12 Coolest Kid Carnival Games

12 Coolest Kid Carnival Games

Are you freaking out right now because you are in charge of a kids’ carnival? Don’t fret, you’ve come to the right place. Below are 12 Coolest Kid Carnival Games that  are divided into age groups from Preschool to 6th Grade. The kids will have a blast and you will be crowned a creative genius for organizing such a cool carnival. Let the games begin!

PRESCHOOL, KINDERGARTEN & 1ST GRADE

1. Pool Noodle Car Race | Ramblings From Utopia

What you will need:

Directions: 

  1. Buy an extra-large diameter foam pool noodle.
  2. Cut the noodle in half with a serrated knife (one side than the other side or with an electric knife you can cut straight through both sides)
  3. Once the noodle is in two pieces lay them on the ground side by side
  4. Insert toothpicks where the two halves of the foam noodles touch each other
  5. Use as many toothpicks as need to hold the noodle tracks tight together
  6. Then with a needle nose pliers clip the ends of the tooth picks flush to the noodle
  7. With card stock, cut to size a “Start” and “Finish” signs front and back. Cut wooden or bamboo skewers down to size leaving the pointed end exposed (makes it easier to insert into the foam). Glue the two “Start” pieces and two “Finish” pieces of card stock together with the cut ends of the wooden skewers sandwiched in between. Insert into your track.
  8. Finally just prop the track up on a chair, table, bed, pretty much anything, the higher the prop the faster the cars go. You are ready to race!

Monster Noodle “The Original Funnoodle” 3 inch. Diameter – 1 Single Monster Noodle –

2. Muffin Tin Tic Tac Toe | Sophie’s World

What you will need:

Directions: Cut off one entire side of the box so that the muffin tin can sit in the box with three walls surrounding it. Players stand back from the box and throw three balls. The object is to get three in a row.

3. Duck Race | Altered to Perfections

What you will need:

Directions: Fill two pans with water and place a rubber duck in each pan closest to the children. Using a straw, the two kids race each other by blowing air through their straws to push their rubber ducks to the finish line (the other end of the pan).  The first duck to make it to the finish line wins.

4. Go Fish | Kara’s Party Ideas

 

What you will need:

Directions: Cut out 20-30 fish from different colored construction paper. Clip a paper clip onto each fish and lay on a tarp or blanket. Tie a long string onto the end of a pole with a magnet attached at the end–this is your fishing pole. The kids take turns trying to catch a fish. You could number the fish to correlate to a certain prize or give a prize for a certain amount of fish caught within a determined timeframe.

Let’s Go Fishing Game- Magnetic Fishing Playset with 10 Fish, 1 Shark and 2 Poles

2ND, 3RD & 4TH GRADES

5. Bean Bag Ladder Toss | Landeelu

What you will need:

Directions: Label each rung of a step-ladder with points and let the kids try to get as many points as possible by throwing bean bags between the rungs.  Easiest set up ever!

6. Nose Pick | Carnival Savers

What you will need:

  • Handmade DIY Nose Pick Carnival Game
  • Green slime
  • 2 Small/Medium Plastic Buckets (one for the slime, one for your carnival prizes)
  • A variety of carnival prizes all about the same value
  • Paper towels

Directions: To make the carnival game you need plywood on a stand. The “3-D Nose” is made using paper mache. Two holes are drilled through the plywood — one in each nostril and big enough for hands to fit through. Before the carnival, have the green slime ready in the medium-sized pail. All carnival players are asked to first stick their hand in the left nostril (when they stick their hand in, they are really sticking their hand into the green slime bucket the volunteer is holding up behind the sign for them to feel). Kids think this is great! Lots of eyewwws, and grosses are heard! Next, children stick their hand into the right nostril and pull out a prize. (The volunteer is holding up the pail with the carnival prizes for the child to choose from).

7. Mini Golf | A Small Snippet

What you will need:

Directions: Make a small course using mailing tubes, wood blocks and green felt. First layout your fabric to designate the course. Use scraps of wood to outline the corners or the whole course if you have enough wood. Cut a whole in the felt fabric at the end of the course. Lay your mailing tubes on the felt fabric. Kids have to hit the golf ball through the tubes on the course and eventually into the hole.

Deluxe Golf Set for Kids with 5 Balls, 3 Clubs, 2 Tees & Golf Cart
Golf Hazard Putting Game & Mat

8. Velcro Darts | Perfect-Parties

What you will need:

  • Large piece of felt
  • 3 Different colors of felt to make bulls-eye
  • Velcro balls

Directions: Make a bulls-eye out of three different colored felt circles. Hot glue the bulls-eye together and then hot glue it to the base square piece of felt. Tape your felt dart board to a wall. Have kids stand behind a designated line and let them have three chances to throw a velcro  trying to get a bulls-eye.

5TH & 6TH GRADES

9. Toilet Paper Toss | A Turtle’s Life

What you will need:

  • 2 cardboard boxes
  • Toilet seat
  • 3 rolls of toilet paper wrapped in clear packing tape so they won’t unravel (make sure toilet rolls fit through toilet seat. If not, you might have to take some toilet paper off to make smaller.)
  • Plastic grocery bag attacked under toilet seat to catch the toilet paper
  • A brick for bottom of boxes to stabilize

Directions:  Tape together two cardboard boxes for height and decorate. Cut a hole in the top and insert a toilet seat.  Take 3 rolls of toilet paper and wrap clear tape around them so they won’t unravel. Have the kids then take turns trying to toss the toilet paper rolls into the toilet from a designated starting point. You could have them start closer than move back each time if they make it to make it harder.  Word of advice: tape a plastic grocery bag under the seat so when you go to retrieve the toilet paper for the next kid you don’t have to dump the whole thing over.  Also, put a brick in the bottom box so it won’t blow over.

10. Frisbee Tic Tac Toe | A Turtle’s Life for Me

What you will need:

Directions: Buy a cheap shower curtain and use duct tape to make a Tic Tac Toe grid.  Using the 6 frisbees, the kids have to stand behind a line and try to land three of their frisbees in a row. Not as easy as you think!

11. Football Throw Game 

Football throw game pic

What you will need:

Directions: Cut a hole in the middle a tri-fold presentation board. Decorate the board however you would like. The hole must be big enough for a football to pass through. The bigger the hole the easier. Have kids stand behind a designated line and throw a football trying to get the football in the holes.

12. Pool Noodle Battle | Jolley Family

What you will need:

  • Pool noodles
  • Plank of wood (long enough for 2 people to stand on each end at the same time)

Directions: 2 players stand on opposite ends of a wood plank each holding a pool noodle. Using the noodle, each player tries to knock the other player off the wood plank to win.

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