Skip to main content

Act It Out Game

Players must follow instructions and use their imagination as they act out animals, songs or even objects!
Updated: December 1, 2022

Act It Out Game

Ages:4 to 10

Materials:Index cards, markers, large piece construction paper, erasers.

On the back of 3x5 index cards, write various activities for people to do: Organize the actions by categories, such as Animals ("Make a cow sound"); Physical Things ("Jump up and down on one foot three times"); Silly Songs ("Make up a dinosaur version of Old McDonald"); or Tongue Twisters ("Say 'she sells sea shells by the sea shore' five times").

When you're done writing instructions, have your kids decorate the backs of the cards, keeping the categories consistent -- yellow for Animals, red for Physical Things, and so on.

Now, you're ready for action. On a large piece of paper, use crayons to draw a "target" -- draw nested squares or concentric circles, including all of the colors of your cards. Each player then tosses a bean bag onto the target. Note: you can also use erasers or other soft throwing objects. Players pick a card from the color category matching the target where their bean bag landed; then follow the instructions.

Good luck with your toss: You might even find it liberating to impersonate an iguana, strut like a stegosaurus, or eat like an emu!

Make your own bean bag
Materials: navy beans, plastic sandwich bags, socks, twistems.

Pour half a cup of dry navy beans into a sandwich bag, squeeze out most of the air, then tie off the bag with a twistem. Place the bag in an old sock, then tie the sock shut or close it with a twistem.

FamilyEducation Editorial Staff

About FamilyEducation's Editorial Team

FamilyEducation is a trusted leader in parenting and pregnancy… Read more

Subscribe to Family Education

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe