My Hands Play Hide-and-Seek
With a made-up rhyme, children hide and reveal different body parts: hands behind the back, feet under the bottom, face behind the knees. They warm up their joints and learn body parts through play.
How to play
- Sitting in a circle, learn the rhyme: “Hide it, hide it, where can it be? Peekaboo, look and see!” (1 min).
- Hide your hands behind your back while saying it, and on “Peekaboo!” bring them out wiggling your fingers (1 min).
- Hide your feet under your bottom, your nose behind your hands and your ears under your arms, then reveal them with the rhyme (1 min).
- Standing up, hide your whole body by crouching into a ball, and on “Peekaboo!” jump out wide like a star (1 min).
- One child picks the next body part to hide and everyone does it together (1 min).
Rules
- I hide the part the teacher names and wait for “Peekaboo!”.
- I bring it out gently without bumping my neighbor.
- We all say the rhyme together.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use only hands, feet and face, and the teacher touches each part on their own body.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, add elbows, knees and heels.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, hide two parts at once (a hand and a foot) or a part on a specific side: the right hand.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: play with the parts the child can move, seated in a chair.
- Visual impairment: the child next to them gently taps the part to hide.
- Hearing impairment: pair the rhyme with a fixed gesture for “Peekaboo!” (opening the hands).
Learning goals
- Name and locate body parts.
- Gently loosen the joints.
- Keep the rhythm of a group rhyme.
Teacher tip
Say the rhyme slowly with lots of suspense on “where can it be?”: it's their favorite part. If a child mixes up body parts, have them look at a buddy.
PatioLab has "My Hands Play Hide-and-Seek" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More warm-ups for Elementary
«Ahora que Vamos Despacio»: The Silly-Fibs Stroll
We stroll very slowly singing the traditional Spanish song «Ahora que vamos despacio» («Now that we're going slowly, let's tell some fibs»), and on each «tralará» we…
«El Cocherito Leré»: The Hopping Carriage
We're carriages trotting around the yard, and on every «leré» in the traditional Spanish song «El cocherito leré» («the little coachman») we jump with feet together.
«Sal de Ahí, Chivita»: The Get-Out-Little-Goat Chain
The little goat won't leave the field, so in this traditional Spanish cumulative song we call the wolf, the dog, the stick, the fire, the water and the ox.
A Bandage Where I'm Tagged
A few children tag holding a scarf; anyone tagged puts on a “bandage” by placing a hand exactly where they were touched and keeps running that way, and after a second…
A Walk Through the Pole Forest
We stand plastic poles upright in cones with holes and the playground becomes a forest of tall trees.
Achoo, Into Your Elbow!
Children move around like animals and when the teacher goes “Ah… ah… achoo!”, they stop and hide their face in their elbow as if sneezing or coughing.