Tortoise and the Hare Game

Items Needed

bunny ears (1 or 2 pairs)

1 - 2 green plates

duck tape

black marker

cones or jump ropes

At least 2 kids

A printed out story of the Tortoise and the Hare

With a black marker, draw shapes on a green paper plate to resemble a turtle shell. Next, fold a long piece of duck tape over (sticky sides together) to make a "strap". Fold a 2nd piece to make a 2nd strap. Duck tape the straps to the paper plate. Cut a small strip open at the end of the tape (but not all the way to the end), kind of like you're making a button hole.  When the child puts the "shell" on his back, you can put the straps around his waist and pull one strap through the "button hole" to keep it on. 

Mark off the starting line and halfway line with cones or a jump rope. 

Race 

First, read the kids the Tortoise and the Hare story. Then explain that you'll be having your own tortoise and hare race.

 Explain to the kids that they will get a chance to be the tortoise and the hare. Divide the kids into 2 groups and have them stand in 2 lines behind the starting line. When you say go, the first 2 kids will put on their rabbit ears and hop to the halfway line, turn around and hop back to the starting line.  Then they will take off the ears, put on the turtle shell and crawl like a turtle to the halfway line, turn around and crawl back. 

The team that gets all their players back over the starting line first, wins!  You can make many variations of this game. For little kids, you can just have 1 line so they're not racing against anyone and no one wins or loses.

Or you can have one line of kids that are turtles racing against one line that are rabbits.