12 of the Most Fun Ways to Play With Hula Hoops

There are many ways to play with hula hoops that help young children develop muscles, coordination, and other physical skills.

Using hula hoops can help teach children new gross motor movements, such as skipping or swinging the hoop around their waist.

Hula hoops can be used in various movement activities, both at home and in school. Here are a few hula hoop games to try with your preschoolers and older kids.

The Free Activity Pack below includes lots more gross motor activity ideas, so don’t forget to sign up for that!

1. Musical Hoops

This game is a variation of the game musical chairs. 

Play music and get the kids to dance around. When the music stops, instead of running to sit on a chair, kids must find an empty hoop and sit cross-legged inside it. 

On each round, remove one hoop and the person who doesn’t find a hoop is out of the round. For younger children, it may be better to keep all hoops in place so that each child finds a hoop in every round.

This game is good for learning about position in space and developing body awareness.

2. Skipping Race

Did you know you can actually skip with a hula hoop?

Turn the hoop over your head and skip into it, one leg at a time, mimicking the motion of skipping with a rope.

This can make a fun and challenging race, and teach a new motor skill. Do this one on the grass as there might be some falling involved as kids trip over their hoops while getting used to the movement.

3. Hula Hoop Toss

Teach kids to aim and throw by placing two hula hoops on the floor and tossing bean bags into them.

Place the hoops closer for younger children, making it easier for them to land the beanbags inside. For older children, move the hoops further away.

Teach number recognition by creating number cards (1 to 5) and placing one inside each hoop.

Allocate the number of points on the card each time you get the bean bag inside a hoop and tally up the points after each round.

Here are more fun bean bag activities for kids.

4. Play Netball or Basketball

Young preschoolers would enjoy tossing a netball or basketball into a hula hoop as a traditional netball hoop is much smaller and therefore too difficult for most young kids to use.

Secure a hula hoop to a pole, doorknob, or another creative spot using cable ties. You could even suspend a hoop between two chairs to keep it low for younger preschoolers.

5. Find the Number

Teach kids the numbers by laying out 10 hula hoops in random positions in a room or outdoor area. Place a sheet of paper or card with a number from 1 to 10 in each hoop.

Allow the children to move freely, then blow a whistle or clap your hands and call out a number from 1 to 10. The children must run to the hula hoop and stand inside it, taking care to try and fit everyone in the circle.

This works best if a small group of kids plays at a time (up to 5 kids), and is also suitable for playing with one child.

For younger kids, use the numbers 1 to 5 only and increase them with time, as kids learn to recognize the numbers.

6. Hula Hoop Contest

Why not try a traditional hula hooping contest by swinging hoops around your waist to see how long they will stay up without falling?

This may be challenging for young children, but it is a fun skill to learn and preschoolers will enjoy trying. Let them watch an adult who knows how to hula hoop so they can see the movement.

7. Obstacle Course

Hula hoops are great for adding to obstacle courses. 

Children can hop into them (with legs together or alternating), weave around them, crawl through them, run over them, or toss objects into them.

Here are some simple obstacle course ideas for kids.

8. Hopscotch

A traditional game played for many years, hopscotch has a whole host of benefits and is a great game to teach kids. It can be varied to make it simpler for younger preschoolers.

As a variation, lay out hula hoops instead of drawing a hopscotch court and hop into them.

Here’s how to play hopscotch.

9. Race Across the River

Build strength with this fun pretend game.

Lay out some hula hoops and pretend they are rocks on a river. Space them far enough apart so children must jump from one hoop to another.

Challenge your kids to cross the river safely by only jumping on the rocks. If they land outside the hoop, they will fall into the river and be swept away by the current.

Time your kids and see how long they take to cross the river and repeat the rounds to see if kids can beat their times. Alternatively, increase the challenge by gradually spacing the hoops further apart each round, requiring children to jump farther.

10. Hula Hoop Pass

In this fun game, get the family members, or a small group of children, to stand in a row and hold hands.

The objective is to move a hula hoop from one side of the chain of people to the other side, without unlinking your hands. Pass it over your arms, head, and under your body, until it reaches the other side.

11. Spelunking

Pretend to be archaeologists going on a trip to explore caves. 

Place chairs in two rows and use them to hold up several hula hoops, spaced close together. You could also use a wall for support on one side, and chairs on the other. 

Lay large sheets over the hoops to create darkness and the feeling of being closed off.

Pretend to crawl through the caves, carefully squeezing your body through the tight tunnels. If you can, play this at home at night. Switch off the lights and give your child a torch to make it fun.

This game will teach kids about their position in space.

12. Free Play

Last but not least, don’t forget to let kids play freely with the hula hoops. Lay the hoops out and invite children to incorporate them into their play however they choose. 

Kids will use the hoops to represent other things during symbolic play (like rocks they can stand on to cross the river safely), they might make up their own games with rules, or they might toss them into the air and catch them.

I hope you enjoy trying these hula activities and games with your preschoolers and older kids.

Here are more fun classic games to play with kids.