10 Classic Schoolyard Games Kids Play in Latin America
The schoolyard games the children play in Latin America and Spain involve a song, sometimes a ball or toy, and a little imagination.
Let’s learn about some of the most that are played in Latin America and Spain and the instructions to play them with our children,
It’s fun to learn about how other kids play at recess around the world. Read this post to discover how to play popular schoolyard games in Spanish.
¡Juguemos!
Let’s play!
Classic Schoolyard Games in Latin America
Playing outdoor games with kids has several benefits:
- Learning new things
- Helping with physical development
- Boosting creativity
- Developing a positive attitude
Children learns through playing, so it’s no surprise that most of these games are a reflection of social rules, like paying attention, following directions, and socializing.
Now, let’s learn about classic recess games in Central and South America and Spain!
1. Statues (Las estatuas)
This is one of those schoolyard games from the past—and it’s still popular with kids nowadays. This popular game from Peru has spread to the rest of Latin America.
What you need:
- Your body
- A music player
Choose one child to be el cuidador or la cuidadora (keeper), and all the other kids are the statues. The idea is for the kids to move, dance, pose, and make faces while the keeper has their back to them. When the keeper turns around, all the estatuas (statues) have to freeze and hold their pose.
The keeper can get close to them and try to make them laugh, but they can’t touch them. The kids who laugh or move while the keepers are looking at them lose. The winner is the one who doesn’t laugh or move while the keepers “inspect” them.
Use this song as a musical cue for the kids to move and stop.
2. Hide and Seek (El escondite)
Hide and seek is one of the most popular schoolyard games around the world! We all know how simple it is, but there might be some variants depending on where you are playing it.
What you need: a space with enough hiding spots
The simple way to play hide and seek is to choose one or several kids to be quienes la traen (seekers). The seekers count to 30, waiting for others to hide and then they have to seek them.
In Guatemala, a variant of this game is called chiviri cuarta. There is no translation to English because it doesn’t mean anything in Spanish, it’s just gibberish!
In chiviri cuarta, you have to move to the place where the seeker counted, like a wall, a door, or a tree, and yell ¡chiviri cuarta! to win.
To practice Spanish, have the kids count in Spanish, and say ¡Listos o no, allá voy! (Ready or not, here I come!).
3. Marbles (Los cincos/las canicas o curias)
This is one of the oldest schoolyard games in Latin America, and parents often teach their kids how to play.
What you need:
- Marbles
- A ground-level surface of dirt or sand
Draw a circle about 2 feet in diameter on the ground. All the players proceed to place one of their canicas (marbles) on the center of the circle and then they take turns to use their other marbles to hit those in the center and push them out of the circle.
If you make two marbles get out, those two marbles become yours. The winner is the one who hits the most marbles out of the circle.
Here is a video that shows how to play marbles like kids in Spain.
4. Broken Phone (El teléfono descompuesto)
This is a fun and easy schoolyard game for kindergarten, elementary, and even middle school.
What you need: enough space for the kids to sit one beside another on the ground
To play, each child has to whisper a sentence into the ear of the child sitting next to them. They go one at a time, whispering what they heard to the next kid, and so on. The last kid says the sentence aloud.
Usually, the message changes drastically, so it’s funny to hear what it started as and what it turned into.
5. The Sea Snake (La vivora de la mar)
This schoolyard game is a Mexican classic with several versions all around Latin America.
What you need:
- Enough space for the kids to play
- At least four players
Choose two children to hold hands and raise their arms to form an arch. One of these kids is the watermelon and the other is the melon.
The other kids make a line and hold each other by the hand or by the shoulders. Sing:
A la víbora de la mar,
por aquí podrán pasar.
los de adelante corren mucho,
y los de atrás se quedarán
To the sea snake,
You can go through here.
Those in the front run a lot,
And those in the back will stay.
Una mexicana que fruta vendía,
ciruela, chabacano, melón o sandía.
A Mexican lady sold fruit
Plum, apricot, melon or watermelon
Verbena, verbena, jardín de matatena
verbena, verbena, jardín de matatena
Verbena, verbena, matatena garden
Verbena, verbena, matatena garden
Campanita de oro déjame pasar
con todos mis hijos menos el de atrás
tras, tras, tras, tras
Little golden bell, let me through,
With all mi kids except the last one,
Last, last, last, last
Será melón, será sandia
será melón será sandia
será la vieja del otro día
Día, día, día
Will it be melon, will it be watermelon
Will it be melon, will it be watermelon
Will it be the old lady of the other day,
Day, day, day
When you began to sing this part:
Campanita de oro déjame pasar
con todos mis hijos menos el de atrás
tras, tras, tras, tras
The kids that are arch bring their arms down to trap one of the kids in the line. Then you continue singing:
Será melón, será sandía
será melón será sandía
será la vieja del otro día
Día, día, día
The kid who is trapped has to choose who they want to go with, the melon or the watermelon. They form a line behind the kid who is the fruit they choose.
You have to do this with all the kids. To end the game and choose the winner all the kids have to grab each other by the waist and they will play a sort of tug-o-war to find if the sandías or the melones win.
You can find the song here.
A simpler and shorter version of the game, better for small kids, is the one like you can see in this video, where the one who gets trapped in the arch is out.
6. The Little Frog Game (El juego de la ranita)
This one is a classic in Guatemala, and you learn how to play it from kindergarten! It’s perfect for all ages to play and full of fun and adrenaline.
What you need:
- Enough space for the kids to run and play around
- At least 4 players
Choose one child to be la ranita (the little frog) and have them stand in the middle of the circle. Get the other participants in a circle and tell them to hold hands and walk in circles around la ranita.
While they walk, they sing:
Vamos a la vuelta del Toro Toronjil,
A ver a la rana, comiendo perejil.
La rana no esta aquí, estará en su vergel
Cortando una rosa, sembrando un clavel.
Let’s go around the Toronjil Bull,
To see the frog, eating parsley.
The frog is not here, it will be in its garden
Cutting a rose, planting a carnation.
Then, the kids that form the circle stop and ask:
¿Cómo amaneció la ranita?
How did the little frog wake up?
And the child who is la ranita answer something like:
- alegre – happy
- aburrida – bored
- triste – sad
- enojada – angry
After each answer, the kids sing the first part of the song again and la ranita answers again. After several rounds, the child who is la ranita says:
- ¡Engusanada! – Gobbled up by a worm!
The kids in the circle have to run around while la ranita tries to catch one of them to be the new ranita.
Watch this video to learn the song and this video for an example of how to play.
7. Pluck An Onion (Arranca cebolla)
Even if smaller kids can play this game, I would recommend this classic playground game for kids age 7 and older. It is really fun but involves a bit of a struggle and good balance.
What you need: something sturdy for the kids to hold onto like a flag pole, tree, or lamppost
This is a fun game to play during recess or after class. One kid is la cebolla (onion). They have to grab or hug the tree or pole while the other tries to “pluck” him while grabbing them from the waist.
To make it more interesting, you can make groups with the kids, give them a time limit to try to pull their classmate off whatever they are holding and the group that manages to pluck more onions wins.
8. Tag (Tenta, la lleva, pega pega)
Tag is another classic schoolyard game that’s still played today.
What you need:
- A big space for the kids to run around
- At least 2 players
La tenta, el pega pega or la lleva are just a few names for the traditional game of tag.
In Guatemala. you choose the kid who is “it”—la lleva in Spanish—with this song:
Zapatito cochinito
Dime quien cambia de piecito
Little piggy shoe
Tell me who changes their foot
You get the kids in a circle and point at them while singing. The usual way is to point one kid for a syllable. For example
Za (you point one kid)
Pa (you point another kid)
Ti (you point another kid)
To (you point another kid)
The kid you point at when you end the word piecito moves their foot, and if you point at them they are safe from being “it”. The kid who is “it” is the last one to move their feet.
Once you have the kid who la lleva, it’s time to play. Count down from 10 to 1 and let the chase begin.
Designate a “safe space,” called pelo in Spanish, where the kids can rest for a little while before continuing to play.
Be sure to have the kids count in Spanish, and say ¡la llevas! Instead of “you’re it” and yell ¡pelo! when entering the safe space to rest.
9. Hopscotch (El avioncito, la rayuela)
You’re probably familiar with this traditional game from South America and Spain, which is also popular in the U.S.
What you need:
- A place to draw the “little plane”
- Chalk to draw the plane
- Enough space for the kids to jump
To play hopscotch, first, draw the avioncito (little plane) with chalk.
Hop with one foot onto one square, and jump with two feet on two squares. The one who goes through the fastest wins!
Check out this video to learn how to play el avioncito like a pro!
10. The King Requests (El rey pide)
This schoolyard game is great both inside and outside the classroom as well as at parties or piñatas.
What you need:
- A space where kids can find whatever you ask them for
- A space for kids to run around
This game makes the kids think fast to find what you ask them for.
There’s just one rule: the kids have to wait for you to say “El rey pide” to grab the object. If you don’t say “el rey pide” and they move to find what you ask, they’re out of the game because they weren’t paying attention.
Watch this video for an explanation of the game and to see how to play.
Play and Practice Spanish
Schoolyard games are a super fun way for kids to socialize and learn about other cultures! And learning Spanish opens your child’s eyes to a world beyond their front door. It encourages conversations around diversity, culture, and respecting others. With Spanish ranking among the top five most commonly spoken languages in the world, knowing Spanish will help your child communicate easily with those around them, at school, on the playground, and in the community.
Sign up your child for a free trial class with one of our certified, native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala, so they can start and carry conversations that enrich their lives!
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