The Sleepy Ribbon Wakes Up
Each child lays a ribbon on the floor, "asleep," and slowly wakes it up: first with just the wrist, then the elbow, then the whole arm and finally the whole body. It warms the body up part by part and teaches children to grow their movements gradually.
How to play
- Each child sits next to a ribbon stretched out on the floor; the teacher whispers, "Shhh, the ribbon is sleeping" (1 min).
- Kneeling, we pick up the wand and wake the ribbon with just the wrist: the tip wiggles on the floor like a little worm (1 min).
- Now the elbow wakes up: the ribbon lifts a little and makes small waves in front of us (1 min).
- We stand up and the shoulder wakes up: the whole arm makes big waves up and down (1 min).
- To the beat of the drum, we walk around with our wide-awake ribbon, and when the drum stops the ribbon lies down to sleep again (2 min).
Rules
- My ribbon wakes up slowly, no whipping.
- Everyone has their own ribbon and stays away from friends so ribbons don't tangle.
- When the drum stops, the ribbon lies down to sleep.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use only wrist and whole arm, with the teacher doing it right alongside them.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use all four stages (wrist, elbow, shoulder, body) with the teacher modeling.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, switch hands at each stage and let a child suggest a new way to wake the ribbon.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: a child who can't stand does every stage seated, using bigger arm movements at the end.
- Autism: preview the activity with a strip of four pictures (wrist, elbow, shoulder, body) that the teacher points to.
- Hearing impairment: pair the drum with a visual signal: arm up to wake, flat hand toward the floor to sleep.
Learning goals
- Move the wrist, elbow and shoulder separately.
- Increase the size of a movement little by little.
- Warm up the body calmly and gradually.
Equipment for a class of 25
- cintas de tela con palito: 25
- pandero: 1
Teacher tip
Lay the ribbons out before the children come in, two big steps apart. The usual mistake is whipping right away: whisper, and show an exaggerated wrist-only movement.
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