Left, Right, Left: Pedestrian Neck

Before leaving school, children warm up their neck, shoulders and legs by practicing the look-both-ways move they use before crossing. It gets the body going and makes the street-safety routine automatic.

How to play

1. Line up by the door and march in place while the teacher explains that today we're going to the park and that on the street we look with our whole body (1 min).
2. Stop your feet and turn your head slowly: 'Look one way... look the other way... and back to the first,' just like before crossing (1 min).
3. Add the shoulders: turn your whole body to each side with a hand shading your eyes, looking for pretend cars (1 min).
4. Game: the teacher says 'Sidewalk!' and we march; 'Curb!' and we stop short; 'Look!' and we do the full head turn (1 min).
5. Finish with three breaths, one hand on the walking rope or your buddy's hand, ready to go (1 min).

Rules

• At the curb, our feet always stop.
• Heads turn slowly, no shaking.
• First we look, then we walk.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: a child in a wheelchair brakes on 'Curb!' and turns head and trunk like everyone else.
• Hearing loss: give each word a fixed gesture (marching, palm down, hand shading eyes).
• Autism: always use the same routine phrase, including later on the real street.

Learning goals

• Warm up neck, shoulders and legs before the walk.
• Make stopping at the curb and looking an automatic routine.
• React to simple verbal cues.

Teacher tip

Use exactly the same words you'll use on the street; what they rehearse in play comes out on its own later. Avoid fast head turns: the move is slow and wide.

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