Which Way at the Crossroads?
A network of rope paths splits and joins like tree branches, and each path leads somewhere different (the farm, the ocean, the forest). Children walk on the ropes and decide at each crossroads which way to go without stepping off.
How to play
- Lay out ropes in a network of paths that leave a house and split into three or four branches; each branch ends at a cone with a picture card (farm, ocean, forest, mountain) (2 min).
- Walk one sample path together with the teacher, stopping at the crossroads to announce "I'm going to the farm!" (2 min).
- Each child leaves the house along the rope and chooses at every crossroads; on arrival, they act out the place (milking, swimming, climbing) (4 min).
- The teacher names a destination and everyone has to find the way there walking on the ropes (3 min).
- In pairs: one picks the destination and the other leads them by the hand through the crossroads (2 min).
- Everyone walks back home along the ropes and shares which place they liked best (1 min).
Rules
- I walk on top of the rope.
- At the crossroads, I stop and decide.
- If someone is coming toward me, one of us moves to the other branch.
- There's no wrong way: every path goes somewhere.
Variations
Easier
Age 3: just one crossroads with two branches, walking beside the rope.
Standard
Age 4: two crossroads and three or four destinations.
Harder
Age 5: more crossroads, some curvy paths, and destinations given in order ("first the ocean, then the forest").
Adaptations
- Students who use a wheelchair: space the rope paths farther apart and follow them with one wheel beside the rope.
- Deaf or hard-of-hearing students: the teacher holds up the destination card instead of saying it.
- Students with autism: give them a small picture of their destination to hold so they don't have to decide in a rush.
Learning goals
- Keep their balance walking on ropes with turns and forks.
- Make simple choices about their route.
- Find their way through space to reach a specific place.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Jump ropes: 12
- Cones: 4
- Picture cards: 4
Teacher tip
Sketch the map on paper first and you'll lay it out in two minutes. At first everyone heads to the same place; let it happen, and by the second round they start choosing.
PatioLab has "Which Way at the Crossroads?" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
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