Whether you have a class set or just a few scooters, there are many activities that will boost your student’s excitement and engagement. Scooters can be filled with fun, but there are safety routines you will want to put into place to help your students stay safe and your equipment last longer.
Essential Scooter Safety for Students
One of the biggest takeaways I have acquired when it comes to scooters is to teach the students that they are not handles, they are hand guards. Teaching students to keep their hands inside the hand guards will help them stay safe. Most students will not have an issue with standing on scooters, most students will not be hurt when falling off a scooter, but almost all of my injuries that occur during scooter activities revolve around having hands outside the hand guards or hands on the ground. Below is a link to the PESpecialist’s article for more about hand guards not handles.
Scooter Storage
Two of the most frequently asked questions I get when it comes to scooters is how do you store them and which scooters do you prefer. I can store 32 scooters on this storage rack by Gopher Sport. I can get 4 scooters on a rung. I spend time teaching my students how to return the scooters on to the rack and I also have a Gif playing showing how scooters fit better when you alternate them wheels to wheels and back to back.
The scooter rack states you are able store up to 24 scooters, but when the scooters are placed back to back and wheels to wheels, I am able to get 4 scooters on each post. The scooter I prefer are these round scooters.
My Favorite Scooters
The round scooters are more expensive, but they support all students and adults. I often enjoy jumping into an activity such as scooter football or scooter hockey, and I often have paras or even the classroom teachers who will pop in for some fun. These scooters are durable, fast, and safe.
Now let’s get to some scooter games!
Here are 10 of my favorite scooter activities that I am sure will be a hit for your students as well.
1. “Grocery Run”
Each student has a scooter. Students will work together to empty the grocery store by collecting the food (bean bags) and taking the food to the matching color cone.
2. “Leap Frog”
Two students begin with the scooters. They push the scooters around the game area without traveling over a lilypad. The frogs (all the remaining students) try to jump and land over the passing noodles. I rotate new students pushing the scooter after every 3 laps.
3. “Scooter Soccer”
Each student is on a scooter. Students work together to achieve the class goal of scoring all the balls into the matching color goal or hula hoop. In this video, I used Gopher Sport Kowabunga Beach Balls, but you could use any larger size ball.
4. “Feeding Time”
Each student has a scooter and acts as a Zookeeper. The Zookeepers travel around collecting the food (bean bags) and feeding the correct animal, which is a cone placed on a mat. The mats laid on the ground help create driving lanes and help create challenge by placing the cone far enough away to have the students attempt to toss the food inside.
5. “Mario Kart Races/Coin Runners”
Each student is on a scooter. Students travel around a designated course. When they complete a lap, they collect a bean bag and place it on their scooter. Added fun… add Goombas or Koopa Troopa who is on a scooter as well but is holding a noodle. If a student is tagged, they either become the Goomba (and have to tag someone else to continue collecting bean bags) or they take one bean bag from the Kart Racer and return it to the starting line.
Coin Runners – Each student has a scooter with a noodle stuck inside. Students are traveling around collecting coins (bean bags) while also trying to grab another student’s pool noodle before they lose their own. If you grab someone’s pool noodle, you get to take one of their coins.
6. Scooter Football
Each student is on a scooter. The game is played similarly to Ultimate Frisbee. Students pass and catch a football while trying to reach the goal line. I encourage students to pass more than one time and throw out extra points if each teammate catches the ball before the team scores. A turnover can happen if the ball is dropped on a pass or a pass is intercepted. Students on defense must be far enough away to not touch their opponent. This gives the offense space to throw the ball. You can use a football or a soft gatorskin ball.
7. Scooter Tag
There are many versions of Scooter Tag. In this version by Joe McCarthy, each student shares a scooter with another student and they sit back to back on the scooter. There are 3-4 taggers holding a noodle. Groups are working together to avoid the taggers. Taggers each have their own scooters. If a group is tagged, students flip the scooter over and complete an exercise of their choice 5 times and return to the game. Very similarly, scooter tag can be played where students flip their scooter when they are tagged and step out of the game area. Any non-tagger can help them enter the game by giving them a high five.
8. Scooter Pin Knockdown
1 player from each team is selected to stand and guard their team’s pins. The rest of the students are on scooters. Students on scooters are trying to throw a ball at the standing pins from opposing teams. The game can be played continuously where if your pin is knocked down, the defender does a lap around the gym to stand the pin back up. The game can also be played in an elimination format, where students are trying to knock out the other teams. Another alternative is to play with every student on a scooter and the students are working to be the first team to knock their own pins down. All students are playing offense and defense.
9. Thread the Needle
Each student has a scooter. Students are in groups of 3 to 4. Two students hold a group rope and move freely around the gym space, while still holding the jump rope. The third or fourth student attempts to travel under the moving tunnel as many times as they can. Students switch roles as a designated time or number of completed passes.
10. Scooter Handball/Basketball
Each student is on a scooter. There are two teams. Teams are working together to throw and catch a ball, then score the ball into the basketball hoop or score into a small hockey net. Students are encouraged to pass the ball similarly to scooter football and there can be incentives for each teammate passing/catching the ball. In Scooter Handball/Basketball, it is not a turnover if the ball hits the ground.
These activities can be altered as well, but I am confident that your students will be challenged, have fun and create lifelong memories using the scooter boards we all remember using when we were in elementary physical education.
