s a reason why occupational role play is also used in adult life, for example, in job interviews. It helps to improve and demonstrate problem-solving skills as it allows them to discuss different scenarios and solutions with their peers.

You could even practice some of these roles on our playground markings – an astronaut on our Space Trail perhaps?

Fantasy Role Play

Fantasy – not only the most awesome, but also one of the most essential elements and prospects of role play. Almost every child has a favourite superhero, Disney princess, or make belief character that they love, admire, and look up to.

Fantasy characters often represent all aspects of life in an engaging, interesting way to children which is why it makes for such a good way for children to learn. When they have fun and enjoy themselves, they are more likely to remember the knowledge for next time.

Fantasy role play encourages children to use their imagination the most, and whilst doing so, they are able to develop their courage, creativity, confidence, and communication. What’s more, when children role play in groups, they often have to choose who’s going to play who. In turn, this improves their patience and negotiating skills, helps them to better understand others, and develops their teamwork.

Why not try out some of these themes on our Pirate Maze playground marking, or our Jurassic Phonics!

Real-life Situational Role Play

Role playing real-life situations such as building, camping, meeting new people, and having job interviews for example, helps early-years learn more about their real environment and develop both their physical and communication skills. They may be able to start recognising certain scenarios and situations that they see their parents or teachers in day to day. It can help them learn how to react and respond to different problems and circumstances, all the while developing their personal attributes and building their character.

Role playing is a great way for children to develop themselves as individuals and to learn more about the world. It can be played inside or outdoors, within a safe environment, and the best part is there are no limits! Encourage your school children to take part in role play to help them grow and prepare them for what may come!

 

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How to Play Chess

Playground Markings for Teaching Literacy

If you love basketball, and you want to enjoy this fun game in a multitude of other variations, we are happy to tell you that we have a number of enjoyable suggestions for you.

Being one of the most active, dynamic, and fun sports that promote teamwork and coordination, basketball can come in many variations. What are they? Take a look below for 5 fun basketball games for you to try.

1. 3×3 Basketball

If you can’t always get a large group of pupils at the same time, or if you don’t always have time for a full game, then this is the perfect basketball game. It comes very close to the traditional version but is played in just one half of the basketball court. As the name of the game suggests, it is played by two teams with three players each.

Scoring is slightly different too, where scores within the D are worth 1 point instead of 2, and those scored outside the D are worth 2 instead of 3. A match is only 10 minutes in length without any breaks and the first team to either reach 21 points, or score the most points, is the winner. A shorter length and smaller distance to run makes for a fun and exciting alternative.

2. 21

Just like 3×3 basketball, this game is played using just one half of the basketball court markings, however, it can be played by two or more players. There are no teams in 21, so every player ‘competes’ for themselves.

The game starts with a shot towards the hoop and the basketball must bounce off it without going through, after which each player will be competing for the rebound. Once a player scores, they get awarded up to three free shots if each go is successful.

The aim is to reach exactly 21 points, but this can be tricky since going over 21 points puts you back to 11. This is particularly challenging when you get free shots each time you score. In order to avoid scoring extra points from free shots, you must make sure to hit the basketball hoop so the ball can bounce back. If you don’t hit the hoop while trying to miss, you have to repeat the shot!

3. Knockout

A very popular basketball game to test your reactions and accuracy. To play, you need two or more people and a basketball each. Make a line in front of the basketball hoop and have the first two participants each hold one of the basketballs.

The game starts with the first person in line making a shot and trying to score. If they miss on the first try, they can get a rebound and shoot from wherever they catch the ball, as many times as they need to score. Once they score, they grab the ball and run to the back of the line, passing the ball to the next player who doesn’t have one.

However, after the opening shot of the first player, the second player in line also gets to shoot too. Just like the first player, the second player can also catch the ball after their first attempt and proceed to shoot until they score. The difference being that if they score before the first player, they will knock them out of the game.

The goal of the game is for the succeeding player to score before the proceeding one, having them drop out. This continues until there is only one player left, who is then the winner of the game.

4. H-O-R-S-E

A very fun and simple game which is for two or more players. Pupils will take turns with their friends, shooting the basketball. Whenever one person scores, everybody needs to take a shot at the same spot where the scoring shot was made.

Instead of accumulating points for scoring, you will learn letters every time your opponent’s miss from the spot of your successful shot. The goal is to score from tough positions, so the other players would not be able to repeat the success of your shot, which will let you quickly earn all the letters and complete the word, winning the game.

You could easily switch with longer words to fit a larger group of players. You can also get creative and use on the game to educate smaller children too!

5. Around the world

This game has a multitude of variations, and you can agree on additional rules with your peers. You need two players to be able to players this game.

Together, pick a few positions around the basketball court markings, depending on the age of the participants, with fewer positions for younger players. Each player must complete a course by shooting and scoring from all those positions. If they miss a shot, they go back to the beginning and start the course again.

This game can easily be modified to be more friendly or challenging for children. For example, you can make it easier by not having the participants go back to the beginning every time they miss. Instead, just take the total number of attempts at scoring for the entire course into consideration. If you want more of a challenge, you could add specific types of shots and at a greater distance for each course. Your imagination can run wild with this game!

 

Those are just a few basketball games for you to try with your pupils during PE lessons or break times! All those fun games are better played on a fresh and engaging playground, so be sure to check out our range of durable and vibrant thermoplastic playground markings, including our two styles of basketball playground markings.

 

Read more of our blogs:

How to play Chess

Playground Markings for Teaching Literacy

Taking the classroom outside with Playground Markings

Patience, planning, and concentration are just a few skills that chess will surely help your pupils to develop and improve. This ancient game is a great choice for everyone who enjoys putting their brains to work and can be extremely beneficial for your mental health!

What are the rules of chess?

Classic chess is a fun game that is for two players only. The goal of chess is to ‘checkmate’ your opponent’s king, in order to win the game. You will have to achieve that while defending your own king though, so you need to be careful while pressing the attack, so you don’t open yourself up to a checkmate instead.

The chess pieces come in two colours – black (dark) and white (light) – and the player with white pieces always goes first. Each player gets to move one piece per turn, except in the case of ‘castling’.

How to set up your chess game?

In order to set up the game properly, the chess board should be located between the two players. To ensure that the board is in the right position, players should have the right-most square, on the first row in front of them, be white. Some chessboards have additional letter and number markings on the side, to help with proper positioning.

The chess pieces and their roles

There are 6 different types of chess pieces, and each player has an equal number of them. Each chess piece type has its unique way of moving and some of them even have special functions. The 6 pieces are:

1. Pawn – There are 8 of them and they are always situated on the second row for each player. Pawns can move two squares forward, but only on their first move in the game. If you have moved them once already, though, they can move only one square forward. They can only capture one square, in diagonal direction forth.
2. Queen – Each side has one queen piece. The queens are located in the middle of the first row, always on the square which represents your colour. Queens are the most powerful chess piece, being able to move and capture anywhere either diagonally, vertically or horizontally.
3. King – After that we have the king, which is the most valuable unit in the game. Each player has one king, which is positioned in the other middle square, next to the queen. The king can only move and capture on adjacent squares.
4. Bishop – Each player has two Bishops, located on the first row, one placed next to the king and the other – next to the queen. Bishops can move and capture back and forth only in diagonal direction.
5. Knight – Each side has two Knights. They are located on the first row of each side, between the Rooks and the Bishops. Knights are the most unique chess piece, as they can jump over other pieces. They move 3 squares in an L-shaped manner, with horizontal or vertical movements only. So, if you start with 1-2 squares horizontally, the remaining 1-2 moves need to be vertical and vice versa. They can capture pieces, which are located only on the square they land on.
6. Rook – Each player has 2 of them. The Rooks are located at both ends of the first row right next to the knights. They can also move and capture, back and forth on the board, however, contrary to Bishops, only vertically or horizontally.

Special moves in chess

There are three special moves in traditional chess: ‘En passant’, ‘Castling’, and Pawn Promotion.

‘En passant’ – If player A chooses to move their Pawn two squares forward and lands it right next to a Pawn of player B, then immediately on their next turn player B can choose to capture it without having to move over it, but behind it instead, as if player A’s Pawn was standing diagonally from it. ‘En passant’ can only be performed by player B on the turn immediately after player A has moved their Pawn two squares forward.

‘Castling’ – Can be performed only when one of the two Rooks and the King have not yet been moved by a player and there are no chess pieces in between. The King moves two squares in the direction of the Rook you want, while the Rook will stand on the side of the King which is closer to the middle. This move cannot be performed if your King is in check or will end up in check after the move.

Pawn Promotion – If you reach the other end of the board with a pawn, you can promote (exchange) that pawn to any other higher rank chess piece of your choice, except a king.

Ideas for Chess on the Playground

You could easily add physical health to the benefits that chess already offers if you choose to add a Chess playground marking to your outdoor area. Instead of using chess pieces, you could easily make your pupils take the roles of chess pieces themselves. This will make the game much more immersive and child friendly. It will significantly improve their social skills but will also bring lots of laughter and good times!

If you want chess on the playground to be even more fun and less demanding, blitz chess is also an option! Adding time control to the game may make for more mistakes, but it will significantly boost the mental benefits for kids too. To make it even more interactive, you can let everybody have a say in where the chess pieces should go. Split the class into two teams for each colour and let them take turns making quick moves for their own team!

Chess is great for any playground, and we have the perfect durable thermoplastic Chess playground markings for your school too!

 

Check out more of our blogs:

Playground Markings for Teaching Literacy

Taking the classroom outside with Playground Markings

How to Maintain your Thermoplastic Playground Markings