Beep Beep! The Truck Backs Up
Children are trucks on all fours that drive forward and back up when they hear "beep, beep, beep." They practice crawling backward and finding their way without looking.
How to play
- The teacher becomes a truck on all fours and shows how to back up while looking over one shoulder (1 min).
- All the trucks start their engines, "vroom, vroom," and crawl forward around the room (1 min).
- When the teacher says "beep, beep, beep," everyone backs up and beeps along (2 min).
- We back slowly into a parking spot next to a cone until a foot touches it (1 min).
- Engines off: we sit down and let the air out, "fffff" (1 min).
Rules
- My truck moves on all fours.
- When I hear "beep, beep, beep," I go backward.
- Backing up is slow, and I look over my shoulder.
- If another truck is close, I put on the brakes.
Variations
Easier
Age 3: only three or four backward steps at a time, in an area without cones.
Standard
Age 4: longer backing up and parking next to a cone.
Harder
Age 5: the teacher calls out the color of the cone to back into.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: a wheelchair user backs up with adult help and gets to make the beeping sound for the whole class.
- Blind or low vision: the child backs up along a wall or a rope on the floor as a guide.
- Less coordination: the child may back up sitting down, pushing with their hands.
Learning goals
- Crawl backward on all fours.
- Find their way in space without facing forward.
- Respond to a sound signal.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Cones: 6
Teacher tip
Leave lots of space between kids: they bump more going backward. At first, say each "beep" slowly so one beep equals one step.
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