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20 Super Fun ESL Kindergarten Games

Playing ESL Kindergarten games is the best way for kids to learn English. Students learn best when they are having fun, and at Games4esl we love creating fun and engaging educational games for kids. Below you’ll find a collection of our best fun ESL games for kindergarten students. All these activities are absolutely FREE and require little to no preparation. Let’s get started.

Related: 10 Fun 100th Day Of School Games

Game 1: Alphabet Games

One of the best ways for kindergarten students to learn the alphabet and the alphabet sounds is through playing games. The above activity is a fun alphabet game in which students must guess the word beginning with a particular letter of the alphabet. Students will see an outline of an object and then have five seconds to guess the word. This game is available for all letters of the alphabet from A to Z on our Phonics Alphabet Games page here.

Game 2: Hidden Picture Games

Kindergarten students love playing the ‘Hidden Picture Game’ and it’s a great way to review vocabulary they have learned in the lesson. The Hidden picture game is a fun PowerPoint game in which there is a picture hidden behind some colored shapes. The teacher should click on the shapes which makes them disappear and reveal the picture beneath. Then the students should try to guess what the picture is of. You can find a blank template to make your own, and over 35 ready to use games on various topics for kids on our Hidden Picture PowerPoint Games Page here.

Game 3: Touch Your Nose, Please (Simon Says Game)

Simon Says is a classic classroom game which young learners absolutely love. And the best part is it doesn’t require any preparation from the teacher. If you’re not familiar with Simon Says, the rules of the game are simple. The teacher should give instructions to the students and if the teacher says “Simon Says..” before the instruction, then the students should do what the teacher said. If the teacher does not say “Simon Says…’ first, then the students should not follow the instructions.

A great alternative to the classic version of Simon Says is to replace “Simon Says..” with “…please.” So, for example, if the teacher says “Touch your nose, please.” then the students should touch their nose. But if the teacher doesn’t say “please” then the students shouldn’t follow the instruction. This variation of Simon Says is super fun and a great way to teach manners to kindergarten students at the same time.

Game 4: Colors Guessing Game

Another common topic that ESL kindergarten students learn is colors. This fun colors guessing game is a fantastic way to review the names of colors in English. In this game, students will see a black and white picture and are then asked “What color is it?”. Students will then see two names of colors and must guess what color the object is. Students have a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly. Kindergarten students really love this game, especially when they guess correctly.

Game 5: What’s Missing?

To play this fun ESL kindergarten classroom game, all you need are some flashcards. Place 6-8 flashcards on the board and then say each word aloud and ask students to repeat after you. Then, tell students they have 10 seconds to try to memorize the words. After 10 seconds, tell students to close their eyes and then remove one of the flashcards from the board. Next, tell students to open their eyes and ask them ‘What’s missing?’. If a student guesses correctly, invite that student up to the front of the class to choose the next card.

Game 6: What Time Is It Mr. Wolf?

This next kindergarten game is best played outside or in a room with lots of space for the kids to run around. To play this game, choose one student to be the ‘wolf’. The ‘wolf’ must face away from the other students and close their eyes. The rest of the class should stand at the other end of the classroom / playground. Next, the students should shout out ‘What time is it Mr. Wolf?’ and the wolf should answer with a time between 1 and 12 o’clock. The students should then take steps forward corresponding to the time that the wolf answered. For example, if the wolf said “It’s three o’clock.”, then students should move forward 3 steps.

Next, the students should ask again “What time is it Mr. Wolf?” and then take steps forward after the wolf has answered. Once the students are close to the wolf, the wolf can answer ‘It’s dinner time!” and then turn around and chase the students. If the wolf catches one of the students, then that student becomes the new wolf and the game can start again.

Game 7: Weather Guessing Game

Another common topic that ESL kindergarten students learn is the weather. This fun game asks students ‘How’s the weather?’ and then shows them two possible answers. Students should choose one answer. They have a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly and if they guess the weather correctly, they get a point. Students can show their answer in many different ways. They can either raise their hand, move to one side of the classroom, or write down their answer.

Game 8: Let’s Dance Game

One thing kindergarten students absolutely love is dancing and being silly. This next activity is a great game to play to get students up and active and dancing around. To play, first visit our Let’s Dance PPT Game page and download a blank template or one of the ready to use games on many topics. Next, show the PPT in class. On the PPT there are 30 squares and each square has a word/number on it. Students will take turns reading the words/numbers in the squares. Each time, the student will have a choice. They can either read 1 word, 2 words, or a maximum of 3 words. The student who says the last word must dance. Alternatively, if you want the whole class to dance, the student who says the last word doesn’t have to dance, but the rest of the class do.

Game 9: The Phonics Train

This next game is great for kindergarten students to review phonics and letter sounds. To play this game, simply show the video in class. Students will see a train go by with phonics flashcards on. Then, students will see the train go by again, but this time with a card missing. Students must try to remember which word is missing. You can find the 6 Phonics Train games for initial sounds A to Z, plus CVC words on our Phonics Train Game Page.

Game 10: Find Something Blue

This next game for kindergarten students is super fun and great for reviewing colors in English. To begin, have students all sit down in the middle of the class. Tell the children that when you say ‘Go’ they should stand up and find something blue and bring it back to the middle of the class and sit down. For safety, be sure to tell students not to run or push other students. Once students have found something and sat back down, invite each student to share what they found. The teacher can ask ‘What is it?’ and students can answer “It’s a blue ball.”, “It’s a blue pencil.”, etc. Next, ask students to put their items back and then play again with a different color.

Game 11: Clothes Guessing Game

This fun guessing game is a great way to review the names of clothes in English with kindergarten students. In this game, there are 10 rounds and each round will show students a drawing of an outline of an item of clothing. The children should then try to guess what item of clothing it is before the time runs out. You can find more guessing game ideas on our guessing games for kids post.

Game 12: Matching Game

Test your kindergarten students’ memories with this fun matching game. There are 12 squares and behind each square is a picture. Students should try to find the matching pictures by choosing 2 squares at a time. Once students have chosen the numbers, the teacher can click on the number to show the picture. If the pictures are matching, the students get a point. If they are different, the teacher can click on the red circle to hide the image again. After a few turns, the students will start to remember where the pictures were and the game becomes really fun. Download a blank template and many ready to use games on different topics from our Memory Game Page.

Game 13: Four Corners Game

This simple classroom game for kindergarten students is incredibly fun and requires very little preparation. To play, first give a name to the four corners of the classroom. The names you give can be the words the children learned during the lesson. For example, if they are learning about numbers, you can name the corners 1,2,3, and 4, or if they are learning about animals, you can name the corners cat, dog, bird, and fish, etc. Next, write down one of the corner names and don’t show the students. Then, give students 5 seconds to move one of the corners of the classroom.

Once students have chosen their corner, show students the corner name you wrote down and the students in that corner are out. Then, play again and repeat until there is only 1 student left. That students is the winner.

Game 14: Meet In The Middle

To play this game, place 6 to 8 flashcards in a line on the floor. Next, place one student at one end of the line of flashcards and another student at the other end of the line. The kids should then jump forward and land on the first flashcard and say that word out loud. Next, the two students should jump forward again and land on the next flashcard and say that word out loud.

The two students should continue doing that until they meet in the middle of the line of flashcards. When they meet, the two children should play rock, scissors, paper. The winning student gets to stay where they are. The losing student must sit down, and a new student then comes and stands at the end of the line of flashcards.

Then the game continues. Each student should jump forward to the next flashcard and then say the word out loud. When they meet, they should play rock, scissors, paper and losing student should sit down. The aim of the game is to get to the other end of the line. This game is super fun and kindergarten students really love playing it.

Game 15: Animals Guessing Game

This next ESL game for kindergarten students is great for learning the names of animals in English. Students will see an outline of an animal and must guess the animal name before the time runs out. There are 10 rounds.

Game 16: Prepositions Game

One topic that ESL kindergarten students learn is prepositions of place such as on, in, and under. This fun prepositions game is great for teaching prepositions of place to kids. Students will see a scene for five seconds and must try to remember where the objects are. Next, the scene will disappear, and students will be asked a question, such as “Where is the teddy bear?”. Then, students must say the correct answer using the correct preposition of place.

Game 17: I Spy With My Little Eye

The game ‘I Spy’ is a super game to play with ESL kindergarten students to review vocabulary they have learned. If you’re not familiar with the game ‘I Spy’, the rules are simple. The teacher or a student should look around the classroom and choose an object without telling the rest of the class.

Then, the teacher/student should give a clue to what object they are thinking of by saying telling them the first letter of the word by saying ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with b.” Next, the rest of the class looks around the classroom and tries to guess what object they are thinking of. The student who guesses correctly gets to choose the next object.

Game 18: Fruits and Vegetables Guessing Game

This ESL kindergarten game is great for teaching fruit and vegetables vocabulary in English. Students will see an outline of a fruit or vegetable and must guess what it is before the time runs out. Each fruit or vegetable word is in the plural form, so this game is also great for reviewing plural nouns.

Game 19: Duck Duck Goose

Duck Duck Goose is another fun game that kindergarten students love. This classic game can be easily adapted for ESL kindergarten classes to review vocabulary. In the classic game of Duck Duck Goose, students should sit in a circle and one student is ‘it’. The student who is ‘it’ should walk around the circle and touch each student on the head and say ‘duck’. At some point, the student who is ‘it’ can say ‘goose’ at which point the ‘goose’ should jump up and try to run around the circle and sit back down before the other student takes their seat.

To adapt this game for ESL kindergarten classes, simply replace the words ‘Duck Duck Goose’ with the target language from the lesson. For example, if you’re teaching about fruit, you can change the words to ‘Apple Apple Banana’.

Game 20: Feelings And Emotions Game

A common topic that ESL kindergarten students learn is ‘feelings and emotions’. This fun game asks students to guess the feeling/emotion. Students will see a blank emoticon and will be asked ‘Are you happy?”. Students must then choose either ‘Yes, I am.’ or ‘No, I am not.’ Next, the feeling/emotion will be revealed. If the students guessed correctly, they get a point.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found some inspiration for your next ESL kindergarten classroom game. Before you go, don’t forget to check out our free resources for teaching English including Activity Videos, PPT Games, PowerPoint Lessons, ESL Worksheets, and Printables.

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10 Fun English Learning Games And Activities For Kids

Now learning the language is child's play, literally so!

Image: Shutterstock

One of the best ways of teaching English to children is by introducing them to English learning games and activities for kindergarten. A game or activity makes any learning process easier because it’s fun and exciting.

Your children might find it hard to learn the language when they are forced to do it. It takes away the fun element and leaves them with absolute disinterest. Thus, teaching children the language through games can help them grasp the language better.

Keep scrolling as we have listed some interesting games that can help improve the basic English language skills of kindergarteners.

10 Fun English Learning Games And Activities

1. Fish Me A Word:

You Will Need:

• A list of simple words
• Piece of yarn
• Construction paper
• Pen
• Crayons
• One big wooden spoon
• Scissors
• Glue
• 12 paper clips
• Magnet

How To:

• Guide your child to cut 12 shapes of fishes out of the white construction paper.

• Write one word from the list of simple words on each paper fish using a pen.

• Encourage your kid to decorate the fishes with the help of colorful crayons.

• Attach one paper clip to the each paper fish.

• Tie one wooden spoon at one end of the string and magnet to its other end. Use the spoon as the fishing rod.

• Now, spread 12 paper fishes on the ground and tell your kid to use the fishing rod and fish out a paper fish which has the word that you will spell out.

• Call out one word, your child will bring the magnet attached to the fishing rod near the paper clip attached to the fish having your said word, and catch the paper fish.
• Every time your child picks the perfect one tell her to spell the entire word loudly. This is a fun and interactive games for kids to learn English words.

2. Alphabet Hunt:

Image: iStock

You Will Need:

• Children’s magazine, such as ‘Time for Kids.’
• Large sheet of a cardboard
• Glue
• Markers
• Scissors

How To:

• Create a column on the left side of big cardboard sheet and tell your child to write all 26 alphabets in that column starting from A in the first row and ending with Z in the last row.

• Now, give your kid the last issue of children’s magazine that contains lots of images, and ask her to hunt for a picture which begins with each alphabet. For instance, tell your little learner to find a picture which starts with ‘A’ like apple or airplane. Write the name of the image in the front of alphabet ‘A’ on the cardboard. You can also help her cut out the image and paste it across A on the cardboard.

• The game continues till your kid finds images for all the alphabets.

3. Word Recognition Activity:

You Will Need:

• Lots of index cards
• Marker
• Old magazines having several images
• Glue
• Scissors

How To:

• Write some simple words, which are easy to represent with pictures, on one set of index cards.

• Cut images of the written words from the old magazines and glue them on the other set of index cards.

• Spread all the index cards facing up on the table, and tell your kid to match each written word with its corresponding image. The activity completes after your child matches all the words with their related images. It can be one of the best games to learn English for kids

4. Blindfold Guess:

You Will Need:

• A thick handkerchief or small towel
• Lots of easily recognizable objects

How To:

• Spread lots of plastic objects, such as plastic animals, ball, and other toys that children can easily recognize just with a touch.

• Blindfold the kids one-by-one and tell them to touch the objects with their hands and guess them.
• Kids should name the objects that they feel with the spellings.

5. ABC Balloon Game:

Image: iStock

You Will Need:

• 26 balloons
• A group of four or more kids.
• Permanent black marker

How To:

• Inflate all 26 balloons with air (no helium).

• Use the black permanent marker and write one alphabet on each inflated balloon. Likewise, 26 items will have 26 alphabets one on each ball.

• Make your kids sit in a circle. Now, you toss the ball having A on it to a child in the circle and speak out the alphabet loudly. Make the players shout the letter aloud and flip the ball in the circle without letting it fall and touch the ground.

• Add balloon B by tossing it to the particular kid, who held ball A first, and tell children to shout the letter and throw it in the circle.

• Keep on adding the other balloons. Once a ball falls and touches the ground, eliminate that it, and tell kids to shout the alphabet. The activity continues till all the balloons are in play.

6. Apple Pass:

You Will Need:

• A group of kindergarteners
• One plastic apple

How To:

• Make all the kids sit in a circle. Get a plastic apple and toss it to one of the children saying one of the fruit words as you pass it.

• Tell kids to throw the apple at another child and pronounce a different fruit name. Circulate the apple in the circle and every time a child passes the apple she needs to pronounce a different fruit name and pass. If the kid fails to say the name of a new fruit or she drops down the apple, then she is out. Apple pass is one of the best fun activities for kids to learn English language.

7. Doctor Reading Game:

Image: iStock

You Will Need:

• Sticky notes
• Doctor toys
• Pen

How To:

• Provide your child many sticky notes and tell her to write the names of several body parts, namely ears, forehead, nose, mouth, arm, leg, hand, stomach, neck, ankle, knee, foot, heart, and toe.

• Place all the notes facing upwards on a table so your child can pick them up with ease.

• Acquaint your child with the body parts corresponding to the names written on the notes.

• Tell your kid to become a doctor and you act as a patient.

• Choose one of the sticky notes without picking it and act as if the particular body part hurts you.

• Tell your child to locate the body part, find the note, and place it on the correct area of your body. Then, pretend that your another body part is suffering the pain and repeat the activity till all sticky notes are gone.

8. Simon Says Spell:

You Will Need:

• A group of kindergartners
• Lots of objects

How To:

• Gather a group of kids and acquaint them with various objects.

• Tell them that you will mention a letter in a sentence and children need to find and touch the object. For instance, you will say ‘Simon says touch an object beginning with ‘B’’ then students need to figure out objects in the surrounding, such as a ball, bin, boots, and other item starting with B and touch them.
• If a kid feels a wrong item by mistake, she is out. This is one of the interesting activities to learn English for kids in an easy way.

9. Guess Emotions:

You Will Need:

• A group of kids
• A sheet of paper
• Pen

How To:

• Teach a group of students various facial emotions and their wording, such as happiness, sleepy, angry, surprised, sad, and grumpy.

• Play emotions-guessing game. You act out one of the emotions and tell kindergarteners to guess it. The kid who guesses it correct the first should act out and guess the next emotion.

10. Make Words Game:

Image: iStock

You Will Need:

• Lots of pieces of small card papers
• Black marker
• A group of children

How To:

• Write one alphabet on one piece of card paper. Likewise, write one alphabet on each card piece thus completing all 26 letters.

• Spread the pieces of card papers on the table in a random manner.

• Tell your kindergartner to choose the letters from the group of the paper pieces and create simple words, such as cat, hat, cap, tea, and other simple words.

• The child who makes the maximum number of words out of the group of alphabets is the winner.

Learning with games and activities is often more effective than conventional rote learning methods. Therefore, if your child is learning English, make it enjoyable by introducing games and activities. This article provides several English learning games for kids that may give you an idea of how you can make the learning process more enjoyable. So, try out games such as apple pass, doctor reading game, or guess emotions and see how they work for your children. Keep trying different games and make learning interactive. Also, do not be afraid to add modifications to the game rules to suit your needs.

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Manjiri is a freelance writer with experience in writing on a wide range of topics, including travel, education, yoga, and children’s activities, fun and learning. She is passionate about creative writing and loves to put her thoughts into words. Manjiri excels in breaking down complex information, ideas and aspects of life into simpler elements for an easy read.

10 games for an English lesson in kindergarten

Author admin Read 5 min Views 1.9k. Posted on 2020-07-23

The game form of teaching a foreign language is perhaps one of the most effective means for the perception of new information. During the game, interest in what is happening increases, mood improves, and when success is achieved, the motivation of students also increases. Games are especially effective at preschool age, since during this period new information is best absorbed during the game.

The games below are some of the easiest. At the same time, with their constant application, as well as changes by introducing new words, objects, characters, actions, the best effect is noted. Vocabulary and sentence structures in these games can be changed depending on the material being studied and the desired result.

Contents

1. 1. “Apple, go!”
2. 2. “Little fish”.
3. 3. “Where is green?”
4. 4. Fast Animals.
5. 5. "True or false".
6. 6. ‘Little train’.
7. 7. Find your friend.
8. 8. “Who said Meow?”
9. 9. ‘’ Body parts’.
10. 10. “Do you have a ball?”

1. “Apple, go!”

The children sit down with the teacher in a circle. The teacher takes out an apple and passes it to the child to his right, the child passes the apple to the next one, and so on. While the apple goes in a circle, the children say (sing) together: Apple, go! Apple hop! Apple roll! Apple stop! After the word “stop”, the transfer of the apple stops. The teacher asks the child, in whose hands the apple is left, a simple question. For example: What is your name? How are you today? What is your favorite color? What do you like to eat? Can you swim? etc. After the student's answer, the transfer of the apple continues.

2.

Children stand freely on the playground. The teacher plays the role of a shark, the children are small fish. All participants, moving, say the following dialogue:

- Little fish!

– I`m here!

– Come with me!

No, dear!

– I`ll catch you! (The teacher makes a menacing look before trying to catch the "fish")

- Let`s play!

Don't move!

– Okay!

Children stop moving and freeze in the position they were in when the dialogue ended. The teacher walks around the children and grabs the one who started moving the earliest. "Shark" takes the "fish" with him, the game continues. The last remaining "fish" wins.

3. “Where is green?”

Music is playing, children are dancing. After a few seconds, the teacher stops the music and says loudly: Green! Children who have green on their clothes run up to the teacher and stand next to him. After checking, the students return to their places and the music turns on again. The teacher then names another color, and so on.

4. Fast Animals.

The group is divided into 2-3 teams, everyone stands in three lines. Each child is given a card or mask with an image of an animal. All teams must have the same number of participants and the same animal names. The teacher loudly calls some animal, for example: Dogs! All "dogs" run in front, go around the skittle standing on the floor and return to their place. Then, in turn, the teacher calls the rest of the "animals" so that all the guys can take part.

5. “True or false”.

Children sit in front of the leader. The leader, whose role can be played by both the teacher and the student, names any fact, real or unreal. For example, Apples are black; Grass is green; I have three arms; Jane has a tail, etc. If the statement is incorrect, the children stand up and jump up and down. If the statement is correct, the children continue to sit.

6. ‘Little train’.

The teacher distributes cards to the children (one letter is depicted on each card), begins to walk in a circle and collect the children, forming a train. When the teacher approaches the “station” where the children are standing, he says: “Attention! The letter Bb, please come here!” The student with the letter Bb on the card joins the train, which makes the next circle and returns to the “station” again for more letters.

(In this game, you can easily change the topic depending on the material being studied. For example, give children cards with pictures of flowers or animals.)

7. “Find your friend”.

The group is divided into two parts. The teacher distributes pictures to some children, to others - cards with the writing of objects (animals, phenomena) depicted in the pictures of another part of the children. Everyone must find a mate (for example, if a child has a crocodile on the card, he must find a child with a picture of a crocodile).

8. “Who said Meow?”

One of the students plays the role of a cat. The "cat" sits in the center of the circle, the children stand around it. Each child has a mask or a card with an image of an animal (positioned so that the “cat” can see it clearly). The cat closes his eyes. One of the students meows 1-2 times, after which the "cat" opens his eyes and calls the one who said "Meow", pronouncing the names of the animals depicted in the pictures (masks) of the children.

9. ‘’ Body parts’.

The teacher throws the ball to one of the children and asks to touch some part of his body: Touch your nose. touch your foot. touch your back.

The theme in this game can be changed, for example, to "Animal Sounds" or "Actions".

10. “Do you have a ball?”

Several children stand in a tight line, each with his hands behind his back. The teacher gives the ball to one of the children standing in the line, which the child continues to hold behind his back so that the ball is not visible from the front. One child stands in front of the children standing in a line and tries to guess who has the ball by asking the question: Do you have a ball? Children standing in a line answer No, I don`t have a ball and show free hands, or Yes, I have a ball.

Outdoor games in English for children: toddlers, preschoolers and schoolchildren

Outdoor games are an activity that all children love. It's fun and joyful, it's about teamwork and developing communication skills and of course it's physical activity that every child needs. And if they are held in English, then this is also a benefit for intellectual development.

Outdoor games in English can diversify the lesson, conduct a physical education session without departing from the learning process. And in the summer, they will help not to forget what has already been mastered during the school year and learn something new.

Outdoor games are based on frequently repeated commands and words. Together with a fun game form, this will allow you to easily consolidate vocabulary, study prepositions, verbs, practice English counting and much more.

You can play outdoor games in English:

both alone and in a fun company

for children of any age

with any level of language proficiency