The Sound Hike
The teacher tells a story about a mountain hike and the hand drum shows how to move: slowly through mud, fast downhill, jumping across stones, and silently past the bear. Children practice responding to rhythm within a story.
How to play
- Get ready: pretend backpack, boots, and cap, and set off walking to the drum's normal beat (2 min).
- We reach the mud: very slow beats and heavy steps, lifting our feet high (2 min).
- Downhill: fast beats and quick little steps, arms out so we don't fall (3 min).
- Cross the river on stepping stones: loud, spaced-out beats, one jump on each (3 min).
- Past the bear's cave: total silence, tiptoe without a sound; if the drum shakes, the bear wakes up and we freeze (3 min).
- Head home to a calm beat, take off our boots, and sit down to rest (2 min).
Rules
- Listen to the drum to know how to walk.
- By the cave, be quiet.
- Downhill, go fast but don't bump.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, include only mud, downhill, and the bear, with the teacher in front showing the moves.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, do the whole hike including the river.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, children suggest another place on the hike and how it sounds on the drum.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: do each part with the wheelchair or arms, following the drum.
- Autism: preview the story with pictures of each place and warn before the bear part.
- Visual impairment: hike in a line holding a guide classmate's hand.
Learning goals
- Adjust movement to different rhythms.
- Keep attention on sound within a story.
- Enjoy an active, imaginative journey.
Equipment for a class of 25
- pandero
Teacher tip
Tell the story in a mysterious voice with few words; let the drum do most of the work. Three-year-olds may find the bear a bit scary, so make it a sleepy, funny bear.
PatioLab has "The Sound Hike" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
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