Whether you’re gearing up for the Super Bowl or just want to draw in your favorite sports fans, you’ll want to add these free football activities to your game plan. From reading and writing to math skills and beyond, these ideas are sure to become fan favorites. Get ready to kick off some fun!
1. Learn about the science of football
A whole lot of science and math are hiding out behind the scenes in football. The NFL made a whole series of videos to help kids learn all about it!
Learn more: Science of NFL Football
2. Build LEGO goalposts
Pull out the LEGO bricks and ask your kids to build their own goalposts. Once they’re made, you can use them for lots of other football activities.
Learn more: Little Bins For Little Hands
3. Engineer a football catapult
Challenge your students to construct catapults from wood craft sticks and rubber bands. Set up those LEGO goalposts, then see if kids can make a field goal!
Learn more: Busy Creating Memories
4. Use stats to do word problems
First, have kids research some statistics from a recent game. Then, use them to do the free printable word problems. Grab both pages at the link.
Learn more: Ashleigh’s Education Journey
5. Play Financial Football
Financial literacy is an absolutely vital skill for kids to learn. Make it fun with this free trivia-style game from the NFL and VISA. Play on the web or download the app for iOS or Android.
Learn more: Financial Football
6. Roll the dice to make ten
Use the special free printable dice found at the link for this game. Kids move their players down the field every time they manage to roll numbers that add up to ten.
Learn more: Football Make 10/The Kindergarten Connection
7. Practice counting on
You can use traditional dice for this football learning activity. Each player starts in their own end zone. Roll the dice and move your player down the field, counting the yards as you go. On your next turn, roll again and continue to count from the yard line where you left off. First to the other team’s end zone wins!
Learn more: Stir the Wonder
8. Use football-themed ten frames
Work on simple addition problems with these free printable cards that use footballs to mark ten frame spots. You get a dozen different cards for kids to tackle.
Learn more: 3 Dinosaurs
9. Memorize multiplication facts
Roll the dice (you’ll need nine-sided dice for this one) and multiply the two numbers. Use the product to determine your next move according to the score sheet. Careful … some rolls will set you back ten yards!
Learn more: You’ve Got This Math
10. Solve a football brain teaser
Fill a few moments at the end of class or use this brain teaser as a bell ringer. Can you rearrange these goalposts so the football is outside by touching only two toothpicks? (The answer is at the link!)
Learn more: All For The Boys
11. Learn the alphabet
Learning the alphabet? Name a letter and ask students to use the football to cover it up. You can also try this activity using beginning letter sounds instead.
Learn more: Little Family Fun
12. Pair letters with their sounds
Use these free printable cards to give kids practice matching letters with their starting sounds. This set focuses on the letters W, G, F, and M.
Learn more: Jennifer Elliott/Teachers Pay Teachers
13. Work on sight words
Here’s another football-themed matching game, this time using sight words. Get your free printable set at the link.
Learn more: Football Sight Words/The Kindergarten Connection
14. Master the concept of “farthest”
Use this active learning idea to help kids understand the idea of “farthest.” Kids throw a toy football onto the field to see who can throw it farthest, so they get motor skill practice too.
Learn more: Teach Them to Fly
15. Diagram football sentences
Kids use Montessori-style diagramming shapes to indicate the various parts of football-themed sentences. Grab your free printables at the link.
Learn more: Football Sentences/Every Star Is Different
16. Write about the Super Bowl
This craftivity is perfect for Super Bowl week. Students get handwriting and spelling practice as they write out their Super Bowl predictions, then color a player to display them.
Learn more: School Is A Happy Place
17. Flick the paper football for learning
Do you remember how to fold an old-school paper football? Don’t worry if you’ve forgotten. You’ll find the how-to at the link, along with instructions for playing a sight word football game.
Learn more: The OT Toolbox
18. Lace a felt football
Give little hands some fine motor skills practice with this easy-to-make felt football. All you need is felt and a shoelace!
Learn more: The Country Chic Cottage
19. Construct a football player puppet
Upcycle a cardboard cereal box into a football player puppet dressed in your favorite team’s colors. Add a paper plate “helmet,” and you’re ready to play!
Learn more: Kix Cereal
20. Sew a paper football
Get some fine motor skill practice with this cute craft. Kids sew two halves of a paper football together with yarn, then stuff it with paper towels. The result is a fun little toy that’s (fairly) safe to toss around inside.
Learn more: Preschool Powol Packets
21. Weave a football
You can’t throw this football around, but the weaving is good training for little fingers. Learn how to make your own at the link.
Learn more: JDaniel4’s Mom
22. Hand print a keepsake
How clever is this? Turn kids’ handprints into goalposts for a football keepsake parents will treasure!
Learn more: Glued to My Crafts
23. Stay busy with football-themed printables
Need activities for your early finishers? These free football-themed printables fit the bill. There’s a maze, word search, word scramble, coloring pages, and more.
Learn more: Sunny Day Family
24. Match and move
Combine exercise with a memory game to get two football activities in one! When kids flip a matching pair, they keep the cards. If the pair is an activity card, all the players do the exercise shown.
Learn more: Pink Oatmeal
25. Learn football positions
Want to learn more about the game itself? These matching cards describe each position and show pictures of the players in action.
Learn more: Football Positions/Every Star Is Different
Love these football activities? Keep the momentum going with 20 Grand Slam Baseball Activities and Crafts for Kids.
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