Summer is in full swing. Full of sunny days, trips to the beach, popsicles, and burgers on the grill. We are a little past the half way point, and though the back to school sales are everywhere, we aren't quite done with fun yet. In our house things are settling down a little from trips to visit family in Vermont and soccer camp. August in the best month of summer in my book. We’ve made it through the scheduled things and now for four, blissful weeks are pretty much left to out own devices. This is where we start to get a bit crafty with our time. We’ve had this hula- hoop project we’ve wanted to try for a long time and what better time than right now. My 4 year-old insists the proper name is a “hoopa-loop”, not a hula-hoop. You can call it what you like. Giving credit where credit is due, we got this project from Ms. Aime at Stillwater School.
How to make a hula hoop:
We started with ¾” tubing found in the plumbing section at Home Depot. This big roll cost about $15. Plenty for several hoops. Next to the tubing display you will find couplings in the same diameter. The couplings were 38 cents. What costs 38 cents anymore? Just couplings, I think.
We started with ¾” tubing found in the plumbing section at Home Depot. This big roll cost about $15. Plenty for several hoops. Next to the tubing display you will find couplings in the same diameter. The couplings were 38 cents. What costs 38 cents anymore? Just couplings, I think.
Anyway, once home we cut the tubing to the size we wanted. My daughter says the bigger hoops are actually easier to hula with, so we went pretty big, about 3 ft. Next came the coupling. This was not as easy as I wanted it to be. Definitely needed grown-up hands. We found teamwork to be pretty helpful. Even thought I am firm believer in ‘girls can do anything boys can do’ I will leave this job to my husband next time. We managed, but he would have it done in a snap.
Once connected, we used hockey tape (pink, of course) around the whole thing. This went pretty quickly, and once shown how to not use too much, my nine year old managed it nicely on her own. To make it extra fancy we used black electrical tape to make a spiral design on top of the pink.
BADDA-BING! Hula-hoop!
Easy, cheap, and fun!
Easy, cheap, and fun!
Now, say your little monkeys aren't quite big enough for the art of hula-hooping yet. What does one do with a giant hoop? The answer: lots of things. Hoops are great to use with toddlers and preschoolers for jumping practice. Jumping in and out can be made into all kinds of games. Hoops can be held vertically and crawled or run through (think circus lions). Hoops can be rolled down hills. Several hoops can be lined up on floor and stepped through to build agility. Another great game that yoga students, and my Brownie troop, loves is this: everyone stands in a circle holding hands, a hoop is passed around by having each person find a way to crawl through it without letting go of anyone's hand. This game is a great ice-breaker, and is even more fun to get several hoops going at once.
Anyone else out there have hoop games to share?
Anyone else out there have hoop games to share?
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