The Color Clock

While the group holds the parachute, the children standing on the color the teacher calls let go and run one lap around the outside of the circle back to their spot. It works on running, listening to instructions and waiting for a turn.

How to play

1. Each child stands on a colored section of the parachute and the teacher goes over which color each spot is (1 min).
2. The teacher is the clock hand: they call a color and those children let go and walk one lap around the outside back to their spot (1 min).
3. Now the lap is a run; the children who stay make little waves to cheer them on (2 min).
4. Change how the lap is done: kangaroo jumps, penguin waddle, galloping (2 min).
5. On the drum beat, "Twelve o'clock!": everyone lets go, walks a lap together and grabs the fabric again (1 min).

Rules

• Only the color the teacher calls goes.
• Go around the outside, not underneath.
• Come back to your same color.
• Everyone runs the same way.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: a child in a wheelchair does a shorter lap around a nearby cone, or a classmate runs it for them while they lead the waves.
• Autism: give the child a card of their color to hold so they know when it's their turn.
• Visual impairment: the child goes with a classmate of the same color who holds their hand around the outside.

Learning goals

• Run around a circle without bumping.
• Recognize their own color and respond to it.
• Wait for a turn while holding the fabric.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Rainbow parachute: 1
• Hand drum: 1

Teacher tip

Set one running direction and point with your arm before each start. If there are lots of children per color, put two on each section and have them go hand in hand.

More activities like this

More warm-ups for Elementary