Decorate the Tree
The objective of the game is to avoid getting tagged as they try to collect decorations from the other team’s side and then run back to decorate their own tree.
Grades 1-6
6-12 years old
15-minutes
Small or large sized groups
Open space
(indoor or outdoor)
2 laundry baskets, scarves, flags, cones
Skills in action
Jogging
- I lift my knees
- I point my toes forward
- I land on the sole of my feet
- I swing my arms gently
Skipping
- I look forward
- I keep a straight posture
- I do a step-hop rhythm
- I swing my arms opposite my legs
Galloping
- I put one foot in front of the other
- I point my toes forward
- My back foot chases my front foot, toes-to-heels
- I swing my arms
Shuffling
- I move sideways
- My back foot chases my front foot
- Both my feet leave the ground
- My back foot touches the ground before my front foot
How to play
- Explain to the children that the goal of the game is to avoid getting tagged as they try to collect decorations from the other team’s side and then run back to decorate their own tree.
- Divide the activity space in half. Using cones mark the centre line.
- Place a laundry basket at each end of the activity space. For added fun tape a picture of a Christmas tree to the basket.
- Spread out a large number of colourful scarves or flags along each end of the activity space.
- Divide the group in half.
- Each group starts on their half of the activity space.
- Pick 2 “elves” from each team to be “it”.
- At all times, “elves” stay on their side of the activity space and try to tag the other team members as they attempt to collect the decorations.
- “Elves” cannot cross the centre line to tag.
- Once a decoration is collected, children run back to their tree and stick the decoration into the side holes of the laundry basket.
- If however they are tagged, they must freeze in a tree pose for 5 seconds. They then return to their side of the activity space. If they have a decoration in their hands they must first return it to where they picked it up from.
- Change the “elves” every 1-2 minutes.
Variations
- Suggest different locomotor skills to move around the activity space (e.g. skipping, galloping, shuffling etc. ).
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