The Hedgehog Wakes Up My Body
Each child has a spiky ball, their “hedgehog,” and rolls it over the body to wake up each part. It builds tactile awareness, body-part vocabulary and a calm warm-up.
How to play
- Sitting in a circle, each child gets a hedgehog and touches it with the palm, the fingers and the cheek: is it very prickly or just a little? (1 min).
- The hedgehog wakes up the hands: roll it between the palms and over the back of each hand (1 min).
- The hedgehog climbs up one arm to the shoulder and slowly down the other (1 min).
- Now it walks along the legs, from ankles to knees, and we roll it under the bare or socked sole of each foot (1 min).
- Standing up, the hedgehog goes around the waist, passed from hand to hand, and then goes to sleep on the floor (1 min).
Rules
- The hedgehog moves slowly, no pressing hard.
- Everyone wakes up their own body.
- The hedgehog never goes in your mouth or near your eyes.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use only hands, arms and legs, copying the teacher, with a softer spiky ball if available.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, add shoulders, tummy and soles of the feet, and name each part out loud.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, the hedgehog travels behind the body (lower back, back of the neck) without looking and switches hands without dropping.
Adaptations
- Tactile sensitivity or autism: offer a smooth ball instead and let the child decide when to try the spiky one.
- Limited hand mobility: an adult or classmate rolls the ball along the child's arm while the child says “more” or “stop.”
- Visual impairment: describe the ball and guide the child's hand through the first pass on each body part.
Learning goals
- Explore different tactile sensations on the body.
- Name and locate body parts.
- Warm up calmly and mindfully.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Spiky sensory balls: 25
Teacher tip
Keep the balls in a covered basket and hand them out once everyone is seated. If someone bangs theirs on the floor, remind them the hedgehog “is scared” and needs gentle hands.
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