Setup: A 20×20m square marked with a cone at each corner and a few in the middle. A ball each if you can, one between two if not. Keep the group inside the square so you can see every face.

How it works: Everyone jogs around the square with a ball in their hands, weaving so they do not bump. On the call SCATTER they run to a new space; on SCOOP they put the ball gently on the grass, take one step back, then pick it straight up with two hands — no kicking it up, just a clean scoop, because in the girls' game that is allowed and it is the quickest way to get moving. Play a few rounds, then make it a giggle: on FREEZE everyone stops like a statue holding the ball to their chest. The whole thing is movement dressed up as a game, so keep the calls quick and the praise louder than the corrections.

Setup: Balls and soft spots scattered loose in the middle of the square — the treasure. Split into small groups of three or four, each with a home base cone in a corner. Keep groups tiny so nobody waits for a turn.

How it works: On GO, one player from each group runs to the treasure, scoops one ball cleanly off the ground with two hands, carries it back and drops it at her base, then tags the next player to go. First base with five pieces of treasure gives a big cheer. The only rule that matters is the scoop: if the ball is booted or knocked instead of picked up clean, it goes back for another go, no drama. Play two or three rounds and swap who starts so the same child is not always first.

Setup: Six cone gates, each two cones about two steps apart, scattered around the square. Pairs, one ball per pair. Give every pair a different starting gate so they are not all in one spot.

How it works: The girl with the ball carries it — a little bounce or a solo if she can, or just two hands and happy feet — through any gate, gently puts the ball down on the far side, and her partner scoops it up cleanly and takes it off through a different gate. So the ball is always being put down softly and picked up clean, which is the whole skill hiding inside a chase. Count gates as a pair for two minutes, then try to beat the score. Keep the gates busy and the coaching to a whisper — let them figure the weaving out themselves.

Setup: Four small hoops or cone rings as nests, one per group, in the corners. Pile all the loose balls in the middle. Groups of three or four at each nest, bibs on so teams are clear.

How it works: On GO everyone tries to fill their nest: run to the middle, scoop one ball clean, carry it back, drop it in the nest, go again. When the middle is empty the twist arrives — you may now rob one ball at a time from another nest, but only by scooping it cleanly, never snatching from hands, and you can carry only one at a time. Ninety seconds of gorgeous chaos, count the nests, reset and go again. It is running, deciding and picking up off the ground, all disguised as a raid.

Setup: Everyone flops down in a circle in the middle, balls hugged in laps. A slow, silly wind-down, not a stretch class.

How it works: Big slow reaches to the sky, wiggle the toes, shake out like a wet dog, three deep balloon breaths. Then go round the circle for the one question, quick answers, and finish by having them all show you their best two-handed scoop off the grass one last time so the last thing they do is the thing you want them to remember. Balls in the bag, high-fives at the gate.