1-2-3 Animal: a simple gross-motor skills guessing game
This simple, no-prep game is a great way to get your kids’ wiggles out–and help them practice counting, critical thinking, and gross motor skills, too!
If you’ve ever hosted a family gathering with a house full of kids, you know how quickly things can spiral from happy playtime to full-blown chaos. That’s exactly what happened one Sunday evening at my brother’s house.
I’m the youngest of five siblings, and I love spending time with family whenever possible. Two of my siblings live nearby, so we make it a point to get together for dinner about once a month. Between us, we have seven young kids—mostly boys—which means our gatherings are loud, energetic, and often a bit wild.
On this particular night, the grown-ups were chatting in the kitchen, trying to finish our meals after spending dinner convincing our kids to eat something besides rolls.
The kids has long since been excused to go play, and they were doing so happily for the most part. But, as often is the case, the longer we left them to their own devices, the more their play escalated into chaos. We left them alone as long as we dared, recognizing the value of free play (and enjoying the chance to have adult conversation), but the thuds and shrieks from the other room eventually stopped sounding like everyone was having fun.
That’s when my quick-thinking sister-in-law stepped in. She gathered the kids and introduced this super simple game in an attempt to bring some order back to the night (and prevent any “creative” activities that might end in disaster). It was a hit…and we’ve been playing it ever since!
The game is a perfect mix of 20 Questions and Charades, making it a fun, low-prep indoor activity for kids of all ages. It’s easy to adapt, requires no special materials, and is a great way to entertain kids at home, at parties, or even in the classroom.
Want to try it with your crew? Here’s how to play!
1-2-3 Animal Gross Motor Guessing Game
Materials needed:
Nothing. Just a few people who are willing to get moving and get creative.
What We’re Learning:
- counting
- critical thinking
- gross motor skills
- predicting
How to Play:
- One player picks an animal and thinks of three clues to give the other players.
- The player gives all three clues before anyone is allowed to guess.
- Once the players guess the animal, then the person who is “it” counts to some predetermined number and everyone has to act like that animal, then freeze when the person stops counting.
- Whoever guessed the animal correctly gets to pick the next animal. (Or you can just take turns to keep things even. That’s what we often do because I have a certain child who cares very deeply about everything being “fair.”
Despite the fact that they created this game on a whim, it’s had major staying power for our family. My boys ask to play it regularly. It’s become one of our go-to activities when we’re waiting somewhere in line, or even at restaurants while we wait for our food (although we try to limit acting out the animals when we’re in public).
It’s fun to watch them try to think of really creative, descriptive clues to help the other players guess the animals. Sometimes they’ll choose basic animals, like an elephant, whale, or tiger. But sometimes, they’ll pick more unusual things–often something we’ve been reading about lately (like a sloth or an armadillo).
Sometimes we end up in debates about the animals’ characteristics. “Wait, jaguars don’t have stripes? How about cheetahs?” These discussions are fabulous though, because it gets my kids thinking about the animals and how to categorize them.
Younger kids might need a little guidance, but it’s good for them to learn and be involved, too. My three-year-old likes to make up random animals that don’t exist. He’ll give clues like…”It has a blue tail, and it lives in the ocean, and it has pinchers.” (Actually, this describes a blue loster…but he doesn’t know that exists). His choices may be unorthodox, but he makes the game so much more entertaining.
Their favorite part, of course, is acting out the animals. Word of warning…sometimes our actions turn into wrestling matches and we have to give everyone a “bubble” to stand in so no one gets clobbered…like this…
Does anyone else have boys that CAN NOT get within five feet of each other without wrestling? At least they’re getting exercise. Sigh.
And that’s it: a simple, no-prep game that gets kids moving, thinking, and learning all in five minutes or less! Next time you need a quick activity in a pinch, give it a try!
Do you have a favorite simple game to play with your kids? Please share in the comments!
Awesome! Will try this!
Our favourite game is hands down hide and seek
I never think about doing gross motor skills activities at home.
With 3 VERY active little boys, finding structured (i.e. Not dangerous) ways for them to get moving is a matter of survival. ☺️
How fun does this sound!! I am going to have to do this with my toddler on rainy days!!
It would be a great rainy day activity!
This game is really creative. Would love to play this with my kids.
What a great, simple game!! My kids love board and card games, but it’s nice to have options like the one you shared when materials aren’t available and the crowd is a little larger than normal.
My kids love board games, too, but the no-prep nature of the game really makes it great to use in a pinch.
I agree…necessity is the mother of invention. It is great for a group of children of different ages. Your sister-in-law is a genius!
What a great idea! My little one would have loved this!
My daughter will love these games. I am going to teach her how to play it now. Thanks for sharing.
Such a fun game idea. I am always looking for ideas like this for games to play with my kids.