Ribbon Ties Find Their Friends

Each child wears a colored ribbon tie on the wrist and dances freely to music; when the music stops, they find friends with the same color and make a circle. It builds moving through space, color recognition and welcoming others into the group.

How to play

1. The teacher loosely ties a ribbon on each child's wrist (red, blue, green or yellow) and everyone holds it up high (1 min).
2. The music plays: we dance around the whole yard, really moving the ribbon hand (1 min).
3. The music stops: we find friends with the same color and make a circle with our ribbon hands together in the middle (2 min, several rounds).
4. "Rainbow!" round: when the music stops, each circle needs one ribbon of every color (2 min).
5. Together we make one giant circle and lift our ribbons like a fountain of colors (1 min).

Rules

• I walk to find my friends, no pushing.
• If someone is alone, we invite them into our circle.
• The ribbon goes on the wrist, never on the neck.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: same-color friends go to the child in a wheelchair and the circle forms around them.
• Visual impairment: use fabric ties with different textures (smooth, rough, knotted) as well as color.
• Autism: give a warning before each stop ("Three, two, one!") and let the child choose their color.

Learning goals

• Move through the whole space without bumping.
• Group quickly by color.
• Welcome classmates into the group.

Equipment for a class of 25

• lazos de colores: 25
• música

Teacher tip

Tie the ribbons with a loose bow that pulls free with one tug, never a tight knot. A common problem is a circle leaving someone out: the teacher plays an "open" circle and welcomes kids out loud.

More activities like this

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