With over 600 activities, The GIANT Encyclopedia of Monthly Activities is the result of a nationwide search for the most unique, fun, developmentally appropriate, and educational experiences for children. The activities included were selected as the best-of-the-best, and are organized by month for easy use by teachers. Teachers will love the creative ideas that span the traditional areas of the curriculum such as science, math, art, and music and movement, as well as the additional experiences including field trips, cooking, and holidays. Each activity includes instructions and a list of materials, plus possibilities for extending the activity further into the curriculum. Many also include lists of related children's books to further both literacy and imaginative play.

 

Dragon's Tail

 

Materials                   None

 

What To Do

Play this game for Chinese New Year. Explain the role dragons play in Chinese festivals. The Chinese New Year is celebrated on the second new moon after the winter solstice and ends 15 days later on the full moon. It can start any time between January 21st and February 19th, depending on the lunar calendar.

 

  1. Form children into groups of 7 to 10, putting similar size children together so that smaller children are not overwhelmed by bigger children in the group. This is not a team game, so even one group of a few children is enough to play.
  2. Have the groups stand in a line, holding firmly onto the waist of the child in front of them.
  3. Tell the children that each of their lines is a “dragon.” The person at the beginning of each line is the dragon’s head, the middle ones are the body, and the end ones are the tail. If available, let the dragon heads wear dragon masks.
  4. Explain that the object of the game is for each dragon’s “head” to chase its own “tail” and try to catch it. The job of the body and tail is to protect themselves from the dragon’s head, while staying joined together.
  5. On a given signal (clap or whistle), the dragon heads start to chase their tails. The children must try and keep out of the head’s way—the more children there are in the dragon, the harder it is.
  6. If the body of the dragon becomes disconnected (if one or more children let go of the person ahead of them), those children or anyone else who notices must shout, “Dragon, stop!” and the dragon’s head must freeze until the whole body is connected to him again. Then the dragon’s body or tail can shout “Dragon, go!” and the chasing may begin again.
  7. If the tail is caught, then the last child in the line becomes the head.
  8. Play until everyone in each dragon has had a turn being the dragon’s head.

 

More To Do

 

Music and Movement: As the children play the game, play undulating music and point out how the dragon’s body moves and flows. Use different numbers of children to make the dragon and ask whether a small or large number looks better.

 

Anne Adeney, Plymouth, United Kingdom

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