Window Washers, Top to Bottom
Children are window washers who use a rag (scarf) to clean the building’s windows: way up high, down low, side to side, with one hand and with both. It works on spatial concepts, arm and trunk mobility and two-hand coordination.
How to play
- Each child takes a rag and stands facing a patch of wall, their window; the teacher shows how to wipe in circles (1 min).
- Clean the top window: on tiptoe, arms stretched, big circles (1 min).
- The bottom window: squat and wipe near the floor, first with one hand, then the other (1 min).
- Side windows: without moving your feet, stretch right and left (1 min).
- Two hands at once: a rag in each hand, make matching circles, then one hand high and one low (1 min).
- Sparkling windows: step back three steps, admire the shine and dust yourselves off (1 min).
Rules
- Everyone cleans their own window.
- When I squat, I bend my knees.
- The rag moves on the wall, not on a friend’s face.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, only top and bottom, with one hand.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, top, bottom and sides, switching hands.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, both hands at once doing different moves, and the teacher names right and left.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: from the wheelchair, wash the window in front with arms and trunk twists.
- Visual impairment: keep the free hand on the wall as a reference while the teacher guides by voice.
- Autism: mark the child’s window with colored tape on the wall so they know their spot.
Learning goals
- Tell up, down and sides apart.
- Loosen up arms, shoulders and trunk.
- Coordinate both hands.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Scarves: 50
Teacher tip
If there isn’t enough wall space, the window is the air in front of you. Kids usually stick to one hand, so name the hand at every switch.
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