Large Catches Small, Small Catches Large

Objective

In this game, the children must sort out the information that is important (which animal is the largest in real life) from the information that is unimportant (size of the drawing of the animal).

Instructions

  1. The children are given a team band in one of two colours, which they hang on themselves, e.g. red or yellow.
  2. The adult has a laminated colour card with pictures of large and small animals.
  3. The rule of the game is that the largest animals shall capture the smaller animals, so if the yellow card has a picture of an elephant and the red card a mouse, the children with the yellow band shall capture the children with the red band.
  4. If a child is caught, he/she has to squat down and is safe when a child with same colour band saves them (e.g. touches or jumps over them).
  5. After a while, gather all the children together again and hold up other pictures.
  6. When they become very familiar with the game, it can be made more difficult by saying that you are witch and can magically turn the animals into different sizes. From this point on, cards are used to illustrate the different sizes. Sometimes it will be the case that the largest illustration shows the largest animal in real life (consistent cards) and other times the largest illustration will show the smallest animal (e.g. large illustration of a mouse and small illustration of a cow, i.e. inconsistent cards). The game now becomes challenging, as the children must ignore the information that is the clearest (the largest illustration) and use the information that is less clear. The children shall continue to apply the same rule as earlier in the game, where the largest animal in real life (not the largest illustration on the card) catches the smallest animal. The game is most challenging when alternating between consistent cards (largest illustration of the largest animal in real life) and inconsistent cards (e.g. where the smallest illustration is the largest animal).

Tips

  • The animal illustrations could be drawings that the children have coloured. If the illustrations are laminated, they last longer.

Variation

  • For additional progression, a rule can be changed where a small animal catches a large one.
  • Various movement patterns can be used for variation.

Equipment

Bands or vests in two colours
Pictures of animals (large and small illustrations)
Two laminated sheets of paper in the same colours as the team bands

Age

0 - 2 years
3 - 5 years

Area

Large space
Small space

Motor skills

Learning areas

Activity type