Include our squares game in a project on shape (see overleaf).
Child development opportunities
* To talk about and be physically involved with squares and other shapes
* To learn a new rhyme
* To control body movements
* To discuss the role of 'an inspector'
* To have fun
How to play
* Draw a rough circle of squares with chalk on the floor and ask children to stand in a square.
* Introduce the rhyme and ask children to move from square to square clockwise, saying the rhyme.
Stepping into squares
Watch me go, No feet on the lines We all know.
* Select 'an inspector' who watches for any feet stepping on any of the lines of the squares.
* Anyone caught stepping on a line is out.
* When only a few children remain, speed up the game by saying the rhyme more quickly.
* The winner selects the next inspector.
Tips
* Start the game saying only the first two lines of the rhyme together.
* Take the role of inspector until the children know the rhyme well and move happily around the squares.
* Later play the game substituting squares with circles or triangles.
For more games, see Acker Backa BOO! - Games to Say and Play From Around the World by Opal Dunn (Frances Lincoln, 10.99)
