One potato, two potato,
three potato, four…
I’ve got hot potato
ideas galore!
Here I go again taking
something simple and milking it for all it’s worth! You can use a hot potato similar to the one I made for these
games, a real potato, a sponge ball, or any other object.
I got an old pair of
pantyhose. (Yes, I still had some
in a drawer, but they were black and not brown. What I love about children is that 99% wouldn’t say a thing
about a black potato!) I cut the
toe off and then cut a 10” piece of the leg. I stuffed the rest of the panty hose in that section,
knotted both ends, and trimmed off the excess. Cute, huh? So
what can you do with it?
Traditional Hot Potato
This game can be played
indoors our outside. Children
stand or sit in a circle. The
potato is passed around the circle until the music stops or the teacher blows a
whistle. (Obviously, playing music
inside works best and the whistle can be used on the playground.) The child holding the potato when the
music stops is out of the game. If
a child drops the potato they are also out of the game, or if a child throws
the potato so it can’t be caught they are out of the game. Continue passing the potato until one
child is left.
*Instead of making children
leave the game, ask them to do an exercise, say a rhyme, tell a joke, etc.
Shapes and Letters
The child caught holding the
potato has to identify a shape, letter, or other information on a flash card.
Counting
Pass the potato and each
child says a number as they receive the potato. Every time you get to a multiple of ten, that child is out.
*Start counting from a
random number. “We’ll start with
17…”
Spelling
Say a word. Each child says a letter in the
word. When the word is spelled the
next child is out. Continue
passing the potato and spelling words.
Recall
After you’ve had a science
of social studies lesson, ask the child holding the potato to tell you one new
thing they learned.
One potato, two potato,
three potato, four…
Email me if you’ve got
ideas or more!