P.E AT HOME

If you're teaching P.E in lockdown, the challenge of keeping students active and learning from their home can be a real struggle. That's why we've put together this article to help your students practice P.E from home, taking inspiration from some of HART Sport’s most popular games and activities!

Trying to create games for students to play at home without equipment, a full class and limited resources isn’t an easy task. Some games that your students may love to play at school, like mobile basketball, rob the nest & relay tic-tac-toe can be easily adapted to be played at home with everyday items that can be found around the house. 

MOBILE BASKETBALL

If you're looking for a new way to keep your students engaged while developing their team-building & coordination skills, our HART Mobile Basketball kit is perfect for P.E teachers! 

AT HOME MOBILE BASKETBALL

You can easily adapt Mobile Basketball to be played at home. Simply replace the basket goal with a washing basket and the balls with rolled-up socks!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Two or more people to play
• Soft foam balls or Socks
• 1-2 Washing baskets
• Open space (backyard, driveway, park, indoor room)

HOW TO PLAY:

1. If your students have soft foam balls at home, have them lay the balls out on the floor, grass or driveway. If they don’t have any balls at home, rolling up a bunch of socks to use as balls will work just as well.
2. Have your student’s parent or sibling pick up & hold out the washing basket in a wide-open space. They will need enough space to run around. 
3. It is up to your student to try and pick up the balls from the ground and shoot them into the washing basket.
4. The person holding out the washing basket’s goal is to try and make it challenging for the shooter to get the balls into the basket by running around with the basket. This will encourage the shooter to run after the basket goal to try and get their balls in. 
5. The best thing with this game is that you can be imaginative and make-up whatever rules you like!

ROB THE NEST

One of the most well-known and loved P.E games is Rob the Nest. Rob The Nest is a classic retrieval game where players try to gather as many balls for their team. This game incorporates problem-solving & coordination skills; strategy; and cradling & scooping movements. 

AT HOME ROB THE NEST

Adapt Rob The Nest to be played at home by using balls, rolled-up socks or toys instead of balls, and coloured paper instead of space stations.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Two or more people to play
• Coloured Paper or Pillow Cases to define your stations (nests) & teams.
• Lots of balls, toys, or rolled up socks (these are your eggs)
• Open space (backyard, driveway, park, indoor room)

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have your student’s parent create a space large enough for students to safely run around in. 
2. Create two ‘spaces’ at either side/corner of the area and create your stations using the coloured paper. 
3. Place down the ‘eggs’ at the centre of the space. 
4. Have each player stand at each of the stations. Set a timer for 4-6 minutes.
5. On “GO”, the player from each station runs to the balls at the centre of the space.
6. The players must pick up an ‘egg’ and then run it back to their station, placing the balls in their ‘nest’. 
7. Once all the ‘eggs’ are gone from the centre, it’s time to ROB THE NEST. 
8. The players must now steal the ‘eggs’ from the other person’s nest, one ball at a time. 
9. When the time is up, the players with the most ‘eggs’ at their station wins.

RELAY TIC TAC TOE

This game will get your students moving while also working their brain! Just like the original game of Tic Tac Toe, this game has been designed to be set up as a relay-style game to build up teamwork and strategy, all in one, but can just as easily be played with just 2 players. 

AT HOME TIC TAC TOE

Relay Tic Tac Toe can be played pretty much anywhere, which is why it’s so adaptable to set up and be played at home!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Two or more people to play
• Chalk, Paper or Pillow Cases to define the ‘board’
• 6 x coloured of bean bags, balls, toys, or rolled-up socks in two colours (3 of each colour) to use as checkers

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Create a board on the ground by either drawing them out with chalk on the driveway, laying down paper or pillowcases and create a grid that’s 3 squares x 3 squares.
2. Split into two teams and stand 3-5m back from the board laid out on the floor.
3. One team will have 3 x bean bags (or substitute) in one colour & the other team will have 3 x bean bags in the other colour. These will be their checkers. 
4. The players will now race to the game board to place down their checkers, one at a time, into the squares laid out on the floor. Players must return to the start line before placing their next checker. 
5. The first player to get 3 of the checkers in a row (up, down, across, or diagonally) wins! If all 3 checkers are on the board and no winner has been determined, players can move their previously placed checkers into a different square. 

Now that you have a few games up your sleeve to help students and parents stay active at home, go ahead and share this article with other teachers who may also need some ideas!