The Traveling Circle Goes Visiting
The whole circle, holding hands, travels around the playground to visit familiar places (the tree, the door, the fountain) and does an action at each stop. It builds moving as a group, matching your pace to others and finding your way around the playground.
How to play
- In a circle holding hands, learn the chant: "Circle, circle, off we go, where to first? We want to know!" and the teacher answers with a place: "To the tree!" (1 min).
- The circle travels slowly to the tree without letting go: some walk forward, some backward, some sideways; when we get there, we do five jumps around the tree (2 min).
- Say the chant again and travel to the second stop (the wall, the door, the goal), where everyone touches it with both hands without breaking the circle (2 min).
- Third stop: a child picks the place and the action (squat, clap, shout "hello!"), and the circle travels to the beat of the drum (1 min).
- The circle travels back home to the starting point, slower and slower, until it stops on the last drum beat (1 min).
Rules
- We all travel together without letting go.
- We walk slowly so nobody falls.
- When we arrive, we wait until the whole circle has stopped.
- The drum is the boss: when it stops, we stop.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, travel without holding hands, like a cloud of friends, and make the circle again when you arrive.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, travel holding hands and make three nearby stops.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, put the stops farther apart and let the drum tell the circle to go faster or tiptoe.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: choose stops on smooth ground and have the classmates on each side match the wheelchair's pace.
- Autism: show the route beforehand with photos of each stop so the child knows where we're going.
- Visual impairment: the child holds hands with two classmates who say "we're stopping!" and let them touch each place.
Learning goals
- Move as a group, matching pace with classmates.
- Recognize and name places in the playground.
- Warm up the body with gentle, steady walking.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Hand drum: 1
Teacher tip
Pick stops 10 to 15 meters apart, no more, with nothing in the way. The typical mistake is one side pulling the circle: remind them "a circle is round, it doesn't stretch!"
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