The Changing Invisible Box

Sitting in a circle, children pass an invisible box that keeps changing: it gets super heavy, burning hot, icy, sticky or teeny tiny. It works on controlling strength and body tension, and on taking care when handing something to a friend.

How to play

1. Sitting in a circle, the teacher shows an ordinary invisible box and we pass it carefully hand to hand (2 min).
2. The box gets super heavy: we stand up and pass it using our whole body, huffing and puffing (2 min).
3. Now it's hot, then it's icy: we pass it really fast, blowing on our fingers or shivering (2 min).
4. The box is sticky: it sticks to our hands, tummy and knee, and it's hard to peel off to pass it (2 min).
5. It shrinks: we hold it with two fingers, pass it very gently, and at the end we all blow it up to the sky (2 min).

Rules

• I hand the box to the friend next to me; I don't throw it.
• I wait for the box to reach me.
• The box does whatever the teacher says.
• If the box is heavy, my body works hard, but I don't push my friend.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: plays seated and classmates bring the box to the height of their hands.
• Visual impairment: the classmate touches the child's hands when passing and says what it's like (“Careful, it's hot!”).
• Autism: if the circle feels like too much, the child sits next to the teacher and the box always goes through the teacher.

Learning goals

• Adjust body tension to match an imagined object.
• Hand an object to a classmate with care.
• Express sensations (weight, cold, heat) with the body.

Teacher tip

With 25 kids, have two or three boxes going at different points in the circle or the wait drags on. Exaggerate the heavy box: if you don't shake with effort, they'll pass it like paper.

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