Materials
Bell bracelet
Rhythm sticks
Triangle
Another adult, if possible
Instructions
1. Choose a child to be "It." Ask "It" to either leave the room or hide her eyes.
2. Choose another child to hide the hippo. Explain that the toy must stick out a
little from the hiding place, but not be in plain view.
3. "It" starts looking for the toy by walking around the room.
4. The rest of the children clap softly when "It" is far away from the toy, and
they clap louder as she gets closer, and VERY loudly when she is right next to
it. The child will soon realize that she must listen carefully to judge whether
the clapping is getting louder. She will also learn not to look carefully when
she is near a place where the clapping is soft, but to look thoroughly when
the clapping is loudest.
5. Of course the game is over when the child finds the toy. If she cannot find
the toy and becomes frustrated, the child who hid it can show where the
toy is.
6. You can use any stuffed animal for this game just remember to change the
name. For example "Find the Fox," "Discover the Dinosaur," "Locate the
Lion," "See the Seal," and so on.
More to do
Substitute other actions, such as stamping feet, tapping fingers, and so on.
Language: Discuss how the words in the title of the game have the same
beginning sounds, such as Hide/Hippo, Find/Fox, and so on.
Original chant
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Softly as can be.
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
Do it now with me.
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Loudly as can be.
Clap clap, clap your hands,
Do it now with me.
