Straw, Sticks or Bricks: My Body Gets Strong
Children turn their bodies into the three little pigs' houses: floppy like straw, firm like sticks and hard like bricks. It works on the contrast between tension and relaxation to wake up the body.
How to play
- In a circle, the teacher explains that each little pig built a house from a different material and today our bodies will be those houses (1 min).
- “Straw!”: the body goes soft and floppy, arms dangling and knees loose, swaying like straw in the wind (1 min).
- “Sticks!”: we stand straight like a stick but can bend a little; “Bricks!”: the whole body gets hard, fists tight and feet planted (1 min).
- We walk around to the drum; when it stops, the teacher calls a material and we show it with our body. Then the wolf (the teacher) comes to huff and puff: straw falls gently to the floor and bricks stay strong (2 min).
- We finish as bricks, hold for three seconds, then let go like straw with a big sigh (1 min).
Rules
- When the drum stops, we freeze and listen.
- Straw falls down slowly, no flopping hard.
- The wolf blows, never pushes: no one touches anyone.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use only straw and bricks, with the teacher modeling the shape.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use all three materials and the wolf blows on everyone at once.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, the teacher names body parts: “brick arms and straw legs.”
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: from a wheelchair or sitting, tense and relax arms, hands and face.
- Autism: three picture cards (straw, sticks, bricks) shown as each word is called.
- Hearing impairment: give each material a gesture (dropping hands, straight arm, fist) along with the word.
Learning goals
- Tell the difference between tense and relaxed muscles.
- Stop in response to a sound signal.
- Warm up through a familiar pretend-play story.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Hand drum: 1
Teacher tip
Tell the story in two sentences and get moving. The usual slip is turning “bricks” into shouting or pushing, so ask for “hard and quiet like a wall.”
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