The Hopping Fruit Bowl

The teacher shows fruit cards and each fruit has its own move: the banana stretches tall, the orange rolls round, the grapes do tiny hops and the watermelon spreads its arms wide. It warms up the body with different shapes and ways of moving while playing with fruit.

How to play

1. Sitting down, look at the cards and name each fruit and its color (1 min).
2. Teach one move per fruit: banana (tiptoes, arms up), orange (curl into a ball and turn), grape (little two-foot hops), watermelon (giant steps with arms wide) (1 min).
3. The teacher holds up a card and everyone moves around the space like that fruit until it changes (2 min).
4. Fruit mix: the teacher shows two cards in a row and we do both moves one after the other (1 min).
5. Finish in the fruit bowl: everyone together in the middle, each in the shape of their favorite fruit (1 min).

Rules

• We move when we see the card and stop when it goes down.
• The watermelon opens its arms without hitting friends.
• All the fruits fit in the bowl.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: each fruit also has an arm shape (tall, round, wide) that can be done from a wheelchair.
• Autism: keep the cards visible on the floor in the same order throughout the game.
• Hearing loss: the game is already visual; the teacher adds an open-hand stop signal.

Learning goals

• Warm up the body with different shapes and ways of moving.
• React to a visual signal.
• Enjoy naming a variety of fruits.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Fruit picture cards: 6

Teacher tip

Use large cards with clear colors; when one of these fruits shows up at lunch, remind them of its move. Talk only about colors, shapes and flavors, never about “good” fruit versus other foods.

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