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Games are an excellent tool for practicing fundamental movement skills in a fun way. Below is just a sample of the endless number of games that can be played to reinforce skills and contribute to physical literacy.

Throwing/Rolling Games:

1) Bowling
a) Mix up the rolling technique! Try one hand, the other hand, both hands, standing backwards, etc.
b) Play as a team or an individual.
c) Possible adaptations:

• Use empty plastic pop bottles or milk cartons with something inside of them to make a noise when hit.
• Use brightly coloured targets if possible. If using clear bottles as targets, use food coloring to brighten them or cover them in bright tape.
• Use a light source to help with targeting, or tap the targets to make an auditory cue.
• Vary the size of the ball.

2) Bean Bag Golf
a) Create a mini golf course around an outdoor space or gym. Hula hoops, buckets, and cones work well as targets.
b) Count the number of “shots” it takes to get through the course.
c) Start with an underhanded toss, and progress to overhand when ready.
d) Possible adaptations:

• Tap the targeted item, use flashing lights, or use/create brightly coloured targets to help with locating.

3) Can Game (from Games for People with Sensory Impairments by Lauren Liebermann)
a) Set up several empty pop cans (or similar items) in a hula hoop or chalk circle.
b) Practise throwing underhand and overhand, trying to knock over as many cans as possible.
c) Increase difficulty by throwing from further away and/or placing a barrier between so they have to elevate the throw.
d) Make partner groups and turn it into a team event.
e) Possible adaptations:

• Help identify the target by using sound or a light source.
• Vary the size and number of cans to make it easier or harder.

4) Space Walk – Add some science and go for a space walk, using hula hoops and beanbags to explore the planets!
a) Place hoops around the gym or field a few metres apart.
b) Start at one and make a circuit by tossing a bean bag towards the next “planet” (hoop). Once they have landed on that planet they try for the next one. Offer points for completing each throw, or varying points for varying levels of difficult throws.
c) Start with underhand throwing, and progress to overhand when ready. What other ways of throwing can they do?
d) Try hopping, crawling or other modes of travel to get from planet to planet.
e) Vary the distance of the throws.
f) Have an item they could collect as scientists at each planet that they return to Earth as explorers!
g) Possible adaptations:

• Use sound or light to target the planets.

5) Boccia – See the Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired page on Boccia HERE for more on boccia and adaptation suggestions.
a) Set up a target cone or other object (the “pin”) and provide each player with 3-4 bean bags or slow rolling balls (i.e. ones partially deflated or something similar).
b) Underhand throw, aiming to land the bean bag closest to the target.
c) Players alternate throwing and the winner is the one with the one closest bean bag to the pin at the end of the game. Points are awarded for each one closer to the pin than their opponent.
d) Play seated or standing.
e) Note: if playing outside, use balls that roll.
f) Possible adaptations:

• Help identify the pin by using sound or a light source.

Station Ideas and So Much More!

The many activities listed here can be taught on their own or incorporated into a lesson, a skills/sport circuit, an activity wheel (see below), or a sports day. This is a great way to introduce new skills and put acquiring skills to practice. Refer back to the Skills Sections in this manual for ways to modify equipment and targets that may be helpful to people who are blind or visually impaired.

1) Activity Wheel (from Games for People with Sensory Impairments by Lauren Lieberman)
a) Create a spin dial or wheel to have participants pick what physical activity or game they will do. Include games or activities like skipping, running, jumping, hopping (or any other movement skill being practised).
b) Create different dials or grids for games, exercises, or skills. For example, for throwing, make a dial with standing, sitting, one hand, opposite hand, types of balls, etc.
c) This can be played in a team format with participants choosing for someone else or the other team.
d) Possible adaptations:

• Use diagrams or braille on the wheel if appropriate.

Activity Ideas:

1) Ball Sports:

a. Soccer:
i. Take shots on a goal and count how many you get.
ii. Pass the ball. See how many times you can pass in a set time.
b. Ball Hockey:
i. Play floor hockey outdoors, in a gym or basement.
ii. Take shots on a net.
c. Football Toss:
i. Pass the ball. See how many times you can pass in a set time.
ii. Try throwing the ball through a hula hoop hanging from a basketball hoop or being held up by a partner.
d. Tennis – Hit a tennis ball against a wall or over a net.
e. Basketball – Take shots on a hoop or into another target.
f. Softball – Hit a baseball or softball off a tee.
g. Volleyball – Use a balloon to practise bumping and setting with a partner.
h. Goalball – See Canadian Blind Sport’s Get Active: Goalball! resource HERE (scroll down the page).
i. Swish (Visually Impaired Table Tennis) – See demo HERE and create your own table!

2) Games:

a. Frisbee Golf (aka “Frolf”) – Make a frisbee golf course using hula hoops and cones or boxes and baskets.
b. Bean Bag Golf (see above)
c. Mini Golf:
i. Make a mini golf course using Solo plastic cups or buckets as targets, and use balls appropriate for age and skills, and golf clubs or hockey sticks.
ii. The goal could be to simply hit the target or have the ball go into the target.
iii. Use pool noodles or sticks to form a guide for those having trouble hitting in a straight line.
iv. Adapt the game by making it into “Bowling Ball “golf by having them roll it with one or two hands.
d. Bowling (see above)
e. California Kickball – Use a soccer ball or a ball with bells.
f. Soccer Golf – Set up cones like a golf course on a field outside and kick your way around the course, counting the number of kicks it takes to hit the cone at each hole.
g. Boccia (see above)
h. Tug of war

3) Hula Hoop Games:

a. Hoop Toss – Throw the hula hoop as far as you can by spinning then releasing (like a discus).
b. Roll the Hoop – Roll the hoop along the floor or grass. Spin it to come back to you.
c. Ring Toss – Try and toss the hoop over a target like a cone or box
d. Hula Hoop – Spin the hoop around your waist or other body parts.

4) Movement Activities:

a. Walking – Try walking fast, marching slow and fast, walking backward. Time speed walking from one marker to another.
b. Skipping – Try fast and slow skipping with and without a skipping rope. Make a jump rope with a piece of pool noodle to help slow it down and provide a visual clue to help with initiating a jump over the rope.
c. Hopscotch – Make a creative hopscotch design with chalk or use an existing marking.
d. Dancing – Dance to different kinds of music and songs. Play follow the leader and dance to music.
e. Tag – Play different kinds of tag – Balloon tag, frozen tag, amoeba tag, everyone’s it tag, etc. Use bells on the people who are “it”.
f. Obstacle course – Create and run through an obstacle course that has sections to crawl under, hop over, balance on, etc.
g. Agility Ladder – Check out some fun ways to move through an agility ladder HERE and HERE. No ladder? No problem! Use lines on a gym floor, chalk markings on pavement, hula hoops laid side by side, or just imagine a ladder! For the crossover, participants should focus on the knee lift and they may find it helpful to hold onto a cane or stick.
h. Parachute – Use a parachute (or old sheet or blanket) for parachute activities such as creating waves, lifting it up and down, and tossing balls or soft objects into the air. Run under, sit under it or spin around with the parachute. Check out game ideas HERE.
i. Beans – Travel and move like different sorts of beans.

• “Jumping Beans” – use two feet
• “Beans on Toast”- curl up small and still
• “Jellybeans” – wobbly body and movement
• “Hot Bean” – jumping on one foot
• “Runner Bean” – running or marching
• “String Bean”- tall stretched out

5) Strength Activities:

a. Standing Long Jump – Try 4 standing jumps to see how far you can get.
b. Wall Sit – Time how long you can hold your back against the wall with your knees bent to 90 degrees.
c. Balance Beam – Try standing on one leg and balance on a low bench or a line on the ground.
d. Jump Up – Stand by a wall and jump straight up, marking and then measuring how high you can reach.
e. Distance Kick – See how far you can kick a ball by taking 3 steps and kicking.
f. Plank – See how long you can hold a plank with proper form on your forearms and toes. Focus on not hiking or dropping the hips.

6) Relay Ideas:

a. Run 10-20 metres or more around an object and back. The older the runner, the longer the run should be!
b. Sack Race (pillow cases work if you do not have potato sacks) – Hop a certain distance and back holding on to the sack with your feet inside.
c. Ice Cream Cone Relay (aka Egg and Spoon) – Use an upside-down plastic cone with a ball on top for the ice cream. Run a certain distance and back holding only the bottom of the cone (trying to keep the ball from falling), then pass the cone to the next person in line.
d. Hula Hoop Relay – Run to a designated point and back holding anywhere on the hoop. Pick up another person and both hold on and run down and back. Add another person each time.
e. Big Shirt Relay – When the whistle blows, the first person in line puts on a big t-shirt on top of their shirt, then runs to a designated spot and back. They then take off the shirt, and hand it to the next person in line, who does the same, until everyone has had a turn.
f. Items Relay – Have 5 to 10 items in a hoop at the other end. The first person in line runs down and picks up an item and brings it back and places it in a hoop at the starting point. Vary it by having runners put their item on a frisbee to carry it back.
g. Crab Walk Crawl – Crab walk out and back.
h. Jumping/Hopping Relay – Instead of walking/running through the relay, add hopping and jumping!