The Mole Changes Burrows

Children are moles who leave their burrows (hoops) to dig around the garden, and when the gardener comes, they find an empty burrow or share one. They practice quick reactions, deciding where to go, and making room so no one is left out.

How to play

1. Each child is a mole crouched inside a hoop burrow; there are more burrows than moles (1 min).
2. While the drum plays, moles come out and walk around the garden with shovel hands in front, "digging" (2 min).
3. When the drum stops, the teacher says "Here comes the gardener!" and each mole finds a burrow and crouches down; if someone's there, find another or share (2 min).
4. Change how we move: crawling, frog jumps, slowly walking backward (2 min).
5. The teacher takes away some hoops: moles share burrows in twos or threes, and no one is left out (2 min).
6. All the moles crawl into one giant burrow made from the rope and fall asleep (1 min).

Rules

• No one is left out: there's always room for one more in a burrow.
• Get into the hoop without pushing.
• While the drum plays, we dig outside our homes.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: their burrow is a big hoop or a larger chalk area, and others come to share it.
• Autism: they can keep a fixed burrow to always return to, and get a heads-up before sharing starts.
• Hearing impairment: announce the gardener by holding up a toy rake or a scarf.

Learning goals

• React quickly to a stop signal.
• Decide where to move based on open space.
• Welcome friends into a shared space.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Hula hoops: 30
• Hand drum
• Long rope: 1

Teacher tip

When you take hoops away, do it slowly and cheer out loud for every shared burrow: the goal is no one left out, not winning. No garden? Any sandy or grassy area works as "mole ground."

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