Turtle Game

Pre K/K
No equipment needed

Development Goal

non-verbal communication, listening to directions

Before You Start

First remind children of their personal bubbles that should not be popped.
Talk about turtles. Are they fast or slow? Are they brave or scared?
Have each student crouch very small, like a turtle in its shell.

Set Up

Designate a playing area with clear boundaries.

How to Play

While you clap softly each child will sneak out a part of his or her body- head, arm, elbow, foot, knee- and slowly explores the space around, stretching further and further out.
At the sound of a loud clap, that part goes back into the “shell” very quickly.
The game is repeated with another body part.
Finally, let the body part lead the child all the way out so he or she is exploring all of the space with the most “open” body posture possible.

Variations

On different sounds children will move a different part of the body. E.g. when you clap, the students move their arms, when you stomp the students move their heads and when you snap the students move their legs.
For the hard of hearing, you can change the clap to a movement that indicates a body part.