Spring Clean Up

Setting: Curricular

Season: Spring

Activity Goal

Participants practice aim and accuracy while sending an object toward a target in an engaging spring outdoor activity.

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

Equipment

• 2 buckets or containers per team
• Several sending objects (e.g., balls, flying discs, plush toys)

Before Play

• Review the safety rules and activity instructions with participants prior to the activity.
• Establish the boundaries for the designated playing area and share them with participants.
• Discuss with participants the importance of taking care of our environment and keeping it clean by picking up litter and using trash and recycling bins, for example, when going on a picnic with their family.
• Divide participants into teams of 4.
• Place several objects in the centre of the playing area.
• Designate a throwing line and place a bucket/container (garbage can) 5 to 15 meters from this line for each team around the centre of the playing area. The set-up should look like the spokes of a bicycle wheel.
• Determine the type of throwing motion the participants will use (e.g., overhand or underhand).
• One of the team members stands behind the throwing line and the others are in line behind their team’s bucket.

During Play

• The objective of this activity is to collect objects from the middle of the playing area and toss them into the team’s trash can (bucket/container).
• On a predetermined signal, the team member standing at the throwing line runs to the centre of the playing area to collect an object. They return behind their throwing line to send the object toward their team’s bucket/container.
• The first team member standing over the trash can may assist by smashing, hitting, or bumping the object into the trash can (they should avoid catching the object).
• If the thrower misses the bucket, they retrieve it, return behind the throwing line and try again.
• When the thrower gets the object into the trash can, they then run to the back of the line behind their team’s bucket.
• The team member who was first behind the bucket then runs to the centre of the playing area to collect another object, stands behind their team’s throwing line and sends the object into their team’s bucket. The next person in line can assist the thrower.
• Continue until there are no more objects left in the centre of the playing area.
• The team with the most objects in their bucket is the winner.

After Play

Use the following prompts for participants to reflect on ways to be active in the spring and engage others in activity to build a habit of engaging in outdoor activity throughout the year.

Question prompts:

• Describe the position of your body and how your body parts moved to send the object with aim and accuracy toward the target.
• How did you change the force or effort that you applied to your throw to reach the target?
• How could you adapt this game to play with friends, family, or others outside of school to stay active in the spring and summer?
• What alternate equipment could you use that you might find at home?

Adaptations

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

• Use two different coloured buckets to represent trash and recycling. As the participant sends the object, they indicate if the object is trash or recycling, and the participant at the bucket will assist the object into the correct bucket.
• Increase or decrease the distance to the bucket.
• Increase or decrease the size of the bucket.
• Change the type of throw participants will use to send the object to the bucket.
• To increase the challenge, have participants bounce the ball into the trash or recycling bin.
• Divide participants into partners to compete against each other (as you would in horseshoes or bocce) using two buckets per group and placing one at each end.
• Limit the number of chances to get the objects into the trash can so that more participants have a chance to ‘clean up’.

Modifications

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

• For participants that are blind/low vision, consider using a brightly coloured ball or an object that is easier to send (e.g., netball, rattle ball).
• For participants with dexterity issues, consider providing a variety of objects for participants to choose from to send to the bucket.
• Consider inclusive approaches to increase or decrease the challenge to find a role for every participant and to encourage full participation.