Pull the Tail

Objective

The children’s activity level in pull the tail is moderate to vigorous-intensity when they try to pull the other children’s tails, whilst trying to keep their own.

Instructions

  1. Give all the children a tail which they attach to the waistband of their trousers at the back.
  2. Upon a signal, the children try to catch the other children’s tails.
  3. If one the children manages to pull the tail of another child, the child attaches it to the waistband of their trousers. The child now has two tails to protect.
  4. After a while, the adult stops the game and counts how many tails each child has. The child with most tails wins.

Tips

  • When played outside and the children are wearing outdoor suits, the tails can be attached to the back neck of the suit (this also applies if the children are wearing dresses or trouser suits).
  • The children will most likely need help with attaching the tails, so the adults must be observant.

Variation

  • A variation of the game could be for the children to hold the pulled tail in their hand, but if they lose the tail attached to the waistband of their trousers, they must attach one of the tails they have in their hand to the waistband again.
  • Another variation of the game could be for all the children, except one child, to start with a tail on their waistband. Now only the child without a tail can pull tails. The child whose tail has been pulled is now the child that can pull another tail. To increase the difficulty level of this game, more children could start without a tail and therefore pull tails.

Equipment

Tails (bands or vests)

Age

0 - 2 years
3 - 5 years

Area

Large space
Small space

Motor skills

Learning areas

Activity type