The Forgetful Cook's Soup
The teacher is a forgetful cook who chases the vegetables for the soup; those caught go into the pot and dance as they cook until the cook gets distracted and they all escape. It practices running, expressive movement, and the fun of nobody being left out.
How to play
- Each child picks a vegetable (carrot, potato, pea...) and shows it with their body: long, round, tiny (1 min).
- The vegetables stroll through the garden; the cook comes out with a spoon shouting “I'm so hungry!” and chases (3 min).
- Caught vegetables go into the pot (the hoop) and dance as if boiling: bubbling with little jumps and popping bubbles with their hands (2 min).
- The cook gets distracted: “Where did I put the salt?”; while they look, the veggies in the pot escape and the chase starts again (3 min).
- Two children become kitchen helpers and help catch (2 min).
- The soup is ready: everyone sits in a circle and slowly blows on the hot soup (1 min).
Rules
- Only the cook or the helpers can tag.
- In the pot I dance like a boiling vegetable.
- When the cook gets distracted, we escape.
- Vegetables don't crash while running away.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, the veggies escape the pot almost right away and the cook only tags at a walk.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, the cook gets distracted every time four veggies are in the pot, and there are two helpers.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, the cook asks for specific veggies (“Only carrots!”) and the rest can walk around safely.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the child is a kitchen helper who tags with the wooden spoon when someone passes, or the salt that distracts the cook.
- Autism: the child can choose to stay dancing in the pot, a calm and clearly marked space, whenever needed.
- Visual impairment: tie a jingle bell to the cook's spoon, and the veggies in the pot sing “blub, blub” so the pot can be heard.
Learning goals
- Run away while dodging the chasers.
- Show with the body how a vegetable boils.
- Enjoy a tag game where no one is left out.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Wooden spoon: 1
- Large hoop: 1
Teacher tip
Put the pot in the middle so the cook can watch it and chase at the same time. Make the distractions very theatrical: kids wait for that moment and laugh a lot.
PatioLab has "The Forgetful Cook's Soup" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More main activities for Elementary
"Al Pasar la Barca" Parachute Rowing
Sitting around the parachute, children row by pulling the fabric toward them and letting it go toward the middle to the rhythm of the traditional Spanish song "Al pasar…
"Corro de la Patata" Parachute Circle
Children circle with the parachute while singing the traditional Spanish song "Al corro de la patata" (Potato Circle), and on "achupé, achupé" everyone sits down…
"El Patio de Mi Casa" Parachute Song
Children sing the traditional Spanish ring song "El patio de mi casa" while circling with the parachute and lowering it to the ground on "agáchate" (squat down).
"Que Llueva" Parachute Rain
Using the traditional Spanish children's song "Que llueva, que llueva" (Let It Rain), children make rain, clouds and sun with the parachute, and some hide underneath as…
«A la Zapatilla por Detrás»: The Slipper Behind Your Back
Sitting in a circle with eyes covered, one child walks around the outside with a slipper singing the traditional Spanish rhyme «A la zapatilla por detrás» («the…
«A Tapar la Calle»: The Chain That Blocks the Street
Half the class forms a hand-in-hand chain that walks forward singing the traditional Spanish song «A tapar la calle» («Block the street so nobody passes»), while the…