The Sea Turtles Head for the Ocean

Children are sea turtles who hatch in the sand, crawl across the beach to the ocean, and swim in it. It practices belly crawling and arm-leg coordination.

How to play

1. The teacher explains that turtle eggs are buried on a beach: everyone curls up on the mats (the sand) while the teacher covers us with sand by stroking our backs (2 min).
2. When the sun warms us, we crack the shell by stretching little by little: head, one arm, the other, then our legs (2 min).
3. The baby turtles cross the beach to the ocean, crawling on their tummies and moving arms and legs like flippers until they reach the blue sheet on the other side (4 min).
4. In the ocean, we swim lying on the sheet, moving our flippers; when the teacher says "Wave!", we roll slowly to one side and keep swimming (4 min).
5. The turtles sink to the ocean floor to rest: lying on their tummies, flippers still, breathing slowly (3 min).

Rules

• We crawl with our tummy on the floor.
• When a wave comes, we roll carefully without bumping.
• We wait in the sand until the sun wakes us up.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: a child who can't crawl crosses the beach sitting or in a wheelchair, moving arms like flippers.
• Autism: instead of the sand stroke, let the child cover themselves with their own hands if they don't like being touched.
• Visual impairment: the blue sheet is the goal, and the teacher claps from there to guide the turtle.

Learning goals

• Move by crawling with arms and legs.
• Roll in a controlled way.
• Shift from movement to calm.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Mats: 6
• Large blue sheet: 1

Teacher tip

Keep the beach short for 3-year-olds, because crawling is tiring. The usual mistake is pulling only with the arms, so show how the feet push too.

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