Pretend Falls on the Big Cushy Mat

From standing, children let themselves fall onto a thick mat with pretend falls: like a leaf, a chopped-down tree, a sack of potatoes or a melting snowman. They enjoy controlled loss of balance and learn to fall without getting hurt.

How to play

1. We push the thick mats together in the middle and the teacher shows the easiest fall: from kneeling, then onto the side (2 min).
2. We fall like a leaf: sway while standing and sink slowly until we're lying down (2 min).
3. We fall like a sack of potatoes: bend our knees and plop onto our bottoms (3 min).
4. We fall like a melting snowman and like a tree tipping forward with arms out in front (3 min).
5. Each child invents a pretend fall and the others copy it (2 min).

Rules

• We only fall on the big mat.
• One child falls and moves away before the next one goes.
• We never fall head first or on top of someone.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child is helped from the wheelchair to the mat and does the falls from sitting.
• Autism: if falling feels scary, start by flopping onto a big cushion with the teacher right there.
• Visual impairment: the teacher guides the child's hands along the mat edges first so they know where it starts and ends.

Learning goals

• Experience loss of balance and falling safely and joyfully.
• Learn to take one's weight on arms, bottom and side.
• Express images like a leaf or a sack with the body.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Thick crash mat: 2
• Hand drum

Teacher tip

The teacher always kneels at the edge of the mat. Pretend falls are a favorite in movement play: let them exaggerate the sound effects and the surprised faces.

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