Traffic Lights
Green means go, amber means walk, red means freeze. The simplest listening-and-moving game there is, and the fastest way to settle a group before anything else.
Overview
You need
No equipment neededOptional: Cones or markers
Skills developed
- Locomotor: running, walking, stopping with control
- Listening: responding to a verbal cue
- Spatial awareness: moving in a group without bumping
NEL Framework: Motor Skills Development.
Set up
1Step 1
Mark out the play area with cones, or use the lines of the hall. Children spread out inside it.
2Step 2
Coach stands where everyone can see, arms ready to signal the colours.
ChildTagger / team BCoachHoopSpotConeBallBeanbagRope or lineMarked areaWhere they move
How to play
- Call "GREEN": children jog anywhere inside the area.
- Call "AMBER": everyone slows to a walk.
- Call "RED": freeze like a statue. Anyone still moving does three star jumps, then joins back in.
- Do not call the colours in the same order every time, and change how long you wait between calls. That is what keeps them listening.
- Once they know the game, try holding up a coloured cone instead of calling out. Now they have to watch you instead of listen.
Tips for explaining
"Find your own space." Arms out, spin round, nobody touching. Do this before the first green.
"Freeze means feet glued." Praise the stillest statue, not the fastest runner.
Make it easier / harder
EasierWalk instead of jog on green. Use only green and red until they have it.
HarderAdd "reverse" (walk backwards), "roundabout" (spin on the spot) and "speed bump" (jump).
Safety
Check the floor for anything slippery. Keep the area small enough that you can reach any child in a few steps.
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Rather we ran it for you?
This is one of the games our coaches run in pre-schools every week, with our own equipment. Weekly enrichment, sports days, or a whole holiday programme for your centre, planned in one message.