The next fun game in our Group Games for Kids series is a common, collaborative game that is played regularly with young children in Australia – here’s how to play What’s the Time, Mr Wolf?
How to Play What’s the Time, Mr Wolf?
Number of players: 2+
Recommended Age: 3+ years
Equipment needed: None
To play:
One child is chosen to be Mr (or Mrs) Wolf. He stands a good distance (3+ metres) away from the other players with his back to them.
The other players stand side by side in a line, facing Mr Wolf’s back. All together they call, “What’s the time, Mr Wolf?”
Mr Wolf responds by selecting and calling out an o’clock time (between 1 and 12).
The other players take the required number of steps towards Mr Wolf. For example, “3 o’clock,” would mean the players take three steps towards Mr Wolf.
These two actions are repeated resulting in the other players moving closer and closer to Mr Wolf.
When Mr Wolf is ready (usually when the other players are getting close), he changes his response to the question, “What’s the time, Mr Wolf?” to “Dinnertime!”
At this cue, all of the players must turn around and race back to the starting position with Mr Wolf chasing after them to try and catch his dinner. The player who is caught becomes the next Mr Wolf and the game continues.
Check out the other games in the Games for Kids series;
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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