Indoor Recess Activities Teaching Resources
Do you need indoor recess ideas to take the stress out of those days when rain or snow keep the kids indoors at playtime? This teacher-created collection of activities, games and more is ready to save the (rainy) day!
From movement games that give students a way to get their wiggles out in small indoor spaces to coloring pages, drawing challenges and partner activities, there's something for every grade level in elementary and middle school and an option to fit every kind of student!
And we didn't stop there! Read on for some indoor recess ideas from our teacher team!
Our Favorite Indoor Recess Ideas for Teachers
The wind is howling. The rain is falling. And you have a bunch of kids who are bouncing of the walls. What do you do when you've got recess duty, and the kids are stuck indoors?
Explore this collection of activities, and peruse this list from our teacher team, of course!
- Create a Board Game Center — Ask classroom parents, friends and neighbors if they have extra board games that they no longer use to build a board game center in your classroom where students can turn on thosedays when it's too cold or wet to go out for recess. The advantage of filling your center with used board games is that you lose a lot less when pieces go missing! One member of our teacher team suggests putting all game pieces in large zipper plastic bags so when board game boxes start to fall apart it's easier to keep all those small pieces together.
- Build a Coloring Station — Print out coloring pages, add some crayons, and you have a quiet space for the kids who like to spend their recess quietly reflecting. Did we mention coloring is meditative for many kids?
- Create a Tournament — Are you a chess or checkers player? If the weather indicates that recess will be indoors for a while, why not teach your students to play and issue a tournament challenge to pass the time day after day?
- Turn to YouTube — Find a favorite (educational) show on YouTube that students can watch together. There are some great science-based shows that even we enjoy watching as teachers!
- Play Trash-Ket Ball. Have students ball up pieces of paper for a trivia game of trash-ket ball. Check our site for trivia questions you can use, or create your own. Each time a student answers a trivia question correctly, they get to attempt to make a basket in your classroom trash can.
- Create a Giant Rock, Paper, Scissors Game. Set students up in a circle, and select one student to go around the circle and play each student. When they lose, they take the seat of whoever beat them. that person continues playing around the circle until they lose. The first person back to their seat wins the game.
- Create a Class Drum Circle. Want to incorporate some movement into the day? Aside from the movement games in this collection, we suggest a class drum circle using their desks!
- Make Indoor Recess Bags. There's something extra exciting about bringing a toy from home, so why not lean into that excitement for indoor recess? Send parents a note asking them to create small plastic zipper bags with (quiet) toys that students are allowed to bring to school and store in their desk or cubbies to play with on indoor recess days.
- Set Up STEM Stations. Give your students a chance to stretch their STEM muscles with engineering challenges on the days they can't head to the playground.
- Indoor Snowball Fight. Throwing things in the classroom will never not excite kids. Roll up socks or pieces of paper for a simple snowball fight that won't make (too much of) a mess.
- Free Plan
Finish the Picture - Drawing Worksheets
Spark creativity in the classroom with a pack of Finish the Drawing worksheets.
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Last One Standing Active Game
An active game that allows students to build their vocabulary knowledge.
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Mini-Mystery – Who Stole the Cookie?
A fun, logic puzzle activity where students read clues to solve a mystery.
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Tangram Treats - Tangram Puzzles
Have fun learning about shapes with a set of 36 tangram task cards separated into three levels, along with two tangram cut-out templates.
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Battleship Coordinate Grid Game
Practice using ordered pairs with this fun battleship game.
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Drama Game Task Cards
A set of 17 activity cards with instructions for drama games.
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Collaborative Art Project - Large Coloring Poster
Have some end of school year fun with giant coloring posters from Teach Starter!
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Color Me Carefully – Geometric Animals
Hone in on your students' speaking and listening skills with this barrier activity.
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Finish the Drawing - Worksheets
Get creative and finish the drawings with a set of five art worksheets.
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Sloth Mindfulness Coloring Pages
Use these sloth-themed coloring pages to bring a bit of creative calm into the classroom.
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The Lost Library Card – Whole Class Escape Game
Use inference and problem-solving skills to decipher the puzzles and uncover the hidden code.
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Printable Joke Cards for Kids
Print jokes for kids cards to use as an indoor recess activity.
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Snakes and Ladders Game Board Template
Create a fun activity for any subject area with this black-and-white board game template.
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Spring Riddles Bingo
Bring spring into your classroom with a fun game of Spring Riddle Bingo!
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End of Year STEM Challenge
Use critical thinking and problem-solving skills with this set of STEM challenge cards.
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Easy Origami Animals Worksheet and Step-By-Step Instructions for Kids
Make origami animals with your students with printable step-by-step instructions plus a 2D shapes worksheet for your math lesson planning.
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Would You Rather...? Question Cards
Would You Rather use this set of 31 question cards or eat a can of worms?
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Christmas Trivia Advent Calendar Interactive
Host a Christmas trivia game show with an interactive advent calendar trivia game.
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Think Like Scientists! Science Quote Coloring Pages
Inspire creativity and encourage your students to think like scientists with a set of inspirational science quote coloring pages.
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Celebrity Trivia for Kids– Who am I? Interactive Slide Deck
An interactive "Who Am I?" trivia quiz about some of the world's most famous people.
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Zoo Trip - Coding Robot Mat
Implement coding for kids with coding robots and a printable coding robot map activity.
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Questions Only - Theatre Improvisation Game
An engaging theatre-style warm-up game to help your students stretch their brains by asking questions.
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Would You Rather? - Winter Wonder!
Use 23 seasonally-inspired question prompts to engage your students in winter-wonderful discussions.
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Famous Artists Card Game for Kids
A set of 54 famous artist cards to be used for a variety of card games.
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Brain Break Activity Cards
Give your students a quick brain break with this set of 19 whole-class games.
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Chicken Evolution Active Game
A whole class active game that encourages cognitive processing skills, physical activity, and social skills.
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The Bean Game
A fun active game to play at any time.
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Picture Puzzles - Team Building Activities
A set of 10 picture puzzles to use as a team-building activity.
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Team Building Games – Upper Grades
Encourage communication and cooperation with this set of 10 team-building games.
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Growth Mindset Coloring Pages
Inspire creativity and encourage your students to think positively with a set of growth mindset coloring pages.
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Basketball I Spy Worksheet
Have a bit of counting and coloring fun with a basketball worksheet for Kindergarten.
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"Simon Says" Commands - Card Deck
A set of 24 instruction cards to use when playing "Simon Says."