The Helping-at-Home Circuit
For a family celebration, children rotate through four stations where they help at home with their bodies: sweeping balls with a pool noodle, carrying the laundry basket in pairs, hanging scarves and making the bed with a sheet. It builds hand-eye coordination and cooperation, as a movement gift for the people who care for us.
How to play
- Explain that we’re practicing how to help the people who take care of us at home and introduce the four stations; make four groups (2 min).
- Sweeping station: using a noodle as a broom, push the balls into a corner without lifting them off the floor (3 min).
- Laundry station: in pairs, carry the basket full of scarves to the clothesline and bring it back empty (3 min).
- Clothesline station: hang the folded scarves over a low rope tied between two chairs, then take them down for the next group (3 min).
- Bed-making station: together, hold the sheet by the edges, shake it, spread it flat on the floor and fold it up (3 min).
- Gather together and send a huge air hug to the people who take care of us at home (1 min).
Rules
- The noodle sweeps along the floor, never up in the air.
- Two people carry the basket at the same pace.
- When the signal sounds, the group moves to the next station.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use only three stations (sweeping, basket and sheet) with the teacher going along with each group.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, all four stations, switching on the signal.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, hang the scarves sorted by color and fold the sheet into quarters.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the child sweeps from the chair with a shorter noodle and carries one handle of the basket as co-pilot.
- Visual impairment: hang a scarf with a bell at one end of the clothesline and a buddy guides their hand to the rope.
- Autism: keep the stations in the same order with a picture for each, and give a one-minute warning before switching.
Learning goals
- Coordinate hands and eyes in handling tasks.
- Cooperate with classmates to finish a task.
- Value caring and helping in the family.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Pool noodles: 4
- Balls: 15
- Scarves: 15
- Laundry basket: 1
- Rope: 1
- Old sheet: 1
Teacher tip
Talk about “the people who take care of us” rather than just Mom, so grandparents, dads, aunts and foster families are included. Tie the rope low, at the children’s chest height, to two heavy chairs.
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