The Harvest Rhythm Game

This Rhythm Game is perfect for using during the Harvest season. It’s a great way to practice note recognition while enjoying the simple pleasures of the Autumn.

This rhythm game is excellent for encouraging speech development in toddlers, who love reaching into the bag and recognising and naming the fruit and vegetables (they also like to chat about the colours and which ones they like to eat too!). While older children are more able to grasp the rhythmic aspect of the game and will enjoy clapping and recognising the rhythm of the names of the fruit and vegetables on the cards.

The Harvest Rhythm Game – How To Play

• Print off the The Harvest Rhythm Game sheets using the link below. Mount them on to card with pictures on one side and rhythms on the other, and cut into separate flashcards.
• Spread the cards out on the floor face up and play a guessing game with the children
• Ask each child to identify one card, this can be done very simply for younger children by just asking… ” Where’s the banana? ” or you can make it trickier for older ones by asking…..   “Which one would a monkey eat?”
• Once they have identified it correctly then you all clap the correct number of claps for the syllables in the name i.e 3 claps for ba-na-na –  and for the older children show them the rhythm side of the card and say the name as you clap the rhythm.
• Do this with each card so that the children are familiar with all the names and rhythms. This far is suitable for younger ones, but older children can go on to play the memory and guessing part of the game.
• Now place all the cards in to a bag and pass it around the circle and each child has a turn to pick a card.
• When it is their turn, they hide the card from the others (children love secrets!) and clap the rhythm of fruit or vegetable, without any verbal clues.
• If the others are stuck, then they can give a clue like “monkeys like to eat them”  Which normally helps a lot!
• It’s a simple game, but kids enjoy it and it works very well with a harvest theme.

Click here for Harvest Rhythm Game free printable Fruit-and-Veg-Flashcards-Combined 

Here’s one of my favourite harvest songs, my kids always sang this at primary school 🙂

Check out my Harvest & Apples Lesson Plan for how to combine this activity with lots more ideas for a harvest themed lesson.