Noodle Brooms Sweep the Balls
The playground is full of "dirty" balls, and children use pool noodles as brooms to sweep them into hoop trash cans. They practice pushing with a tool and finding their way around the space.
How to play
- Everyone holds a noodle broom with both hands and sweeps the floor with no balls yet (1 min).
- The teacher scatters the balls: sweep them with your noodle into any hoop (2 min).
- Sweep only the balls of the color the teacher calls (1 min).
- The teacher messes up the playground again and we sweep faster (2 min).
- Lay the noodles down and clap for our clean playground (1 min).
Rules
- My noodle stays on the ground, like a broom.
- I push the ball; I don't whack it.
- Once a ball is in a hoop, I leave it there.
- My noodle only touches balls, never friends.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, big hoops close by; pushing with the noodle or a foot is fine.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, hoops farther away and sweeping by color.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, each hoop has a color and each ball goes to the matching hoop.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: a shorter noodle that's easy to handle from a wheelchair, with balls placed nearby.
- Visual impairment: balls with bells inside and a hoop outlined with rope on the floor.
- Less coordination: a large, light ball that's easy to push.
Learning goals
- Push a ball with a tool.
- Steer the ball toward a target.
- Warm up with varied movement.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Pool noodles: 25
- Soft balls: 30
- Hoops: 4
Teacher tip
Show them how to hold the noodle with both hands, one high and one low, like a real broom. If noodles rise above the waist, pause the game and restate the rule.
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