Crazy Train
"Crazy train" warm-up: students form small trains holding shoulders and follow the engine's moves and speed changes around the playground.
How to play
- Form trains of 4–5 with hands on the shoulders of the person in front.
- The engine (first student) leads at walking speed, then jogging.
- Call out moves: tunnel (crouch), bridge (tiptoe), curve (zigzag), station (freeze).
- On "change", the engine goes to the back and a new engine leads.
Rules
- Trains don't crash into each other.
- Hold on gently, never push.
Variations
Easier
Walking only.
Standard
Walking and jogging with calls.
Harder
Trains swap cars when they meet.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: be the station master giving the calls.
- Low fitness: walking-speed trains.
Learning goals
- Warm up through locomotor skills.
- Cooperate to move together.
PatioLab has "Crazy Train" and 599 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More warm-ups for Elementary
Active Blind Man's Bluff
Active "Blind Man's Bluff": a partner guides a blindfolded classmate by voice so they can tag the others.
Active Corners
Active corners: each corner of the area has an exercise; students run to the corner called and do that exercise.
Animal Races
Animal races: students move like different animals across the space — a fun way to warm up all major muscle groups.
Around the World
Around the world: each area of the playground is a continent and students travel between them doing different moves.
Balance Pose Challenge
Balance pose challenge: students hold balance poses alone, in pairs and in small groups, improving stability and body control.
Body Echo
Body echo: the teacher makes a sound or rhythm with the body (claps, stomps) and students repeat it like an echo.