Wandering the aisles of local stores such as Target has us noticing that school supplies are already starting to become picked over and sold out – which can only mean one thing. The start of school is coming up sooner than we anticipate! While this is a scary thought for most, let’s be honest, some of us might be a little bit relieved about that! For most people, the school year starts probably within the next month or so, which means we’ve still got some time to enjoy the summer before all the back-to-school madness begins.

This had us thinking – we all know that it is so important for kids to be active, especially in the summertime when they are home a large percentage of the time compared to the school year. They are constantly running, frolicking around playgrounds, taking part in organized sports and required to attend physical education classes. Getting them running around and off the couch now while it’s still summer will have them all geared up for the school year without any lag time! Luckily, we are happy to provide products to you and your family to keep them moving, like our Institutional See-Thru Tunnel.

Institutional See-Thru 6FT Tunnel

The Pacific Play Tents Institutional 6 ft. Tunnel is excellent fun for developing cooperative play and even better for muscle development. Connect it to any of our tents and other tunnels to create your own custom maze and obstacle course while stimulating the imagination for creative playtime! This innovative design incorporates our tried-and-true “padded interior” system, which means more comfortable playtime on those little knees and elbows. Want to drag it on outside? There is not a problem or a worry here, as it easily wipes clean with a damp cloth when you’re ready to bring it back inside. The Institutional Tunnel can also handle more wear and tear than the average tent or tunnel in our catalogue, as it was designed for schools, gyms, gymnastics, sports, and really just anywhere that big groups will be playing! This means you will be rest assured that you will have many years to come of fun games to play with your tunnel!

Fun with the Institutional See-Thru Tunnel

A little behind-the-scenes tidbit for you: At Pacific Play Tents, we are always doing photoshoots for this blog and other content, and we noticed an awesome pattern. Whenever our lovely models (the kids!) have some down time between takes, whether it is while we are setting up the next shot or that some other kids might be changing into the next outfit, they never fail to spark up and play a game with each other to pass the time.

Instead of a DIY this week, we thought why not highlight some of our model’s favorite tunnel games that you can initiate with your own kids?

Freeze tag

We’re starting with this one because this one is easily our model’s most favorite to play! Here are the rules of Freeze Tag that shall not be broken:

• Flip a coin, draw straws or guess a number between 1 and 10 to choose who starts as “It.”
• “It” carefully chases the other kids to try to tag them. The other kids can make this fun by zooming in and out of the play tunnel, jumping over it, and even hiding in it!
• When “It” is able to successfully tag a player, that player must completely freeze still
• The frozen person must remain frozen until another player, who has not been tagged at all by “It”, tags them to unfreeze them.
• The game continues until all runners have been frozen, and then a new person becomes “It.”

One Handed Pick-Up

This next one always turns out to be a hilarious problem-solving game! While it’s great fun, it’s an even better brain exercise. Here’s how you play:

• Place an object such as a stuffed animal, food or ball in the middle of the tunnel .
• The kids then crawl through the tunnel one by one
• When they reach the object, they must pick it up with only one hand and crawl out carrying it

Tunnel Ball Roll

This one sounds pretty easy, but it is harder than you and your kids might think! Here’s how you play:

• Have two children sit on opposite ends of the tunnel
• Using a small ball, they must roll it to the other person without it getting stopped or bouncing away due to the springs
• Whoever can successfully get it to the other side the most without any mishaps in a certain amount of time, wins!

Backwards Crawl

Pretty obvious, but pretty fun! Here are some ways to play:

• Line the kids up and have them go one by one through the tunnel backwards
• They can crawl, sit, or belly-crawl, but they need to go across as quickly as possible
• Whoever can get through the quickest, wins!
• Make it even more challenging with some blindfolds!

Freeze-Tag-With-All-Your-Limbs-Bent-or-All-Your-Limbs-Straight

This is a HILARIOUS version of Freeze Tag we saw on The Game Gal that will get you, and your kids, crying with laughter. Here’s how you play:

• Flip a coin, draw straws or guess a number between 1 and 10 to choose who starts as “It.”
• All children, running from “It,” must choose to run with either stick-straight arms and legs or bent arms and legs.
• This includes “It”!
• When tagged by “It”, the tagged child must freeze in that crazy position
• At the same time, “It” must change the way he or she is running
• The frozen person must remain frozen until another player, who has not been tagged at all by “It”, tags them to unfreeze them.
• Once unfrozen, they must change the way they run as well
• The game continues until all runners have been frozen, and then a new person becomes “It.”

Let us know!

Do you and your kids have some other awesome games that you like to play in your play tunnels? Do you have the Institutional Tunnel at home? Let us know in the comments below!