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Outdoor Play: 6 Ways To Play With a Hula Hoop

6 Games to Play with a Hula Hoop

1. Bean bag throw: Lay your hoop on the ground, step back and throw a bean bag into the hoop. With each successful throw, take an extra step back to make it trickier! (If you are interested in making your own bean bags, check out this post).

2. Roll it: Find a large flat space (or a nice big hill) and try rolling your hoop along the ground. Don’t forget to chase it as it goes. Or roll it to a friend, and back again.

3. Leapfrog: Lay your hoop on the ground like a lily pad, and perform the actions whilst singing the Mr Frog song. If you have more than one hoop, lay them all around the ground and have fun leap frogging from hoop to hoop. Try skipping next or hopping.

Mr Frog

Mr Frog jumped out of his pond one day,

And found himself in the rain.

Said he, “I’ll get wet and I might catch a cold!” A-A-A-Achoo

And he jumped in the pond again.

4. Skip: Have your tried using your hula hoop instead of a jump rope to skip with?

5. Hang it: Hang your hula hoop from a tree or your verandah and use it for target practice, throwing balls (or bean bags) through.

6. Hula! Can you hula around your waist? Your arm? Your leg? Can your Mum or Dad 🙂

Do you have any other hula hoop games that your children like to play?

 



Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.

Read more of Christie's adventures at https://childhood101.com.

Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. liga krista says

    April 5, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    1.num is hula hooping and child is laughing about the funny face expressions! 2.imaginative play-put the hula on ground, imagine it to be a pond, fireplace etc and act accordingly:)

  2. Kim says

    April 5, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    1. Fill empty milk jugs with colored water and throw hula hoops to ring them. 2. Lay them on the ground and make them part of an obstacle course for the children to walk or jump in. My children LOVE hula hoops! :)

  4. Amy says

    April 6, 2011 at 1:10 AM

    In one of the more recent Family Fun magazines they use a hula hoop for weaving. I've been wanting to set up a weaving project and I plan on trying the hula hoop this Friday with the class.

  6. Kristin @ Intrepid Murmurings says

    April 6, 2011 at 5:57 AM

    Ah! Love the hoola hoop ideas -- we will definitely be trying these! I like your April Outdoor Challenge, as well. Daily outdoor play has been a (so far unmet) goal of mine for awhile -- maybe this will inspire me to get cracking!

  7. Brooke says

    April 6, 2011 at 8:03 AM

    A hula hoop is on my wish list for my son. We played with one at a gym class and he just enjoyed putting it over my head and taking it off again as I was sitting down. Love your ideas!

  8. Sandy says

    April 6, 2011 at 10:16 AM

    My daughter made a HUGE Dream Catcher using a Hula Hoop in honor of Martin Luther King's Birthday. We have it hanging in our Play Room!

  10. Jennifer Marks says

    July 14, 2012 at 11:46 PM

    Rest hula hoop on a chair/ground so its a slanted target and try to throw balls/ bean bags thru the hoop. If you don't have bean bags water balloons work. or fill a sock with beans or rice and knot or sew the end. Or stand the hoop up between 2 lawn chairs and throw threw it. Great for little kids that can't hula yet. -- Lay hula on flat ground and try to jump into it or out of it -- With 1 foot or 2 together -- Great for little kids learning to jump. how many kids can you fit in hula hoop with out falling or touching.

  11. Cheryl Dusek says

    May 18, 2014 at 11:09 PM

    have the children get in a circle and hold hands. Have the kids pass the hula hoop around the circle without letting go of their hands. The kids Will need to wiggle and climb in and out of the hoop without breaking the chain. This is also a good teamwork activity. You can also gave races by making 2 Teams. Races are easier if you have straight lines. Have fun!

  13. Janet Fay says

    January 20, 2015 at 9:52 PM

    Badminton Golf Spread out 9 hula hoops in a a gym or outdoor space. Place pods/pile ons a distance in front of each hoop. Stand at the pod/ pile on a hit a birdie with a badminton racquet into the hoop. If it lands outside the hoop hit it again from that spot. Do so counting the number of shots required to get into hoop.. Continue until all 9 holes are played. Add up total shots but subtract "any hole in one".

  14. Janet S. says

    March 3, 2015 at 1:09 PM

    Use the Hula Hoops as cars. Students stand in the middle of their hula hoop and hold it around their waist. The travel around the room. Works on spacing and body awareness. You can have them do different locomotor movements like skipping, hopping, galloping, running, walking. You can also use this with Red light Green light. Play slow music or fast music and they have to match the speed with their vehicle.

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