Child development opportunities
* To listen carefully to instructions and respond quickly as a group.
* To talk about speed and vehicles such as trains.
* To feel how the body reacts to fast and slow movements.
How to play
* Talk about fast and slow trains and the noises they might make.
* Divide the children into groups of threes or fours. One child is the train driver, the others the carriages.
* The children form the train by putting their arms around the waist of the person in front of them.
* Demonstrate each type of train and give children time to try making a slow train or a fast train before you play.
* Explain that one child is the caller and the trains have to follow the caller's instructions - fast, slow and STOP!
* When the caller cries 'Stop', the last train to stop and stand completely still is out.
* Children from a train that is out join hands in pairs to make bridges under which the other trains run.
* The last train wins. The children become the new train drivers and select others to be their carriages.
Tips
* Be the caller yourself until children get used to making the trains.
* At first, don't call anyone out.
* To avoid train crashes, make the trains go round clockwise.
* As children become more skilled, make the trains longer.
For more games, see Acker Backa BOO! - Games to Say and Play From Around the World by Opal Dunn (Frances Lincoln, 10.99) Copyright Opal Dunn. The author disclaims responsibility for any adverse effects resulting directly or indirectly from the game outlined.
