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Warming up games ideas

SMUGGLERS

(Or make up your own name related to a topic.)This is a warm up game using coloured hoops and coloured bean bags.

Scatter the hoops around the area in which you are working. Split the class in half - smugglers or 'goodies'. The goodies have a 30 second head start to place bean bags in their correct corresponding coloured hoop. On the blow of the whistle, the smugglers 'steal' the bean bags from their correct hoops and place them incorrectly. The 'goodies' have to keep going to try and remedy the problem. Lots of fun, and gets the heart rate going!

THE BEAN GAME

This activity is ideal for use as a warm-up before the main part of most lessons.

1) The children should begin by walking around the room in any direction or you could play initially on the spot.

2) On the various commands listed below, they should carry out the appropriate action:

Commands and actions:

JUMPING BEAN

• Jump around the room

RUNNER BEAN

• Run around the room (looking out for other people).
• OR Running on the spot (more suitable for younger children than running around the room)

BROAD BEAN

• Stretch your arms and legs out as wide as you can.
• Walk around the room taking as large strides as possible
• Jump in a star shape

BAKED BEAN

• Lay on the floor in a star shape until the next command is given.
• OR Lie on floor and Sunbathe

JELLY BEAN

• Move around the room slouching and doing silly movements
• Wobble like a jelly

CHILLI BEAN

• Shiver and shake

FROZEN BEAN

• Children have to stand very still

MR. BEAN

• Walk around with a puzzled/vacant expression, muttering under your breath!

BEAN SPROUTS

• Stand on tiptoes and make yourself as tall and thin as possible

STRING BEANS

• Stand on the spot, making yourself as long and thin as a piece of string
• OR Find 2 partners, hold hands and run around in space.
• OR Make a long thin shape
• OR pretend to play an "air guitar" or violin!

BAKED BEANS ON TOAST

• Lie flat on the floor, spreading arms and legs out as far as possible.
• OR Children lie in middle of area as close to each other as possible
• OR Find a partner and lay on the floor

FRENCH BEANS

• Stand in one spot and do the can-can
• OR Strike a pose and shout "Bonjour!"
• OR Strike a pose and shout "Oooh la la!"

BACK TO BACK BEAN

• Find a partner and stand back to back until the next command

COFFEE BEANS

• All cough madly (hands over mouths of course)

KIDNEY BEANS

• Stand still with arms and upper body bent forwards at waist.
• OR Bend over and try to touch your toes!
• OR Freeze and bend into a C shape and shout Chili Con Carne!
• OR Make a Kidney shape on the floor

BUTTER BEANS

• Slide around on bottom (indoors)
• OR Make a cuboid shape

SANTA's BEEN

• Walk about wobbling your tummy saying "Ho, Ho, Ho!”

HAS BEANS

• Walk around with a pretend walking stick as if old and frail.
• Point behind you, look behind you, or walk backwards.
• All lying on the floor pretending to be dead.
• Walk Backwards

FLAT BEANS

• You can use this at the end of the activity the children lie flat on their backs

MAGIC BEAN

• Children either wave their magic wand or waggle their fingers as if casting a spell
• OR children return to the exact spot they started the game in (useful to get them to find identifying features of their starting point)
• OR children skip around room waving a wand

VIDEO RECORDER

This activity can be used as a warm up to most PE lessons. Children respond to the following video controls, using the appropriate actions:

Play - walk around

Rewind - run / walk backwards

Fast Forward – run

Pause - jump on the spot

Stop – stop

Eject - Jump Up!

Record - Pull a funny face!

SHARKS

Have a set of hoops scattered about the floor, with children moving about 'swimming'. The stroke can be changed with older children, e.g. front crawl / back stroke / running backwards.

When the teacher shouts "sharks", the children must get into hoops as quickly as possible (2 children to a hoop). Remove one hoop each time you shout "sharks", and ask the children to help when they are out to still make them feel part of it. When only two people are left make them touch the wall at each side of the hall on the way round the hoop to avoid cheating!

DISHES AND DOMES

Scatter cones around the area, half up one way and half up the other. Split your children into two groups – dishes and domes. On command dishes have to turn cones to dish shape, domes turn cones to dome shape.

Safety- ensure no head collisions!

GUESS THE CORNER

Choose one person from the class to be the caller. They have to be blindfolded, or close their eyes. Name the four corners of the hall / playground (the names can be anything, e.g. flowers, food...) The rest of the class has 30 seconds to run to one of those corners.

The caller then shouts the name of one of the corners. Whoever is in this corner is out.

Continue in this way until there is only one child left.

TAILS/ RABBITS

Each pupil is given a braid, which they tuck into a waistband. Pupils have to collect as many braids as possible; they must not hold on to their own tail, must not make physical contact and must not collect their own tail. Play the game until all braids are collected or for a designated period of time. The teacher may ask who has collected the most braids or by repeating the game it can be made into a 'beat your previous best' activity.

CHAIN TAG

Select two or more chasers. As soon as the whistle blows the chasers must tag other children who must then hold hands forming a chain. As soon as the chain has four members, the children must split to become a pair. The game ends when all children have been caught. The last pupil to be caught can start another game of chain tag.

ICE AND SUN

Select two children as the 'Ice' and give them blue braids. Select two children as the 'Sun' and give them yellow braids. The 'Ice' children must chase others, [apart from the 'Sun' children] touch them so they freeze. Children can only become defrosted when they are touched by the 'Sun'. Play the game for a designated amount of time.

CONTAMINATED MOLECULES

Select two or more chasers who are given beanbags or soft balls. As soon as the whistle has been blown the chasers must touch as many of the children in the class as possible. When a child is touched, he/she must stand still and wait to be released. Children can be released by two members of the class who are still free. These two members must co-operate by holding hands and encircling the captured pupil, who is then freed. The game may end after a designated period of time or when all children have been captured.

SIMON SAYS

Try to make this game as active and as fun as possible, combining aerobic and stretching activities. Change directions quickly, some suggestions are jog on the spot, lift knees high, run around the room changing directions, skip around the room, touch your toes keeping legs straight, five tuck jumps on the spot etc.

LUMPS

Children are directed to run, hop or skip around the room at the teacher's direction. On the teacher's command a number is called, e.g. 5 and the children have to get into groups of that number.

TRAINS

Set out cones in the shape of an athletics track modified to the space

available. The children are put into groups of four or more by the teacher, depending on class size. The children must run anticlockwise around the track in their groups one behind the other. At intervals the teacher blows the whistle, on one blast, the pupil at the back of the group sprints to the front, two sharp blasts means all the groups change direction in which they are running.

TIGGERS

Mark out the area of activity. Two children are chosen as 'Tiggers'. The 'Tiggers' have a beanbag each. The 'Tiggers' have to hit the other children below the knees with the beanbags. Those children who are hit then join the 'Tiggers' team. ‘Tiggers' cannot move with the beanbag. The game should focus on passing between the 'Tiggers'

ONE BEHIND/ SWITCH

Equipment: Music

Set-Up: Have the students find their own personal spot, which allows them to have enough room to exercise.

Directions: The teacher leads the class in exercises with the class staying one exercise behind the teacher. The teacher begins performing an exercise or stretch as the students stand at attention. When the teacher switches to a different exercise the students begin performing the exercise the teacher did previously.

CATERPILLAR TAG

• Divide the group into partners, with partners holding hands.
• Designate which partners will be the taggers.
• On the go signal, the taggers chase and try to tag the other partners.
• When tagged, they must freeze.
• To become unfrozen, another set of partners must join hands with this pair.
• This group must now stay together and try to avoid being tagged.
• There is no limit to the size of the group or groups that form from joining with
• the frozen players. Play for a designated time period or until all of the players
• are frozen.

GALLOPING LIZZIE

• Have the players find their own place in the play area.
• Choose one player as "it" and they take the sponge ball.
• The game is played by "it" throwing the ball at another player, where the hit
• player would become "it" and have to take the job of throwing the ball.
• To make the game more interesting, specify a certain style of throwing,e.g.
• underarm, left-handed etc.

SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS

Choose four children to be the scorpions. Their job is to move around on all fours (belly facing down) trying to sting as many of the other children as possible ( touch). The other children are spiders; they have to move around on all fours (belly facing up). If a spider is stung it must hold either one foot or one arm in the air (3 point balance) until all of the spiders are stung or time runs out. (A variation on the game is a special spider that delivers an antidote and releases the stung spiders).

SEEK YOUR SPOT

Each child has a marker and puts it into a space, children sit on their own marker. A few children are initially chosen to leave marker and walk/ run around, until signal and then return to marker. (Develop by adding different ways of travelling e.g. bouncing, giant strides, gallops, monkey walks…)

FISHES

As above but half the group remain seated, as rocks, whilst other half tip-toe (swim like fish in a rock pool) in and out of the seated children- avoiding the rocks.

THE TIDE IS COMING IN

As above but children hopping skipping, jumping etc on the beach between the sandcastles, when the adult calls “the tides coming in” they hop, skip, jump back to the safety of their marker.

TRAFFIC LIGHTS WITH CARS

Green: children steer their cars in and out of everyone else with quick little running steps

Amber: children steer their cars in and out of everyone else with slow creeping steps

Red: children stop the car and put the brake on.

This could be controlled by the adult : by calling out colours, waving appropriately coloured scarves, holding up coloured card circles, responding to percussion/music.

Warming up ideas and games cards:

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