Little Ants Spread Crumbs Across the Playground
Ants spread crumbs (beanbags) all over the playground, placing them far apart, and then gather them up again. It's about filling the whole space, including corners and edges, with plenty of movement.
How to play
- We're ants from the anthill (two baskets in the middle full of crumbs, which are beanbags); the teacher explains we need to carry food to every part of the playground so no little bug goes hungry (1 min).
- Each ant takes a crumb, walks it somewhere on the ground with no other crumb nearby, and comes back for another (4 min).
- The teacher looks from the middle: "That corner has no crumbs!" and the ants carry crumbs to the corners and edges (3 min).
- When the anthill is empty, we travel the playground jumping over the crumbs without stepping on them (3 min).
- It's raining: all the ants gather the crumbs and hurry them back inside the anthill (3 min).
Rules
- I carry one crumb at a time.
- I drop my crumb where there's no other crumb close by.
- I don't step on the crumbs.
- When it rains, everyone back to the anthill.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, mark off a smaller area with cones and have the teacher point out empty spots.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use the whole playground and the jumping finale.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, each ant gets a zone (by the tree, by the gate…) and checks it's evenly covered.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the child carries several crumbs in a basket on the lap and drops them anywhere.
- Visual impairment: the child goes with a guide ant and drops crumbs along an edge (the fence) they can follow by hand.
- More skilled kids: carry the crumb on top of the head or on the back of the hand.
Learning goals
- Spread out across all the available space.
- Notice empty and full areas.
- Work together on a group task.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Beanbags: 50
- Baskets: 2
Teacher tip
Short on beanbags? Taped-up balls of newspaper work. Check that every crumb gets collected at the end; count them out loud together.
PatioLab has "Little Ants Spread Crumbs Across the Playground" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More main activities for Elementary
"Al Pasar la Barca" Parachute Rowing
Sitting around the parachute, children row by pulling the fabric toward them and letting it go toward the middle to the rhythm of the traditional Spanish song "Al pasar…
"Corro de la Patata" Parachute Circle
Children circle with the parachute while singing the traditional Spanish song "Al corro de la patata" (Potato Circle), and on "achupé, achupé" everyone sits down…
"El Patio de Mi Casa" Parachute Song
Children sing the traditional Spanish ring song "El patio de mi casa" while circling with the parachute and lowering it to the ground on "agáchate" (squat down).
"Que Llueva" Parachute Rain
Using the traditional Spanish children's song "Que llueva, que llueva" (Let It Rain), children make rain, clouds and sun with the parachute, and some hide underneath as…
«A la Zapatilla por Detrás»: The Slipper Behind Your Back
Sitting in a circle with eyes covered, one child walks around the outside with a slipper singing the traditional Spanish rhyme «A la zapatilla por detrás» («the…
«A Tapar la Calle»: The Chain That Blocks the Street
Half the class forms a hand-in-hand chain that walks forward singing the traditional Spanish song «A tapar la calle» («Block the street so nobody passes»), while the…