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StudentPermalink Reply by Sweet Sisi on May 15, 2012 at 7:33pm

You can make an obstacle course with perhaps a hoop limbo and a jump through the hoop. Or if they're older do a hoop lesson... foot hooping competition or something.

It depends on how old they are.

The last kids birthday party I got was 'gypsy' themed and that was a boon because I went in with my contact ball and read a fortune for the birthday girl. And there was face painting.

Good luck and have fun, : )

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StudentPermalink Reply by Tink in Tokyo on May 15, 2012 at 9:45pm

How old are the kids?

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Permalink Reply by Katie Emmitt on May 16, 2012 at 9:05am

oh the best game for kids is having them all link hands (two groups) and give each one a hula hoop. they have to get through the hoop all the way to the end without letting go of each other.

I watched a safire 'commerical' if you will, on youtube for children's parties, maybe if you can find that you can get some ideas! I also am trying to figure out what to do because I also face paint so I thought if I can get gigs face painting and doing a little hoop show at kids parties, it would be great!

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Permalink Reply by Jade Lilian White on May 16, 2012 at 10:56am

I think just having a bunch of hoops for them to play with will keep them occupied for a long time.

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Permalink Reply by Jojo Hoolaland on May 16, 2012 at 1:15pm

Depending on how old the kids are you could also let them make their own hoops and then show some basic hooping... My daughter is really young but already loves getting involved in eerything I do with the hoop... the fun is much bigger when the kids can be proud that they did something so awesome theirselfs and then even learned to use it. :)

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ModPermalink Reply by Martika* of MartikasMysticDesign on May 16, 2012 at 2:01pm

I would start with a introduction of who I am and what i'm going to do. (5-10min) Then do two short performances, I'd keep is very kid friendly, fun and simply. 5-8min.s After that I'd give all the kiddos hoops to play with. We would start with "play time" with hoops to warm up and have fun 5-10min. That's already about 30 min of your time. After that I'd go over a few tricks that we would use in "hoop" games (rest of the time i'm there).

You can place a bunch of hoops on the ground in a line or circle (should have a start and end point) and have them jump in the hoops while they are doing another trick like a jump though or sustain spin. And if they mess up or don't land in the hoop they have to sit out till the next round. One that lots of kids like is learning to do sustained spinning. It takes about 5-6 min.s to explain how to do it and kids go crazy for sustain spin on the forehead. You can show them how fast and slow they can spin, you can even show them how to do it with two hoops (one of forehead other on chest.)

Kids will like to stop you mid talk and like to tell you what they can do, they are hard to keep on one trick for a long time so go with the simply but flashy tricks. like a weave to jump through, waist hooping and turning in circles, waist hooping and walking (maybe a race to see who can walk and hoop the fastest without dropping the hoop?) If you have prizes i'd keep it small like suckers, rings, stickers etc. So you don't spend too much money and you can give something to everyone so no one gets left out.I would have a hula hoop as the grand prize after all the games and short hoop workshop.

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StudentPermalink Reply by Tink in Tokyo on May 16, 2012 at 9:21pm

I like the idea of sustained spinning; I don't usually do that in my kids' classes but I think I will give it a try.

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StudentPermalink Reply by Tink in Tokyo on May 16, 2012 at 9:21pm

For 2-5th graders I teach about ten tricks and string them together into a dance sequence that they can perform for the available audience (or split them into groups and have them perform for each other). Hoop disco time is popular, too, with the music turned up loud and this works well with the older kids, especially.

Little kids need more games and structured play that isn't necessarily hooping, particularly preschoolers. They are keen to hoop, but have short attention spans and not as much physical coordination. Even for older kids, it's nice to break up the hooping with some games.

I have a resource file (not quite finished) of hoop games for kids that I use in workshops. It's organised by kind of game  and lists how may hoops per player, ages I think it works with, etc. Hope it will help you. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CvBUx2qo_FshbYfmb2JKo5Mc10Okh9p...

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Permalink Reply by Jade Lilian White on May 17, 2012 at 1:32am

Everytime I work with kids, they are all different. Some will hoop and hoop with no tutorial or nothin. Others will use a bunch of diff hoops bc they think the magic is in the hoop. Others will walk away. honestly i would just put a dozen or so old hoops out in the grass and let them go wild.

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Permalink Reply by Lindan on May 17, 2012 at 9:03am

A friend of mine's oldest daughter decided she wants a hula hoop birthday party this summer.  The kids will be 7-9 in age.  They want to make their own hoops.  So I figured I'd take some blank hoops and cheaper tapes and let them have fun decorating their own.  We may have a hula hooping contest to see how can hoop the longest.  I think I'll make a hoops as a prize for whoever does it the longest.

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