Don't Drop the Tube Between Us
In pairs, children hold a cardboard tube between their palms and move together without dropping it: up, down, walking, sitting, and using other body parts. It builds adjusting force and movement to a partner.
How to play
- In pairs, facing each other, hold a cardboard tube between your palms, one end in each person's hand (2 min).
- Slowly move the tube up, down and side to side without dropping it (2 min).
- With music on, walk around together: one walks forward and the other walks slowly backward; then switch (3 min).
- Try holding it with one finger each, then with elbows, then between your tummies (3 min).
- Sit down on the floor and stand back up without dropping the tube (2 min).
Rules
- We press gently so the tube doesn't get squashed.
- If it falls, we pick it up and keep going.
- Whoever walks backward goes slowly, and the partner warns them if something's in the way.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, each child grips one end of the tube in a closed hand, and they walk together.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, hold the tube between palms only.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, use fingers, elbows and tummies, and try groups of three with two tubes making a triangle.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the partner moves around the wheelchair, and they play with the tube between their hands at different heights.
- Visual impairment: start with the tube gripped in the hand, and the partner talks them through it: "Coming toward you, slowly."
- Autism: let the child pick a trusted partner, or play with an adult if contact with other kids is hard.
Learning goals
- Adjust force and movement to a partner's.
- Move together as a coordinated pair.
- Communicate during play.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Cardboard tubes: 13
- Music
Teacher tip
Paper towel tubes work better than toilet paper tubes. Demonstrate with a child; the typical mistake is pressing so hard the tube gets crushed.
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