Cat & Mice

  1. Indoor Game
  2. Tag Games

  • Large Group (10 and up)

  • Grades 1-2

  • Hula Hoops

  • Less Than 10 minutes

Development Goal

To develop a sense of shared space

Before You Start

  • Identify the game boundaries.
  • Inform players that the hula hoops may not move from their spots.
  • Provide an example to the game.
  • Demonstrate safe tagging:
    • Light touch, like butterfly wings on the shoulder
    • Unsafe tags: hard contact that might cause the person being tagged to fall
  • Identify five players to be cats (or one cat for every four mice).

Set Up

Place hula hoops out in a game space that is coned or chalked out

How to Play

  • Allow four players to place a foot in each hula hoop. This will be their mice hole.
  • Call out “Mice travel!” and all the players/mice must find a new mice hole/hula hoop.
    • While mice are looking for a new hole, the cat will try to tag a mouse.
  • If a mouse gets tagged, s/he will become the cat, and the cat will get to be a mouse.

Variations

  • Have mice who are tagged go to a mouse container and have other mice rescue them.
  • Tagged mice turn into cats to help tag other mice.
  • Tagged mice can do jumping jacks or other tasks to get back in the game.