The Magic Jacket Flip
Each child learns the jacket flip: lay the jacket face up on the floor with the collar by your feet, slide your arms in and flip it over your head. Then it becomes a game of putting the jacket on with the flip, flying like a superhero and taking it off. It builds independence in dressing, arm-and-head coordination and the goal of doing it alone.
How to play
- Each child lays their jacket inside their hoop, open and face up, with the collar by their feet (2 min).
- The teacher shows the trick slowly with an original rhyme: “Collar by my toes, arms go in, flip it up and over, now I grin!” (2 min).
- Everyone tries the flip at the same time in their hoop; the teacher and classmates who know it help the others (4 min).
- Game: jog gently around the room; on “Cold!”, go back to your hoop and put on the jacket with the flip; on “Hot!”, take it off and lay it out again (4 min).
- Bundled-up superheroes: jacket on, fly around the room with arms out and finish by hanging it on the hook (3 min).
Rules
- Everyone uses their own jacket.
- To help a friend, first ask “Can I help?”
- Lay the jacket out in the hoop, don’t toss it.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, the teacher lays the jackets out and children just practice the flip over the head, with an adult doing the zipper.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, children lay the jacket out themselves and play the cold-and-hot game.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, they also try to start and pull up the zipper or do the buttons before flying.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: practice the flip seated with the jacket on the lap, or put in one arm at a time with help.
- Autism: a four-picture sequence of the flip taped next to the child’s hoop.
- Visual impairment: mark the jacket collar with a ribbon of a different texture so it can be found by touch.
Learning goals
- Put on and take off a jacket independently.
- Coordinate moving the arms over the head.
- Keep trying until reaching a simple goal.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Jackets: 25
- Hoops: 25
Teacher tip
Ask families that week to send jackets without big hoods, which makes the flip easier. Usual mistake: laying the jacket with the collar away from the feet; repeat “Collar by my toes” before each try.
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