9+ Fun, Simple Hand Games to Play With Children
Hand Games
Writing Letters on Back or Hand
One simple game is to use your finger to write letters on the backs or hands of your children and have them guess which one you are writing. This game would be for children who already know their letters.
We all know that healthy touch is so important for our children. This may be a simple way to start with your children who don’t care for so much touch.
Let them do it back to you, too!
Classic Hand-clapping Games
From the time I was in school, we girls would have these hand-clapping patterns and rhythms we would play together. It was so fun once you got into the swing of it and learned the patterns.
I have only taught my girls one or two very simple patterns so far, and we haven’t done any of the fun rhymes yet, but I hope we can learn some more in the future.
They really enjoy it. Even children as young as two can learn ones as simple as clapping and then double clapping with someone else by turn. (If you need to see it to understand it, you can find this in the video, or see the videos by others linked below.)
Use hand-clapping games for some things like multiplication games, where you chant the tables while clapping!
Hand Stacking Game
This one has always been a favorite for my really young children and the older ones, too. It can be one of the perfect games to pass the time waiting for appointments or any other time.
You simply alternately stack your hands. It can even be done with several people. Then whoever’s hand is on the bottom of the pile pulls it out and puts it on top and each one keeps on doing that.
You can try to do it faster and faster. It is funny how hard it can be to remember to not pull out your hand when it is in the middle of the stack (which makes this a great game for learning hand-eye coordination.) This game usually ends in laughter.
Shadow Play
This is something each person can do with their own hands. Have a dark room and a light shining at your hands with a wall behind, then do different hand movements into different shapes.
You can see some more ideas in the links below.
Thumb War
This fun game can be a great way to bring lots of laughter. Link your fingers with the other player’s hand as shown in the image. The object of this game is to try to pin your opponent’s thumb down with your own thumb.
Of course, playing with someone smaller can give you an unfair advantage, so maybe let them “win” sometimes, or simply work on strengthening your thumb muscles!
I was amazed at how well my children actually did and how hard it was for me. Maybe our older thumbs lose some flexibility!
Rock, Paper, Scissors
This one might make some of us groan, but the truth is that it is a childhood favorite for most young children, so why not play occasionally?
If you don’t know how to play, you need to understand that a rock is stronger than a pair of scissors, a pair of scissors is stronger than a paper, and a paper is “stronger” than a rock in that you can cover the rock.
The hand symbol for the rock is a clenched fist, the paper is a flat palm, and the scissors is your index finger and the next one open as a pair of scissors.
The two players hide their hands behind their backs and chant “rock, paper, scissors, 1,2,3” and then pop out their hands with one of the three symbols, at the same time. The one with the stronger shape of the two wins.
I know there are different versions to some of these games so I hope that explains it clearly enough!
Pass the Clap
For this game it’s good to have several players and you all stand in a circle. Everyone’s right hand should be on top of the next person’s left hand, or you can alternate and have everyone’s left hand on top of the next person’s right hand.
One person then starts by clapping the next person’s hand and then putting their hand back in place, and the next person passes the clap along. Try a timed race to see how fast you can go around the circle without messing up!
Depending on the ages of your players you could have whoever messes up step out of the circle. The last player left without messing up is the winner!
Sign Language
While sign language isn’t exactly a hand game, it can be a simple way to entertain yourselves. We have learned basic baby sign language, so it is fun to communicate some things like “please water,” “thank you,” and “I love you,” to each other.
You can find more ideas in the video linked below.
Secret Hand Shakes
Last of all I want to mention secret hand shakes. Again, while this isn’t exactly a game, you and your children might want to brainstorm some hand shakes, touches or symbols to communicate with each other.
Maybe you could have something that means “I love you” or “I am afraid.” These are simple ways to build your connection and attention to each other.
More Thoughts
The idea behind these games is to have fun as well as help with different aspects of child development such as eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and taking advantage of the benefits of touch. But if your child doesn’t enjoy it, don’t push it for too long.
Laugh and enjoy these games as you spend quality time together. Maybe your children need some help learning to lose happily, but also let them win sometimes so that they can know that it is enjoyable to play with you.
Save it for Later!
Some More Ideas
There are games with a hand clapping rhyme like the classic clapping game Miss Mary Mack, or Pat-a cake Cake, Pat- a Cake Baker’s Man, and other classic games like finger games that we haven’t learned yet. If you are interested you can find some of them and some more ideas in the links below.
4 Classic Hand Clapping Games with Jady A.
5 Best Hand Clapping Games Compilation with Podo Town English
Now Tell Me
What is your favorite hand game?
Have I missed any important ones?
Be sure to let me know in the comments below!
(Would you also like my fun and simple first day of homeschool ideas? Check them out!)
