The Giant Die Picks Who Goes
Children wearing pinnies in four colors wait sitting at the start line; the teacher rolls a giant color cube, and whoever wears that color runs to the cone of their color and back. It practices reacting to a color cue and waiting for one's turn.
How to play
- Hand out pinnies in four colors, and each team sits by its start cone; at the far end there is one cone of each color about 25 feet away (2 min).
- The teacher shows the giant cube and rolls it: everyone watches what color comes up, and that color runs to its cone and back (3 min).
- If the white side comes up, everyone goes at once; if the star side comes up, nobody moves and we clap (3 min).
- Wait in other positions (lying, kneeling, squatting), and those who come back sit in a different position (3 min).
- One child from each color rolls the cube once, with the teacher's help (2 min).
Rules
- Only the color on the cube runs.
- I run to my cone and come back around the outside.
- While I wait, I cheer on the runners.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use just two colors on the cube and the teacher says the color out loud.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use four colors plus the everybody side.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, roll two cubes at once so two colors go, or a number die says how many cones to tap before returning.
Adaptations
- Color blindness or low vision: each color on the cube and pinnie also has a picture (sun, leaf, raindrop, strawberry), and the teacher names the color.
- Limited mobility: a child in a wheelchair has a closer cone and can always roll the cube.
- Autism: let the child hold the cube between rolls, and signal "Go!" with your hand as it lands.
Learning goals
- React quickly to a color.
- Wait for one's turn in a group game.
- Run to a point and back without bumping.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Giant color cube: 1
- Colored pinnies: 24
- Cones: 4
Teacher tip
Make the cube from a cardboard box covered in colored paper. Space the finish cones apart so teams don't cross paths.
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