Painter Tag and the Rinse Tunnel
A few painters with scarf "brushes" try to paint everyone else. Kids who get painted are not out: they crawl through the rinse tunnel to wash off and jump back in. Kids practice dodging, changing direction, and crawling.
How to play
- Set up the crawl tunnel on one side of the gym: it is the rinse station. Kids spread out. Show the brush: a scarf in your hand.
- Model it: the painter gently touches an arm or back with the scarf, saying "I painted you blue!" The painted child goes to the tunnel, crawls through, shouts "Clean!" and rejoins the game.
- Start with 3 painters. On the tambourine, painting begins. Play 2-minute rounds; after each one, painters hand their scarf to someone new (4 rounds, 8 minutes).
- Change how everyone moves each round: fast walking, little hops, waddling like penguins. Painters move the same way.
- Last round: everyone is a painter with an imaginary brush, painting the air, floor, and walls as you call: "Paint high, paint low, paint to the side!" (2 minutes).
- To finish, everyone crawls through the tunnel one after another and sits in a circle (1 minute).
Rules
- Paint with the scarf only, gently, without pulling clothes.
- Enter the tunnel one at a time, no cutting.
- After coming out of the tunnel, nobody can paint you until you take three steps.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, you are the only painter and everyone walks.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use three painters, gentle jogging, and crawling through the tunnel.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, use five painters, and the rinse has two stops: the tunnel and three hops in hoops.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the child paints with a long pool noodle, or rinses by circling a cone.
- Visual impairment: the child moves with a buddy, and painters say the child's name before painting.
- More skilled painters may paint knees only; less skilled painters get longer rounds.
Learning goals
- Dodge classmates by changing direction and speed.
- Crawl smoothly through a tunnel.
- Play tag with no elimination while following the rules.
Equipment for a class of 25
- handkerchiefs: 5
- crawl tunnel: 1
- tambourine: 1
Teacher tip
Keep the tunnel anchored and the exit clear. If a line forms at the tunnel, add a second one made from two chairs and a sheet.
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