PE-4-KIDS

6 Engaging Scooter Activities

Lets all think back to when we had Physical Education in Elementary school. Do you remember wondering as you entered the gymnasium what you were going to do for the day? Then you would enter the gym and see the parachute laying out on the gym floor. The excitement of the parachute and being able to play with for a kid is like having your birthday and Christmas on the same day. The one and only piece of equipment that can even come close to this feeling in Physical Education class would have to be Scooters. Every time I bring out the scooters in my class my students go crazy. To the point where I have to have my classes use deep breathing techniques to calm them down. But like the parachute the scooter can be a difficult piece of equipment to manage in a class. Not every physical education teacher feels comfortable using and teaching with them.  Another reason is because of the lack of ideas of how to use them.  To help you become more comfortable with using scooters in your physical education program I have included 5 scooter activities that are easy to use and are sure to engage and excite your students.

Jellyfish Tag - Here is an awesome activity you can use as a asap/instant activity or you main activity on the days you decide to use scooters in your class. What make this awesome is that you can use this activity for any grade level. As the students enter the gymnasium hand a scooter to every student except for about ⅓ of the class. The jellyfish fish are 4 students holding a mini parachute. The object of the activity is for the students on the scooter to avoid being caught by the jellyfish. If this happens the student then pick up their scooter and exit the game. To re enter the student does a designated number of a certain exercise and re enters the game (what happens when they get caught is totally up to you). I have provide you with a link here:

Spaghetti & Meatballs - This activity is a lot like Jellyfish Tag. Instead of the chasers being jellyfish (parachutes) the chasers are now noodles the spaghetti and small Omkni balls (or any large ball) the Meatballs chasing the kids on their scooters. The noodles (Spaghetti) are carried by some of the students on their scooter while the meatballs (Small Omkni balls or any large ball) are being rolled by students around the gymnasium chasing the students. If tagged by either one the students exit the game a do a exercise 5 to 10 times and come back in. Play for a few minute and change the spaghetti and meatball taggers. Remember the amount of taggers you have depend of the size of your class. I have provide a link here:

Scooter Boats - This scooter activity is great for teamwork and cooperation. How many boats you can play with depends on how many gymnastic folding mats you have. I have seven and put between 4 or 5 students on each boat. To make mats move the students have to put two scooter boards under their mat and sit on it like they would a chair. The first challenge is to drive the boat around the gym without crashing into the walls or other boats. The second challenge is to play the game called Pirates. All the students on their boat help collect treasure from the center of the gym (yarn balls) by driving their boat by using their feet. Each boat can only collect one piece of treasure at a time. Play for a determined amount of time and see how many each pirate ship can collect. The third challenge is to have the students sit on top with their feet up while each student gets a turn to drive their boat around the gym without crashing. The last challenge is to play a game called Battleship. Scatter gator balls (cannonballs) throughout the gymnasium. Each battleship places a cone on top of their battleship. The captain then drives the battleship around the gym collecting gannon balls for their battleship to use for throwing. If your battleships cone gets knock over or down your battleship then switches drivers (captains). I have provided 2 links here:

Hungry Hungry Hippos - Divide your class into groups of three. Place these groups on the baselines of your gymnasium.  Each group should get a scooter board and a bucket. Place yarn balls, wiffle balls, bean bags, and yarn balls down the middle of your the gym.. To play one student lays down on their belly on the scooter board. The second player is the driver and holds both feet of the scooter board player (Hippo). On the go signal the driver pushes and pulls the hippo out to the center to collect as many objects (marbles) as you can using the bucket until all the objects are gone or the predetermined time is up. Have the third player count the objects as they are being collected. Play until each player gets a turn to be the driver, collector, and counter. I have provided a link here:

Scooter Board Sports - Throughout the 19 years of teaching Physical Education I have played many different sports and activities with scooter boards. It doesn't matter what sport or activity you play if it's with scooter boards they all absolutely love it! I've played scooter board basketball, soccer, hockey, and football. As long as you have enough scooter boards for everyone in class all these activities are possible. What I love about playing these sports with scooter boards is that it evens out the playing field. It doesn't allow the most athletic students to take over and allows other students to each evolved. I have provided links here:

Fitness 500 - Make a oval around the gym using comes. Place 3 students behind each cone with a scooter board. In the middle of the oval have a list of exercise for the students to do. I usually have 10 listed. On the go signal one student stays behind the come and performs the 1st exercise listed. While that student is exercises the other 2 students using the scooter board to drive around the oval. Have one student sit with their legs crossed on the scooter whole the other student drives it by putting their hands behind the back of their partner and drives them around the oval. When they return the teammate that was exercising becomes the driver, the driver becomes the rider, and the does exercise number one until they come all the way around the oval. Play for time or until they do all 10 exercises. I have provided a link here:

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