Animals Stretching in the Sun

Children imitate how different animals stretch when they wake up from a nap in the sun: the cat, the dog, the snake, the bear, the giraffe and the dormouse. It works on flexibility and relaxation with simple poses.

How to play

1. Cat: on hands and knees, we round our back up, lower it and yawn “meow” (1 min).
2. Dog: hands and feet on the floor, we lift our bottom and stretch our arms forward (1 min).
3. Snake: lying on our tummies, we press up our chest with our hands and make a long “sss” (1 min).
4. Bear: sitting, we hug our knees and rock back and forth (1 min).
5. Giraffe: sitting, we stretch our neck very slowly to one side and the other to reach the leaves (1 min).
6. Dormouse: we curl up into a little ball on our side, breathe quietly and go back to sleep (1 min).

Rules

• I stretch slowly, no yanking.
• If something hurts, I stretch less.
• I make the animal sound softly.
• At the end, the dormouse stays still and quiet.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: does the stretches in their wheelchair (cat rounding the back, giraffe neck, bear hug).
• Visual impairment: the teacher describes each pose step by step and gently positions the child if needed.
• Less flexible children: in the dog pose, knees can stay bent.

Learning goals

• Stretch the main muscle groups.
• Imitate animal poses.
• Calm down with slow breathing.

Teacher tip

Speak slowly and do the full pose yourself before they copy. In the snake, keep elbows bent and eyes forward, without tipping the head back.

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