Trees and Leaves

Setting: Recess

Season: Fall

Activity Goal

Participants race their partners to perform a variety of locomotor skills, then return to their spot in order to earn a point for their half of the ‘tree’.

For participant safety, please review the contents of the Beyond the Walls: Safety Considerations page for information on Safety Standards, Fall Safety Considerations, and Outdoor Playing Areas and Surfaces.

How to Play

• Participants race their partner along a ‘tree-lined pathway’ to earn a point for their team.
• Participants pair up and sit straight-legged across from each other leaving enough space between them to create a pathway for other participants to travel. They are the leaves of the tree.
• Participants on the same side of the pathway sit close enough to touch the shoulder of the person next to them with an outstretched arm. This forms the trunk of their ‘tree’.
• Each pair assigns themselves a number.
• A designated participant calls the number of one of the pairs (the leaves) and a type of locomotor skill (e.g., run, hop).
• The pair then travel a straight line along the tree-lined pathway using the locomotor skill to reach the ‘ground’ (e.g., skipping, hopping, jumping, side slides).
• Once participants have reached the ‘ground’ (the end of the tree-lined pathway), they each run around behind their tree to get back to the top.
• The ‘leaf’ that gets back to the top of the tree first earns a point for their side of the tree.
• The designated caller continues to call on pairs of leaves.

Adaptations

Consider these tips to maximize the challenge and the fun for participants.

• Participants can choose to call more than one number at a time to maximize participation.
• Consider encouraging participants to co-create a locomotor skill to maximize the variety of skills for participants to try.

Modifications

Consider these tips to maximize inclusion and fun for all participants.

• For participants with mobility challenges, consider having participants utilize various locomotor skills to slow down the speed of travel or shorten the distance of the pathway.
• For participants who are deaf, consider having a visual signal paired with auditory signals for calling partner pairs (i.e., leaves).