I Show You My School, Hop by Hop

Children become tour guides and lead their grown-up by the hand to the school spots they know (classroom door, sandbox, water fountain, porch), moving a different way at each one. They warm up, find their way around their own space and love being the ones in charge.

How to play

1. The teacher has taped a movement card at five spots: hops, giant steps, tiptoes, crawling and side steps (1 min).
2. Each child takes their grown-up's hand and says, "Let me show you my school"; together they walk to the first spot the child picks (1 min).
3. At each spot, the child looks at the card and moves that way to the next spot, and the grown-up copies (2 min).
4. At each spot the child shares one thing: "We drink water here," "We dig in the sand here" (1 min).
5. They visit the rest of the spots in whatever order the child wants, changing the movement each time (1 min).
6. When the tambourine sounds, all pairs hop back to the meeting spot holding hands (1 min).

Rules

• I'm the guide: my grown-up goes where I take them.
• Every card means a new way to move.
• We keep holding hands on the way.
• When the tambourine plays, everyone goes back to the meeting spot.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: choose spots with flat paths and do the movements with the arms (clapping, flapping, rowing).
• Visual impairment: the grown-up describes each spot and the child explores it by touch (fountain, sand, wall).
• Child without a family member present: they guide the support teacher or a grandparent who came with two grandkids.

Learning goals

• Warm up with a variety of ways of moving.
• Find their way around school spaces and name them.
• Make choices about the route and lead a grown-up.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Movement picture cards: 5
• Tape: 1

Teacher tip

Make it clear to grown-ups that today the kids are in charge and their job is to copy. Tape the cards at the children's eye level, not the adults'.

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