Game of the Month
Here at Imagination Education we love playing games and we love to share! Every month we post a new game you can play in your classroom so if you’ve got a spare five minutes at the end of the day, why not give indulge in some fun and make believe? Your pupils will love it!
It’s been a couple of months since we posted a new game, the grown up equivalent of handing your homework in late! So, seeing as keeping time has been our problem, this month we are reminding you of an old game that is still a firm favourite with young children.
What’s the Time Mr. Wolf?
I love this game as it is so simple to play and can have so many variations. Have the children stand at one end the room and you stand at the other. You are the wolf and for dramatic effect, you can adopt a wolf like stance or why not try and funny voice? Maybe you could add an item of costume like a waistcoat or a prop such as a watch? The children ask you what the time is by shouting, “What’s the time Mr. Wolf?” and you reply with a number – “Two o’clock!” The children then take two steps and ask the question again. Repeat this a few times with different numbers – six o’clock, one o’ clock etc.
When the others are close, the wolf shouts, “Dinner time!” The children run away and the wolf must chase them back to the starting point. The child the wolf catches becomes the new wolf.
The beauty of this game is it is simple enough for the children to be the wolf and I have seen three year olds play it independently with no adult help or supervision, though they love it when you do join in! It naturally lends itself to topics such as numbers, counting and telling the time, as well as fairytales including Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs.
Extensions and Variations:
Why not make masks for everyone to wear and all play as characters from a story, like the three little pigs with the wolf chasing everyone? Your children will love making the masks and playing with them. You could change the wolf character into a different villain, for example a dragon or troll and encourage your pupils to move and tell the others the time, in character.
Why not get a clock and display the time instead of saying it or shout the numbers out in a different language?!
For a physical variation, why not get your pupils to jump instead of take steps or see if they can hop? All drama games can be adapted to suit your topic or just be played for fun. Remember, the only limit is your imagination!
Have fun with Mr. Wolf!
Rachel Berry
Founder of Imagination Education
