Games for a Waldorf-Inspired Co-op: Circle, Singing and Playground Games for Mixed Ages

The games that suit a mixed-age co-op best are the ones everyone plays together, with no one out. In circle, that means singing games like the Mulberry Bush, the Farmer in the Dell and Go In and Out the Window, plus bean bag passing and clapping games. Outside, try What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?, freeze tag, jump rope rhymes and hide and seek. Keep the same few games for several weeks, let the older children lead, and save games with winners and losers for grade 4 and up. There's a short list to copy below.

Why games matter in a Waldorf-inspired co-op

Picture the end of outdoor time. Eight children are scattered across a church lawn, some digging, two up a low tree. A parent starts singing, and one by one they drift over and take hands. By the second verse the ring is whole, and it walks to the door together.

That's what a game can do in a co-op: turn a scattered group into one. In a Waldorf school, games are part of the day from kindergarten. Sarah Baldwin of Bella Luna Toys describes Waldorf recess and circle games that favor cooperation over winning. She quotes one educator on singing games in which "every single gesture" comes from "a picture full of meaning for the young child." A four-year-old doesn't need the rules explained. They follow the song and copy the gestures.

Waldorf schools change the kind of game as children grow. At Mountain Laurel Waldorf School, grade 1 uses bean bag games, clapping games and rhythmical walking. Grades 2 and 3 play class games that build cooperation. Games with winners and losers come in grade 4. A co-op with children from 4 to 10 can take its lead from the youngest: mostly cooperative games, with a harder part for the older children to carry.

Where games fit in the co-op morning

• Morning circle. One singing game after the verse and songs, 5 to 10 minutes. Waldorf co-op day schedule shows where circle sits.
• Before coming in from outside. A chasing game or a ring game to gather everyone, then the walk in. Outdoor time at a co-op has more on ending outdoor play.
• Closing circle. A quiet clapping or passing game before the goodbye song.
• Rainy days. A longer circle with two or three games in the hall.

Singing and circle games

These are traditional games, sung and played in circles for well over a century. You can find the tunes in songbooks or by asking an older relative. Sing them yourself, without recordings. Singing at home has help if you don't feel like a singer.

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush. Hold hands and walk in a circle for the chorus. For each verse, let go and act out a job, such as washing clothes or mending shoes. Children can add verses that fit the season, like raking leaves or planting seeds.

The Farmer in the Dell. The children walk in a ring around one child, the farmer. At the end of each verse, the child in the middle chooses someone to join them, and it carries on verse by verse. In the last verse one child is left standing alone, so to keep it kind, have the whole ring cheer that child.

Go In and Out the Window. The children stand in a circle with hands joined and arms raised to make arches. One child weaves in and out under the arches while everyone sings. Then that child picks a partner, and the two weave together. Older children can take the lead so the little ones learn the path.

Bean bag passing. Stand in a ring and pass a bean bag hand to hand, in time to a verse. Then pass it across your own body before passing it on. It's a good calm game for the closing circle, and older children can add counting. Waldorf movement and bean bag games explains how to play and how to make the bags.

Clapping games. Pairs clap hands in rhythm to a rhyme. Put an older child with a younger one, and the older child sets a pace the younger one can keep.

Playground and chasing games

What's the Time, Mr. Wolf? One child is the wolf, with their back to the others at one end of the field. The others call out "What's the time, Mr. Wolf?" and take as many steps as the hour the wolf says. When the wolf calls "twelve o'clock," the wolf turns and chases, and whoever is caught is the next wolf. Mark a safe line the others can run back to. The little ones love the counting and the fright, and the older ones like being the wolf.

Freeze tag. One child is "it." Anyone tagged stands still until a friend frees them with a touch. No one is out for long, which makes it gentle on younger players.

Jump rope rhymes. Two children turn a long rope while the others jump in, one at a time or together, to a rhyme. Bella Luna calls jump rope games ideal for ages 6 to 8. Younger children can jump over a rope laid on the ground or waved gently like a snake.

Hide and seek. In a small, bounded space, with the boundary walked first. Let younger children hide in pairs with an older one.

Quiet games for indoors

String games. Cat's cradle and other string figures, often told with a little story. They suit older children waiting for a lift home, or a rainy half-hour. Waldorf string games has figures to start with.

Pass the clap. Stand in a circle. One child claps and turns to the next, who claps and turns, and it travels around the ring. Try it faster, slower, or with a stamp instead.

Playing with mixed ages

A few habits help a co-op with a wide age range:

1. No one is out for long. Elimination games leave the youngest standing at the side. Choose games where tagged children come back in.
2. Older children lead. A nine-year-old can be the wolf, start the clapping, or lead the weave in Go In and Out the Window. It gives them a real job.
3. Pair up for the tricky parts. An older child with a younger one, hand in hand.
4. Keep a game for weeks. Play the same two or three games for a whole term. Many young children only join in once a game is familiar.
5. Games with winners, later. If the older children want a race, give them one at the end, apart from the circle. See co-op age range for more on splitting by age.

A short list to copy

Choose two or three for this term, and keep them.

Game	Where	Ages	Time
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush	Circle	3 to 7	5 minutes
The Farmer in the Dell	Circle	3 to 8	5 to 10 minutes
Go In and Out the Window	Circle or outside	4 to 9	5 to 10 minutes
Bean bag passing to a verse	Circle	4 to 10	5 minutes
Clapping games in pairs	Circle or indoors	5 to 10	5 minutes
What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?	Outside	4 to 10	10 to 15 minutes
Freeze tag	Outside	4 to 10	10 minutes
Jump rope rhymes	Outside	6 to 10	as long as it lasts
Hide and seek	Outside, bounded	4 to 10	10 to 15 minutes
String games	Indoors	6 to 10	any spare time

The ages are a rough guide, not a rule. Your group will tell you which games it loves.

Books for more games

Two books are worth a place in the co-op cupboard. The first is Let Us Form a Ring, from WECAN (the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America). It gathers daily songs, circle plays and singing games for the seasons, mealtimes and bedtime. The second is Kim Brooking-Payne's Games Children Play (Hawthorn Press). It starts with singing and finger games for the youngest. Then it moves on to string games, chasing and skipping, and games for ages 7 to 12. Let the parent leading circle choose from them each term.

Looking for a Waldorf-inspired group to play with? The Waldorf Map lists co-ops and schools near you.