The Magic Can
Ages 3 and up (one 20-30 minutes session)
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Objectives:
- To sharpen our listening skills
- To wait patiently until it is our turn
Materials:
- Coffee can with lid
- Natural objects (e.g. leaves, sticks, acorns, pinecones, Crabapple fruits, feathers, stones, flowers, seeds, Seed pods)
Set up:
Paint the transparent lid of the coffee can with a dark paint or paste a circle of paper cut to size.
Part One:
For the first round of play, the teacher must secretly put an item into the “Magic Can”. Sit around in a circle. Explain to the children that there is something inside the “Magic Can” that came from the garden or woods outside the classroom. They have to guess what is inside without opening the can. As they pass the can around, each child can shake the can and listen to the sound it makes. He or she can ask one question about the item then make one guess as to what it is. If the guess is incorrect, pass the can to the next child in the circle.
Part Two:
When a child guesses what the item was, he or she can choose the next item and place it in the “Magic Can” without the others seeing what it is. Repeat the above procedure. This child is now responsible for answering questions about the item.
Questions to ask:
- What does it sound like?
- What does it feel like?
- Is it soft, hard, sticky, alive?
- Is it heavy or light?
- Which item was the hardest to guess? Why?
- Which one was the easiest?
(Adapted from Ohio State 4-H Cloverbud program)
