Fainting Goats

Fainting Goat Tag

Goats vs. Farmers: A fun tagging game where children practice running, dodging, and 'fainting' while avoiding 'farmers' armed with pool noodles!

anything tag set up image
Set up

Designate a playing area, free of obstacles and with plenty of space to run. The educator nominates three or four children (or themselves!) as a tagger. The taggers each have  a pool noodle to tag goats with.

How to play
Step 1:
  • The children are the goats
  • The taggers are the farmers
  • The farmers have pool noodles to tag the goats with
  • Goats run/jump/skip/gallop around the area, trying not to get tagged
Step 2:
  • Goats can avoid getting tagged by fainting - lying down flat on the ground
  • They can only faint for 3 seconds and then have to get up and run around again
  • Farmers can't tag goats as they go down or get up from the fainting position, only if they are running around
  • If tagged, goats need to eat the grass 5 times - they go down into a modified push-up position on all fours and they bend their elbows to pretend to eat grass 5 times
Step 3:
  • Repeat and change taggers or add more taggers
  • Change the type of locomotion to skipping or galloping
Variations
Make it easier
  • Have less taggers
  • Use running as the locomotion to move around
Make it harder
  • Add more taggers in a smaller area
  • Change the locomotion to skipping or galloping
Activity information
Age: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6
Participants: 6 +
Equipment: Pool noodles (optional), Cones (optional)
Duration: 5 minutes
Skill focus
Explore these skills for teaching tips
Running Dodging
Skill teaching

Encourage children to keep their heads up and eyes open to avoid collisions with others. Revise the running teaching cues:

  1. Eyes ahead
  2. Hold your chocolate bars gently (hands closed lightly)
  3. Pump arms from hip to lip (elbows bent)
  4. Rev your engine (high knee lift)
  5. Land quiet as a mouse (land on the balls of the feet)
Physical literacy tips
  • Be dramatic - "oh no another goat has fainted"
  • Join in and be a fainting goat as well!
  • Build the story - these horrible farmers are making all our goats on the farm faint!
  • Let the children choose to be goats or farmers