Play Fox and Geese

I’ve been wanting to do this activity with my grandkids for about a year.

I’m really a speedy Gonzales, aren’t I, at getting around to doing it?

Well, all of the stars were finally in alignment so I was FINALLY able to play fox and geese with the grandkids during warm weather.

(I wrote about playing ‘true’ fox and geese in the wintertime a while back . . .)

The grandkids had a ball. In fact, they didn’t want to stop playing when it was time to go home. That’s the sign of a great activity, wouldn’t you say?

Fox and geese is a game of tag where the fox (who is ‘it’) tries to catch the geese. It is typically played in the wintertime when there is snow on the ground.

A wagon wheel pattern is stomped in the snow. The players have to stay on this path as they chase each other around. It’s a great activity to get kids playing outside in the winter.

Well, I had this super idea of playing it during the summer. And since there isn’t any snow during the summer, I thought we’d create the wagon wheel design on the grass using spray paint.

My wonderful husband painted the design on the grass in our backyard while I was at work so it would be ready for when the grandkids came. Wasn’t he nice?

I explained the rules of the game to the kids.

One grandchild was chosen to be the fox. (He was ‘it.’) All of the other grandkids were geese.

The object is for the fox to chase the geese along the spray painted trails trying to tag one of them. Everyone must stay on the trails at all times. Players cannot jump from one trail to a different one.

The center of the wagon wheel is ‘home’ where the geese are safe from the fox. They may stay there for a momentary rest where they will be safe. The fox cannot tag them if the geese are in the ‘home.” However, the geese cannot stay there very long. After a minute or two, they must leave home.

The fox may run through the center in pursuit of a goose but the fox cannot stop inside it.

When the fox tags a goose, their rolls are reversed. The goose now becomes the fox and the fox becomes a goose.

The new fox begins chasing the geese trying to tag one of them.

If you don’t have very many grandkids to play this game, enlist their parents. Grandma and Grandpa could play, too. The more players the easier it is for the fox to tag a goose.

You could also have more than one fox at a time. This means that the players have to really pay attention to who is a fox and who isn’t.

To add another variation to this game, make paths that wind and curve around instead of just being straight. This challenges the kids’ skill to run and stay on the path while trying to stay out of the fox’s reach.

In some ways, I like playing fox and geese better during warm weather. It’s harder to run when you’ve got on heavy snow boots and your all bundled up in snow clothes. Also, you don’t get cold. (Yeah, I know that snow clothes are supposed to keep you warm but sometimes toes and noses and fingers still get cold!)

This is a great activity any time time of the year that your grandchildren come over. Wintertime. Summertime. Spring. Fall. And best of all, it uses up all of their energy while having loads of fun!