Materials and tools needed for implementation

Must-have (for the game to run)

  • Pigs in Mud card deck / game set (includes pig cards + action cards)
  • Table space for 3–5 players per set (desks pushed together or one table)

Must-have (for the skill focus to be visible and assessable)

  • 7-Card Meaning Guide (Nature Edition) – 1 per table
  • Mud / Washing / Rain / Barn / Shut Door / Lightning / Lightning Rod
  • Purpose: makes the valuing nature link explicit and consistent
  • Shared Nature Meter kit – 1 per table
  • 5 Water Drop tokens (buttons, counters, paper drops)
  • 5 Care Leaf tokens (stickers, counters, paper leaves)
  • Purpose: shows shared impact + stewardship actions in a concrete way
  • Note: tokens should be large enough not to get lost
  • Micro-cue strip (teacher/table prompt card) – 1 per table (or displayed on board)
  • Mud → “Mud helps because ___.”
  • Washing → “Need or waste?”
  • Barn/Rod → “We protect/prepare so ___.”
  • Shut Door → “Protection or control?”
  • Rain/Lightning → “Nature affects all of us / unexpected things happen.”
  • Purpose: keeps prompts short and doesn’t disrupt gameplay

Strongly recommended (for classroom management + connectedness)

  • Role cards for table jobs (optional but highly effective):
  • Nature Narrator (reads micro-cues)
  • Token Keeper (moves Water/Care tokens)
  • Fair Play Helper (reminds respectful language)
  • Card Organizer (keeps discard/draw tidy)
  • Purpose: keeps all children engaged, prevents domination, supports connectedness
  • Respectful play sentence starters (small card or on the board)
  • “I choose this because…”
  • “My next plan is…”
  • “I feel ___, so I will take a breath.”
  • “Good game / well played.”
  • Purpose: reduces teasing + supports emotional communication

Debrief support (useful but optional)

  • Whiteboard / flipchart for quick debrief capture
  • two columns: “What helped nature?” / “What used shared resources?”
  • Emotion words mini-strip (calm / annoyed / frustrated / proud / excited)
  • Purpose: helps younger learners label feelings quickly without long talk

Practical classroom extras (only if needed)

  • Timer (optional)
  • to keep turns moving and prevent long debates
  • Table weights / tray (for outdoor play)
  • prevents cards/tokens from blowing away.