February 13, 2012- Castle Ball

Students are split into two even teams.  They are put on either side of the gym and cannot cross the half court line.  The object is to throw dodgeballs or soft foam balls and knock over the other team's castles.  Castles are built using 6 hula hoops.  (see below).  Make sure all 4 hula hoops that are standing up are inside the bottom hula hoop (in this case the yellow one).  When a castle gets knocked over, the team that knocked it over gets 1 point.  The team that owns the castle must now set it up again.  You may have 1 guard per castle.  Students are not to throw the balls at each other, and if they do they must sit out for a bit.  The game goes for a set amount of time.  (I've had students play this game for over 30 minutes and never tire of it.)

MODIFICATIONS: do girls vs. boys.  let teams choose as many guards as they want.

AGES: Kindergarten and up

a closeup of the castle

an example of how half of the gym should look for Castle Ball

EQUIPMENT: 36 hula hoops (for three castles per team.  You can use as many or as few as you choose).  25 dodgeballs or soft foam balls.