Tag the Bottle Trees
Large bottles standing on the floor become trees in a forest, and children wander among them, tagging them with the body part the teacher calls without knocking them over. It builds moving around obstacles and naming body parts.
How to play
- Stand the large bottles all over the space: they're trees in a forest; walk among them without knocking them over (1 min).
- The teacher calls a body part, "Tree with your knee!", and everyone touches a bottle with that part without tipping it (2 min).
- On the drum tap, change how you move: on tiptoe, like a bear on all fours, or with giant steps (1 min).
- "Tree for two!" Two friends touch the same bottle with their hands at the same time, then keep walking (1 min).
- Everyone stops by a bottle, stretches their arms like branches, and breathes slowly (1 min).
Rules
- I touch the bottle gently, without knocking it over.
- If one falls, I stand it back up.
- Each time I find a different tree.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use only hands, feet and knees, and the teacher touches a bottle too so they can copy.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, add elbow, shoulder, back and bottom.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, use colored bottles and two clues at once: "Blue tree with your elbow!"
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: put some bottles on tables or chairs at wheelchair height.
- Visual impairment: make the forest smaller with bottles closer together; a buddy walks arm in arm and says "Tree on your right."
- Autism: always start from "their" tree, marked with a big sticker, and head out to the others from there.
Learning goals
- Move around the space while avoiding obstacles.
- Identify and use different body parts.
- Warm up gradually.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Large plastic bottles: 20
- Hand drum: 1
Teacher tip
Put an inch of water or sand in each bottle and glue the cap on so a light bump won't tip them. The typical mistake is shoving the bottle, so say "Touch it like a butterfly."
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