The Streamer Curtain

Streamer strips hang from a rope down to the floor like a curtain, and children cross it in lots of ways: so slowly the strips barely move, so fast they fly, crouching, sideways or backward. It builds speed control, body awareness and decision-making.

How to play

1. The teacher introduces the magic curtain: as we pass, the strips tickle us; how can we get through so they hardly move? (1 min).
2. We all walk through normally from one side to the other, watching how the strips move (2 min).
3. We cross like tiny mice, very slowly so the curtain barely wakes up, then running so it flies (3 min).
4. The teacher says how: sideways like crabs, crouching like ducks, backward carefully (3 min).
5. Each child picks their own way to cross and the others guess what animal or thing they are (3 min).

Rules

• If someone is crossing my spot, I wait or find another gap.
• We go through the curtain; we don't pull it down.
• If a strip falls, we put it aside and keep going.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: one stretch of the curtain has shorter strips for crossing in a wheelchair.
• Visual impairment: use fabric strips or strips with large, securely sewn bells to feel and hear the curtain.
• Autism or touch sensitivity: the child can part the strips with their hands first or cross through a section with fewer strips.

Learning goals

• Regulate movement speed.
• Try different ways of moving.
• Choose and suggest one's own way to move.

Equipment for a class of 25

• serpentinas de papel: 10
• cuerda: 1
• cinta adhesiva de pintor: 1
• pandero: 1

Teacher tip

Hang the rope high (above adult head height) and tape the strips with painter's tape so they reach the floor; a long curtain lets many children cross at once. Make sure no strip wraps around a neck when kids run through.

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