10 fun and engaging ESL games for kids
Here are 10 fun and engaging ESL games for kids to practice vocabulary and sentences related to daily routines:
1. Routine Charades
Objective: Practice daily routine verbs. How to play:
Write different daily routine actions (e.g., "brush teeth," "eat breakfast," "go to school") on small pieces of paper.
One student picks a paper and acts out the routine without speaking, while the rest of the class guesses.
The student who guesses correctly gets to act next.
2. What’s Missing?
Objective: Vocabulary recall and memory. How to play:
Set up a few props or pictures that represent daily routines (e.g., a toothbrush, a book, a plate).
Show the items for a minute, then cover them.
Remove one item and uncover the rest. Students have to guess which item is missing and relate it to a routine.
3. Daily Routine Bingo
Objective: Vocabulary recognition and listening. How to play:
Create bingo cards with pictures or words of daily routines (e.g., waking up, brushing teeth, eating lunch).
Call out the routines randomly and have students mark them on their cards.
The first student to get a full line (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) wins!
4. My Day Timeline
Objective: Sentence structure practice (morning, afternoon, evening routines). How to play:
Prepare cards with daily routine pictures (e.g., breakfast, school, playtime, dinner, bedtime).
Students work in pairs or groups to arrange the cards in the order of a typical day.
Have them describe their day in sentences using the vocabulary they’ve arranged.
5. Find Someone Who…
Objective: Speaking and listening practice. How to play:
Prepare a sheet with statements like "Find someone who eats breakfast at 7 am" or "Find someone who goes to bed at 9 pm."
Students walk around the room asking their classmates questions to find people who match the statements.
This encourages speaking in full sentences and listening for information.
6. Routine Pictionary
Objective: Drawing and vocabulary recall. How to play:
Write a list of daily routine actions (e.g., “take a shower,” “eat lunch”) on slips of paper.
One student draws a card and draws the action on the board.
The other students guess what the drawing represents. The first to guess correctly gets a turn to draw.
7. Daily Routine Song
Objective: Practice vocabulary and sentence structure through music. How to play:
Choose or create a simple song that includes daily routine actions (e.g., “I wake up in the morning, I brush my teeth, I go to school”).
Have students sing along, and substitute in different actions or times of day.
This helps reinforce the vocabulary in a fun, repetitive way.
8. Who Am I?
Objective: Practice using "I" and describing routines. How to play:
Write the names of different people or characters (e.g., "I am a teacher," "I am a student," "I am your mom") on cards.
One student picks a card and reads the description (e.g., "I wake up early, I eat breakfast, I go to work").
The rest of the class asks yes/no questions (e.g., “Do you eat lunch?”) to guess who it is.
9. Daily Routine Memory Match
Objective: Matching vocabulary and pictures. How to play:
Prepare cards with pictures of daily routines and corresponding vocabulary words.
Lay the cards face down in rows.
Students take turns flipping over two cards to try and match the picture with the word. If they get a match, they keep the cards.
The student with the most pairs at the end wins.
10. Daily Routine Scavenger Hunt
Objective: Practice identifying and naming routines. How to play:
Hide pictures or objects around the room that represent different parts of the daily routine (e.g., a toothbrush, a plate, a book).
Give students clues in English (e.g., "This is what you use to brush your teeth." or "This is what you eat in the morning.").
Students go around the room to find the objects based on the clues.
These games help kids practice their English while learning about daily routines in a fun, interactive way!
You can find new games on my instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3o5thOI_Wx/