Juggling Scarves in PE: 30 Fun Scarf Activities, Partner Games, and Juggling Progressions
Updated: 1 day ago
Juggling scarves are a great way to add fun and variety to your PE classes, and they make a quick classroom energizer too. They're colorful and eye-catching, and they're a great tool for building coordination and motor skills. Scarves get kids active and engaged, and they're just plain fun! In this post, I'll share the benefits of using juggling scarves in PE and 30 fun scarf activities for your classes. Let's get started!
Pic from Mrs. Hochman (and Mr. Ramlow) @CopelandD70PE
Quick Answer: Juggling scarves float down slowly, so they're perfect for teaching tossing, catching, and juggling to young students. This post has 30 scarf activities: stationary toss and catch skills, moving challenges, two scarf tricks, partner and small group games, and a step-by-step progression from the 2 scarf X pattern to the 3 scarf cascade.
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Why Use Juggling Scarves in PE?
Juggling scarf activities make it quick and easy to teach lots of skills and PE concepts at school or at home. Scarves are colorful, fun, and work in all kinds of activities. They help students build manipulative skills like tossing, catching, and juggling, and practicing with scarves makes it easier when students move on to juggling balls or bean bags. Scarves also build skill-related fitness like agility, balance, coordination, and reaction time. You can even use them to teach math concepts like patterns and sequencing.
Because scarves float down so slowly, they work in all kinds of games and activities. Students can see who can keep the most scarves in the air, or try juggling while they walk. Scarves are also great for teamwork. When partners pass scarves back and forth without dropping them, they build coordination, communication, and problem-solving skills.
How to Use Juggling Scarves in a PE Lesson
Juggling scarves can teach lots of different skills and concepts. Students can use them alone, with a partner, or in groups, in a PE lesson or as a classroom brain break.
Colorful scarves are great for stations, relays, and large group games. Students can toss, catch, and juggle them, or tuck them in like flags for a tag game. Encourage students to teach their families and friends how to juggle scarves at home. It's a great way to build support for your PE program!
Do Juggling Scarf Activities Help Address PE Standards?
Scarves are fun for students, and they also help students work toward SHAPE America's Standard 1: Develops a variety of motor skills.* The juggling scarf activities you choose can also meet your state and district standards.
Pic from Mercedes Zamora @idreamofcaketx
30 Fun Juggling Scarf Activities for PE or as a Classroom Energizer
If you're looking for a way to get your students moving, these 30 juggling scarf activities are perfect!
Students can do these tasks on their own, with a partner, or in small groups at stations around your teaching space.
1. Stationary Tossing and Catching Skills (7 Activities)
Toss and Catch: Toss and catch 1 scarf in your own personal space. Try catching with 2 hands, then 1.
Catching Levels: Toss 1 scarf up and catch it at different levels: high, middle, and low. Then try catching it with different body parts.
Rainbow Toss: Toss a scarf from one hand to the other so it travels in a rainbow shape.
Seated Catch: Toss the scarf while standing, then sit down to catch it. Then try tossing and catching while sitting.
Lying Catch: Toss the scarf while standing, then lie down to catch it. Then try tossing and catching while lying down.
Under the Leg Toss and Catch: Lift 1 leg, reach under it, and toss the scarf up. Catch it before it hits the ground.
Behind the Back Catch: Toss the scarf up and turn halfway around. Catch it behind your back with 1 hand or 2.
2. Tossing, Moving, and Catching Skills (5 Activities)
Toss, Touch, Catch: Toss the scarf, touch the ground, and catch it.
Toss, Turn, Catch: Toss the scarf, turn all the way around, and catch it.
Toss, Clap, Catch: Toss the scarf and clap once (or more) before you catch it.
Toss, Jumping Jack, Catch: Toss the scarf, do 1 or more jumping jacks, and catch it.
Invent a Toss and Catch: Make up new ways to toss and catch 1 scarf. Be creative and stay safe.
3. Two Scarf Tossing and Catching Skills (6 Activities)
2 Scarves, Same Hand: Toss 2 scarves up, 1 from each hand. Catch each scarf with the same hand that tossed it.
2 Scarves, Opposite Hand: Toss 2 scarves up, 1 from each hand. Catch each scarf with the opposite hand.
Circle Right: Toss 1 scarf up with your right hand. Pass the 2nd scarf from your left hand to your right hand and toss it up. Catch the 1st scarf with your left hand. Repeat.
Circle Left: Toss 1 scarf up with your left hand. Pass the 2nd scarf from your right hand to your left hand and toss it up. Catch the 1st scarf with your right hand. Repeat.
Circle Leg: Toss 1 scarf up with your right hand. Pass the 2nd scarf under your leg to your right hand and toss it up. Catch the 1st scarf with your left hand. Repeat.
Circle Back: Toss 1 scarf up with your right hand. Pass the 2nd scarf behind your back to your right hand and toss it up. Catch the 1st scarf with your left hand. Repeat.
Pic from Mrs. Dwar @DwarPhysEd
4. Partner and Small Group Activities (9 Activities)
1 Scarf Toss and Catch: From a comfortable distance, toss and catch a scarf with a partner. Try it with both hands.
1 Scarf Round About: Pass the scarf from your right hand to your left hand, then toss it to your partner's right hand. Your partner does the same. Keep the circle going!
2 Scarves, Same Side: From a comfortable distance, toss and catch with a partner using 2 scarves. Toss both scarves at the same time to the same side.
2 Scarves, Opposite Side: From a comfortable distance, toss and catch with a partner using 2 scarves. Toss both scarves at the same time to opposite sides.
2 Scarves Round About: Each partner starts with a scarf. Pass it from your right hand to your left hand, then toss it to your partner's right hand. Both partners go at the same time. Keep the circle going!
Toss and Run: Both partners toss their scarf up, then run to take their partner's spot and catch their scarf. Repeat.
Toss, Turn, and Run: Face away from your partner and toss your scarf up. Turn quickly and run to take your partner's spot and catch their scarf. Repeat.
Short Line Relays: In short lines of 2 to 4, students take turns doing a scarf task with 1, 2, or 3 scarves (like toss and catch high or low) to the finish line and back.
Scarf Dance: Move and groove to the music while you move or catch 1, 2, or 3 scarves.
You can find the juggling scarf visuals shown above in my TPT store: Juggling Scarf Task Cards.
5. Juggling Progressions: The X Pattern (3 Activities)
Juggling uses an X (or cascade) pattern. Students toss one scarf at a time across their chest in an upward X motion.
X Pattern Drop (2 Scarves): SLOWLY toss the scarves in an X across your chest and let them drop to the floor: toss, toss.
X Pattern Catch (2 Scarves): SLOWLY toss the scarves in an X across your chest, and this time catch them: toss, toss, catch, catch.
3 Scarf Cascade: Hold 2 scarves in one hand and 1 in the other, with palms facing down. Toss the first scarf from the hand with 2, then toss the scarf from the other hand, then toss the 3rd scarf from your first hand. Keep the pattern going!
Final Thoughts
Juggling scarves make PE lessons more fun and challenging. You can use them for individual skill practice or for partner and small group games, and they're so versatile that they fit almost any lesson. Keep your classes fresh by creating new challenges and games with scarves. I think these 30 scarf activities will be a big help in your teaching.
The most important thing is that your students have fun while they learn and move! If you'd like a full plan, my Juggling Skills Unit has 10 K-5 lesson plans, and my Two-Object X Pattern and Three-Object Cascade rubrics make assessment simple.
Do you use juggling scarves in your PE classes? What are your favorite activities? Share your ideas in the comments below!
*National Physical Education Standards are used under license from SHAPE America. © 2024, SHAPE America, https://www.shapeamerica.org/. All rights reserved.
Need Resources?
Do you need PE equipment challenge cards to help you teach activities like the ones in this post? Would it help to have easy-to-use visuals with clear instructions and great graphics?
Fill in the form below to download 28 FREE fun and active PE Equipment Challenge Cards with a variety of manipulative and movement skills for your PE classes.
The set is a PDF digital download with four cards from each of these equipment, skill, and movement challenge card sets: 1. Balloon Challenges, 2. Beanbag Challenges, 3. Pool Noodle Challenges, 4. Hula Hoop Challenges, 5. Playground Ball Challenges, 6. Jump Rope Challenges, and 7. Cup Stacking Challenges.
You'll use this freebie set in your PE program for years!
If you want to add even more to your PE program, check out my 20 Set PE Equipment Challenge Card Super Bundle. It has over 480 PE equipment teaching visuals from 20 different sets!
You can find this bundle in my TPT store: PE Activities Using Gym Equipment 20 Resource Skill & Movement Super Bundle
This visual collection helps you teach lots of movement and manipulative skills with 20 pieces of PE equipment: balloons, bean bags, stacking cups, pool noodles, juggling scarves, hula hoops, tumbling mats, long jump ropes, short jump ropes, scooter boards, cones and poly spots, dice, Lummi sticks, long-handled implements, short-handled implements, basketballs, beach balls, footballs, playground balls, and soccer balls.
About Pete Charrette
Pete Charrette is a National Board Certified physical education teacher and former Georgia PE Teacher of the Year with more than 30 years of experience teaching elementary PE. He is the creator of Cap'n Pete's Power PE and has developed more than 1,000 PE and health resources used by teachers around the world. Pete loves helping PE teachers build programs their students enjoy.
