Fun activities
with hoops
By Karen Burns
Many of you will have a pile of hoops in your indoor or outdoor play area. Here are a selection
of activities and games which can be played indoors and outdoors with hoops.
1. Classic rolling the hoop
This game has been enjoyed for centuries - either keep the hoop moving with the hand or a
stick (try a small section of a pool noodle as a safe alternative). The most difficult part is getting
the hoop started – using a slope, either a natural slope or a wedge from soft play, can really
help with this at first.
Once children have mastered this skill many will enjoy trying to then ‘run through’ the hoop.
You can also roll the hoop for the children and see if they can run through.
2. Spin the hoop
Spinning the hoop on its edge on the ground - children initially will have more success if they
use 2 hands, one on either side of the hoop, one pushes the other pulls to make the hoop spin.
Later they can try using one hand on top of the hoop with a twisting action of the wrist.
Once the hoop is spinning have the children watch carefully until it starts to fall down then
encourage them to try to jump into the hoop before it lands flat.