Play Builders and Bulldozers

What You Do:

1. If you are using real traffic cones, skip to step 2. If not, you can easily make your own traffic cones out of plastic water bottles, 2-liter soda bottles, or tennis ball canisters. Fill each bottle or canister with about a cup of play sand to weight the bottom. Screw the cap back on the bottle, and secure with a strip of duct tape to prevent the children from unscrewing it.
2. Place the traffic cones around the flat area, spacing them about 4-5 feet apart. Place half of the cones on their sides and half standing upright.
3. Organize the participants into two even teams. Designate one team the builders and the other team the bulldozers.
4. Give the teams their tasks: the builders must stand up the traffic cones that are on their sides and the bulldozers must tip over the cones that are standing up. Make sure the bulldozers understand that they are not allowed to hit or punch the cones to knock them over; they must gently tip them over on their sides.
5. Have the teams begin playing. Organize play in to rounds, with each round lasting only two or three minutes. Have each player keep track of her own score; players get one point for each cone either tipped over or placed standing up.
6. At the end of the round, have the players on each team combine their individual scores to determine their group score.
7. Before round two begins, have the players switch teams so they have a chance to try both roles.
8. Continue playing until the participants are tired out from all that exercise!