The Garden of Flowers, Trees and Mushrooms
In groups of five, children learn to make three garden plants with their bodies: a flower that opens, a tree with trunk and branches, and a mushroom with its cap, switching when the gardener says so. It builds body awareness, group positioning and imagination.
How to play
- We're seeds scattered around the garden, curled up in balls on the ground (1 min).
- Learn three group plants: the flower (in a circle, from crouching to standing with arms open), the tree (one is the trunk and the others are branches around it) and the mushroom (in a circle, holding hands, heads coming together in the middle) (3 min).
- The gardener taps the drum and calls a plant, and each group of five makes it (3 min).
- The wind blows and the plants sway without letting go; the rain comes and they grow a little taller (2 min).
- Each group invents a new plant, like a cactus or a rosebush, and shows the others (3 min).
- Night falls and the garden closes until tomorrow: back to being seeds (1 min).
Rules
- I make the plant with my group.
- In the mushroom we bring heads together carefully, no bumping.
- In the wind I sway without letting go.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, one giant whole-class plant, first the flower and then the tree.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, all three plants in groups of five.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, the gardener switches plants nonstop and the group goes from one to the next without fully breaking apart.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the child is the tree trunk or the center of the flower from their wheelchair.
- Hearing loss: the teacher shows a picture card of each plant.
- Visual impairment: friends guide the child by the hand to their spot and say "open" or "close".
Learning goals
- Become aware of one's own posture within a group shape.
- Make recognizable shapes with others.
- Express plant growth and movement with the body.
Equipment for a class of 25
- hand drum: 1
Teacher tip
For the mushroom, tell them to bring heads together slowly, almost touching; otherwise there are bumps. Show each plant with a model group in front of everyone before mixing them.
PatioLab has "The Garden of Flowers, Trees and Mushrooms" 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…