Morning, Afternoon and Night at Mole's House
The playground is split into three corners (morning, afternoon and night) and children live through a day in the Mole family: when they see the card, they go to that corner and do what you do at that time. It works on the cycle of the day and its order.
How to play
- Mark three corners with cones and put a card in each: sun (morning), sunset (afternoon) and moon (night). We're little moles (2 min).
- Morning corner: wake up, stretch and dig your way out of the hole with your hands (2 min).
- Afternoon corner: play in the field, jumping and running around the cones (2 min).
- Night corner: crawl back into the burrow and curl up (2 min).
- The teacher shows the cards in order and we move corner to corner living a whole day twice: morning, afternoon, night… and morning again! (3 min).
- The teacher shows a random card and asks: what comes next? Go to the next corner (3 min).
Rules
- I go to the corner on the teacher's card.
- In each corner I do what belongs there.
- Between corners I don't push.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, only morning and night (awake and asleep), with the teacher leading the way.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, all three times of day in order and repeat the cycle.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, guess what comes next and what came before, and add meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) in each corner.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: corners are close together and actions have seated versions.
- Autism: keep the three cards in a visible strip the whole game, like a schedule.
- Visual impairment: each corner has a sound (birds, a bouncing ball, a hummed lullaby) made by the teacher or a buddy.
Learning goals
- Recognize parts of the day and their order.
- Link actions to each time of day.
- Travel to marked places.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Sun, sunset and moon cards: 3
- Cones: 9
Teacher tip
Arrange the corners in a circle, in the same order as the day, so the cycle is visible as they move. Kids often race from night to morning; remind them we wake up slowly.
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