Sleeping Lions
Students lie down as sleeping lions and must stay perfectly still and silent while two hunters try to make them laugh without touching them. It builds self-control and relaxation and helps bring heart rates down after the main activity.
How to play
- Spread students out with an arm's length between them and have them lie on their backs or sides with eyes closed (30 sec).
- Explain the signal: when you say "The lions are sleeping," nobody moves or talks; the only thing allowed is slow breathing through the nose.
- Pick 2 hunters who walk among the lions for 1 minute making faces, telling jokes, or whispering, but never touching anyone.
- If a hunter sees a lion move, giggle, or open their eyes, the hunter gives a light tap on the shoulder and that student gets up and joins the hunters.
- After 1-2 minutes call "The lions wake up," choose new hunters from those who stayed still, and play 2 more rounds.
- Final round (1 min) with no hunters: everyone truly rests while you quietly count breaths, then they wake up stretching like a yawning lion.
Rules
- The only contact allowed is a light tap on the shoulder.
- Breathing and swallowing are fine; scratching or opening your eyes counts as moving.
- No one lies next to walls, goals, or equipment so nobody bumps into anything when getting up.
- Hunters may not shout or make loud noises near anyone's ear.
Variations
Easier
Play with just one hunter and 45-second rounds so almost everyone makes it.
Standard
Two hunters and 1-2 minute rounds, as described above.
Harder
Lions must also keep a slow four-count breath, and hunters can check it by watching their bellies rise and fall.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the student can be a lion sitting in a chair with their head resting on folded arms.
- Autism or touch sensitivity: agree ahead of time that no one will touch the student; the hunter says their name quietly instead.
- Fitness level: students who finish the lesson very tired stay lions for every round instead of becoming hunters.
Learning goals
- Control their bodies by staying still for a set time.
- Lower heart rate and breathing rate after the main activity.
- Follow the contact rules and take turns fairly.
Teacher tip
Make it clear before you start that everyone who enjoys the quiet wins, not just the last lion. Lower your voice a little more each round so the calm spreads.
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