Kagome, Kagome: Who's Behind Me?

A traditional circle game from Japan: one child sits in the middle with eyes covered, the circle walks slowly and, when it stops, the child guesses who is right behind them by their voice. Children practice listening, calming down and moving slowly together.

How to play

1. Holding hands in a circle, the teacher explains that kids in Japan play kagome kagome and teaches the last line: "Ushiro no shōmen dare?" which means "Who's right behind you?" (1 min).
2. A volunteer sits in the middle with hands over their eyes, like a little bird in a cage (1 min).
3. The circle walks slowly humming "kagome, kagome..."; at "Who's right behind you?" everyone stops and the child behind says softly, "Hello, little bird" (3 min).
4. The child in the middle guesses who it is; right or wrong, they swap places and we go again (1 min).
5. Finish sitting in a circle, eyes closed, listening to the sounds around us (1 min).

Rules

• The circle walks slowly and doesn't pull hands.
• The middle child keeps their eyes covered.
• Only the child right behind talks.
• Right or wrong doesn't matter: everyone gets a turn.

Variations

Adaptations

• Hearing impairment: instead of talking, the child behind gently taps a shoulder and the middle child guesses by feeling their hands.
• Autism: let the child cover their eyes with their own scarf or just close them, and never insist they sit in the middle.
• Limited mobility: the circle walks around the child's wheelchair as the center, or the chair is wheeled into the circle.

Learning goals

• Recognize classmates by their voices.
• Move as a group at a slow pace.
• Learn a traditional circle game from Japan.

Teacher tip

You set the pace of the circle: if it speeds up, it stops being a cool-down. Point to whose turn it is to talk so several kids don't speak at once.

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