Hungry Fox

  1. Readiness Games
  2. Recess Games
  3. Tag Games

  • Large Group (10 and up)

  • Grades 1-2

  • Chalk

  • 10 minutes or more

Development Goal

To develop body and spatial awareness.

Before You Start

Skills Practiced: Agility and evasion

  • Demonstrate safe tagging:
    • Light touch, like a butterfly wings, on the shoulder
    • Unsafe tags: hard contact that might cause the person being tagged to fall
  • Practice with the students asking Hungry Fox “What time is it Hungry Fox?”
  • Demonstrate what happens when you get tagged, you freeze and become Hungry Fox’s helper.
  • Show the children where the safe line that they need to pass so Hungry Fox can not tag them.
  • Review the boundaries, the safe zone and the consequence for going outside them.
  • You automatically become a Hungry Fox’s Helper.

Set Up

Designate a large rectangular play area with clear boundaries and enough room for children to run. On one end of the rectangle have an end zone that will be the designated safe zone.

How to Play

  • The object of the game is to avoid being tagged by Hungry Fox
  • The children will start at the beginning of their safe zone ask “What time is it Hungry Fox?”
  • Whatever time Hungry Fox says the children will take that number of steps towards Hungry Fox, leaving their safe zone.
  • If Hungry Fox says “its lunch time” the children must run back to their safe zone without getting tagged.
  • If you get tagged you freeze until Hungry Fox turns you into one of his helpers.
  • When you are a helper you begin to tag other children when Hungry Fox says its lunch time.

Variations

  • Also called Mr./Ms. Fox or Mr/Ms. Clock.
  • Teach the students to whisper “What time is it Mr. Fox?”
  • Instead of running, only toe-to-heel walking is allowed for both Mr. Fox and the students.
  • To reduce the chaos and reemphasize safety, only the 1st person tagged will become the new Mr. Fox. All others will start again against the wall.