Castaways on a Brick Island

Children swim through an imaginary sea, and when the shark appears they climb onto their little island (a brick lying flat) and stay still without falling into the water. It works on static balance on a small, slightly raised surface.

How to play

1. Together we spread the flat bricks across the floor, apart from each other: they're the islands in the sea (2 min).
2. We swim around moving our arms; at "Shark!" everyone climbs onto an island with both feet and stays still until the teacher says "It's gone!" (3 min).
3. Tiny island: this time only one foot goes on the island and the other stays in the air, not touching the water (3 min).
4. The rescue boat (the teacher) passes by with a scarf; from the island, without stepping off, we stretch an arm out to touch it (2 min).
5. Final rescue: we step carefully off the islands and all go to the boat together, holding hands (2 min).
6. We pick up the islands and take them back to their place (2 min).

Rules

• On my island, my feet don't move.
• Every castaway finds a free island without pushing.
• If I step in the water, I climb back up and keep going.
• The shark is pretend: nobody gets caught.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: their island is a big hoop on the floor where they park the wheelchair, and they do the balance moves with their arms.
• Visual impairment: the child next to them walks them to the nearest island and guides with their voice.
• Autistic children: they always have the same island in one color so they don't have to search for it.

Learning goals

• Balance on a small, raised base.
• Step onto and off a raised support with control.
• Move around and stop on a signal.

Equipment for a class of 25

• foam or plastic activity bricks: 25
• scarves: 1

Teacher tip

Keep the bricks in their lowest (flat) position on a non-slip floor. Put out one more island than children so no one is left without a spot: nobody is out in this game.

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