The Sleepy Shaker

Children dance to a bottle shaker that gradually gets slower and softer until it falls asleep and everyone ends up lying down. It builds matching movement speed to sound and shifting from active to calm.

How to play

1. The teacher shakes a bottle shaker loud and fast, and everyone dances around the room to the beat (1 min).
2. The shaker starts getting tired: it slows down, and we move slower too, like slow motion (1 min).
3. Now it's very soft: we stand in our spot and move only our arms, like seaweed in the water (1 min).
4. The shaker yawns: we sit down very slowly, then lie down (1 min).
5. Silence: the shaker is asleep, and we breathe with our eyes closed so we don't wake it (1 min).

Rules

• I move the way the shaker sounds.
• The softer it gets, the slower I go.
• When the shaker is asleep, I stay quiet so I don't wake it.

Variations

Adaptations

• Hearing impairment: the teacher makes the shaking very visible and lowers their arm little by little.
• Autism: tell the child beforehand that the game ends lying down and quiet, and let them pick their spot.
• Limited mobility: the whole game works in a wheelchair, slowing down with arms and head and ending with eyes closed.

Learning goals

• Match movement speed to sound.
• Shift from activity to calm.
• Relax the body at the end of the session.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Sealed bottle shakers: 1

Teacher tip

The shaker is a small bottle with a handful of rice, the cap glued on and taped over; check it before every session. Keep the opening dance short, since the wind-down is what matters.

More activities like this

More cool-downs for Elementary