Cups Up, Cups Down

Lots of plastic cups are scattered on the ground, some upright and some upside down, and the whole class hurries to flip them on cue. It builds spotting, quick crouching and turning a cup with one hand without knocking it over.

How to play

1. The teacher spreads the cups around and shows how to flip a cup with one hand without tipping it over (1 min).
2. When the drum sounds, everyone hurries to turn the cups right side up, like flowers opening (2 min).
3. Now turn them upside down, like mushrooms closing (1 min).
4. The teacher calls "Flowers!" or "Mushrooms!" and switches often, with everyone playing at once (2 min).
5. Stop, breathe, and walk the cups over to build a tower next to the teacher (1 min).

Rules

• I flip the cup with my hand, not my foot.
• If a cup is already right, I find another.
• We run looking out so we don't bump.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: set cups on a bench at the child's height; the bench is their garden.
• Hearing impairment: use a flower card and a mushroom card to show the call.
• Autism: announce each switch ahead ("we switch on three") and let the child stick with one call if overwhelmed.

Learning goals

• Warm up by moving around and crouching.
• Turn an object with one hand in a controlled way.
• Respond quickly to a visual or spoken cue.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Plastic cups: 40
• Hand drum: 1

Teacher tip

Use sturdy reusable cups that won't crush if someone steps on one. Keep saying "gentle hand," because at first they swat the cups over.

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