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Basketball season is in full swing. Whether you’re gearing up to see who makes the NBA finals or you’re tuning into the college basketball tournament, chances are your kiddos want to join in on the excitement, too. The below activities and games are great for keeping kids engaged while watching the game and keeping them active when they’re not.
1. Basketball Bingo
This basketball bingo card is perfect for keeping your little ballers engaged during a basketball game and is an activity that they’ll actually need to pay attention to the game for. They’ll have a ton of fun spotting and marking off the different things on their bingo sheet.
How to play:
- Print out the BINGO sheet and go over all of the basketball terms with your kid if they’re unfamiliar.
- During the game, have them look for the different items on their sheet. For example, if they see a 3-point made or a player falling down, they can mark off that space of their bingo card.
- The first player to get five spaces and yell BINGO wins!
You can download the full-sized bingo card created by adidas above (click the image to enlarge).
2. H-O-R-S-E
To keep the basketball spirit alive during the season, a game of H-O-R-S-E is always a fun option. You’ll need a basketball and a hoop to play this one, but if you don’t have those, feel free to improvise with what you have around the house. A trash can or portable door hoop will work just fine!
How to play:
- If you’re playing with multiple players, pick someone to go first.
- The first player takes a shot from anywhere on the court. To make this fun for little ones, feel free to add extra rules, like shooting with your eyes closed, shooting behind your back or doing a silly dance move before you make the shot.
- If the first player makes the basket, the next player must copy it by shooting from that same position.
- If the first player misses the basket, the second player can make their own shot from anywhere on the court.
- The next player will attempt to copy the shot the previous player made. If they make it, they go again and create a new shot. If they miss, they get the first letter in the word H-O-R-S-E.
- Repeat until someone spells out H-O-R-S-E
3. Jersey Coloring Page
Whether during a basketball game or not, this jersey coloring page is another fun and creative activity to get kids excited for basketball. This coloring page is a blank canvas for kids to create their own basketball squad or design a new jersey for their favorite team. They can design as many jerseys as they want with this printable coloring page.
You can download the full-sized jersey coloring page above (click the image to enlarge).
4. Musical Basketball
Musical basketball is like musical chairs, but with basketballs and will require players to pass the ball around while playing music. This game will require as many basketballs as there are players, so it’s best with a bigger group!
How to play:
- Begin the game with at least three players, though the more the better.
- Put the basketballs in the center and have the players form a circle around them. There should be one less ball than there are players. So, if there are 5 players, there should be 4 balls in the center.
- Have the players walk around the basketballs while the music plays.
- Once the music stops, the players will run and grab a ball.
- Whoever doesn’t get a ball is out.
- The player to get the last and final ball wins.
5. Monkey in the Middle
Not only is this a fun game for kids to get their wiggles out, but it’s also great for helping kids develop better hand-eye coordination. Monkey in the middle is a throwing and catching game perfect for a small group of three to five.
How to play:
- Pick one player to be the monkey who will stand in the middle of the other players.
- The two players will pass the basketball back and forth and the monkey will try to catch the ball as they throw it to each other.
- If the monkey catches the basketball, they will take the place of the player who threw the ball that they caught and that player then becomes the monkey in the middle.
6. Red Light, Green Light
This is similar to the traditional game of red light, green light, but players will be dribbling basketballs instead. If you have a kiddo interested in playing youth basketball, this is a great game for them to practice their dribbling skills.
How to play:
- Have all of the players start by lining up at the end of the court, driveway or whatever area you’re playing in.
- When you shout “green light,” the kids will run forward while dribbling their balls. When you shout “red light,” they will freeze.
- The first player to get to the other end of the court wins.
7. Guess the Team
For those kiddos that are a little older and more versed in sports, a game of guess or name that team will be a ton of fun for them. There are a few ways to play this game, depending on what you think will be the most fun.
How to play:
- Start by researching all of the team mascots on Google.
- Print out a picture of each mascot or a list of them.
- Depending on if you’re playing with pictures or just naming the mascot, each player will shout out the correct team to the corresponding mascot.
- If a player guesses correctly, they get a point. If they guess incorrectly, let another player answer.
- Once you’ve gone through all of the mascots, the person with the most points wins.
Whether you have teenagers or preschoolers, there’s a basketball-themed activity for kids of all ages. Get you and your family pumped for the NBA finals or the college basketball playoffs with these fun games and activities sure to make a slam dunk.
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