Bucketball
A challenging and strategic game for older children to develop accuracy with throwing. Can also be used to explore bouncing. Easily modified to suit your needs.
Set up
Place 2-3 buckets/bowls/boxes, and 2-3 hoops/blankets at different distances. Each child has their own tennis ball or soft toy.
Note: If you are using tennis balls for underarm throwing instead of soft toys, you may choose to play on grass so the ball does not roll or bounce out if aiming for a blanket. If you are choosing to incorporate bouncing, you should play on a hard surface.
How to play
Step 1:
- Nominate a number of points for each bucket/hoop
- Trickier targets (further away/smaller) should be more points than easier targets (larger/closer targets)
- One at a time children try to bounce or toss their ball/beanbag into a bucket or hoop
Step 2:
- If they land in a target, they get that amount of points
- Each child takes their turn, and once all turns have been taken, children can go collect their ball
Step 3:
- Keep playing and see how many points you can get!
Variations
Make it easier
- Start the children and the starting line closer to the targets
Make it harder
- Older, more proficient children can choose to bounce their ball in
- Underarm throw with your non-dominant hand
Activity information
Age: Foundation, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6
Participants: 1
+
Equipment: Buckets, Blanket, Tennis balls, Soft toys
Duration: 10 minutes
Skill focus
Explore these skills for teaching tips
Skill teaching
Before playing, demonstrate how to underarm throw. Use the following teaching cues to help;
- Step on the star (step with opposite foot onto star marker)
- Swing arm forward
- Throw (fire)
Physical literacy tips
- Eliminate competition by making it a team effort - how quickly can you get to 20 points?
- Have a rapid fire round to reduce pressure - children continually reload their ball/toy from a supply behind them and see how many they can get in
