Hang the Laundry Before It Rains
Children take relay turns carrying freshly washed laundry (socks and cloths) from a tub to a rope clothesline and hanging it with clothespins. The class challenge is to hang all the laundry before the song ends, because then it rains, practicing running, finger pinching and cooperation.
How to play
- Tie a rope between two posts, or have two adults hold it at the kids' chest height; the tub of laundry sits about 25 feet away, next to four lines (2 min).
- The teacher shows how to open a clothespin with two fingers and hang a sock: “Duck beak opens, duck beak closes” (2 min).
- First load with no music: each child takes one item and one clothespin, runs to the line, hangs it and comes back for a high five (3 min).
- The song plays and the teacher warns, “Clouds are coming!”; the class tries to hang everything before it rains (3 min).
- When the song ends, it rains! In relay turns we take the laundry down and bring it back to the tub before another song ends (3 min).
- Sit under the teacher's finger “rain” and breathe (1 min).
Rules
- I carry one item and one clothespin.
- If a clothespin is hard, the friend next to me helps.
- I hang where there's room and don't take down someone else's.
- All the laundry belongs to the class.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, skip the clothespins and drape the items over the rope.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, one clothespin per item, as described.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, items go in pairs: matching socks get hung side by side.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: lower one section of the line to wheelchair height and use big clothespins.
- Autism: mark the child's section of the line with colored tape and warn before the “rain.”
- Less hand strength: use big soft clothespins or hang without them.
Learning goals
- Open and close clothespins with the fingers.
- Move with an object and return to the relay.
- Cooperate toward a shared goal without competing.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Long rope: 1
- Clothespins: 30
- Socks and cloths: 30
- Laundry tub: 1
- Music
Teacher tip
Test the clothespins first: some are too stiff for three-year-old hands. Kids often run with the clothespin in their mouth, so teach them to clip it onto the item instead.
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