Mushrooms on One Side, Basket on the Other
Sitting on the floor, children are mushroom pickers: the mushrooms (beanbags) are on one side of their body and the basket on the other, so every pick means reaching across. It's a calm way to practice crossing the midline.
How to play
- The teacher tells the story of going to the woods to pick mushrooms; everyone sits cross-legged in their spot (1 min).
- Place three mushrooms on one side of the body and the basket on the other side by the hip (1 min).
- With the hand on the mushroom side, put them one by one in the basket, reaching across the tummy (3 min).
- Switch: mushrooms on the other side and basket across; now the other hand crosses (3 min).
- Mushrooms show up behind you or by your knee: pick them by twisting without leaving your spot (3 min).
- Carry the full basket to the teacher, tiptoeing through the woods (1 min).
Rules
- Your bottom stays on the floor.
- The hand on the mushroom side takes them to the basket.
- One mushroom at a time, slowly.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, keep mushrooms and basket close and let them use either hand; they just need to cross.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use the hand on the mushroom side without switching hands halfway.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, put mushrooms farther away and behind, and have the hand touch the opposite knee first.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: in a wheelchair, mushrooms on a table on one side and the basket in the lap or on the other side.
- Less coordination: big beanbags and a wide basket.
- Visual impairment: place the child's hand on the basket first so they know where it is.
Learning goals
- Cross the body's midline with the arm.
- Twist the trunk while staying seated.
- Grasp and release with precision.
Equipment for a class of 25
- fabric beanbags: 75
- small baskets: 25
Teacher tip
Use big fabric beanbags, never small balls. If kids pass the mushroom to the other hand midway, don't ban it: move the basket a little farther back so crossing pays off.
PatioLab has "Mushrooms on One Side, Basket on the Other" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
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