DPA in a BAG
Activities with 50 Tennis Balls
1. Co-operative Circle Pass
 Objective: Move all the balls from the full container to the empty
container
 Can be done as a large group or a race between groups
 One player begins by picking up one ball and passing it around the
circle or down the line. When all the balls are in the empty container
time stops
 Variations: Have players stand several metres apart so they need to run
to pass the ball; or they remain stationary and pass the balls.
2. Beat the Leader
 Objective: Fill the container
 Place 30 tennis balls in container, one player stands in the middle of the
playing area and tries to empty the container by throwing out all balls
one by one
 The rest of the players try to make sure the tennis balls get back inside
the container before the container empties
 Increase/decrease the number of tennis balls
3. Word Scramble
 50 tennis balls with letters on them
 Objective: To make as many words as possible
 Balls Scattered across the floor. Divide players into groups of 4 or 5
 One player at a time (from each group) runs to the middle, picks up a
ball and returns to the group. The next person in the group runs and
gets a ball. Repeat until everyone has a ball in the group.
 The team then attempts to spell a word. If a word cannot be spelled,
players can run and exchange their ball for another on the floor until a
word can be spelled.
 Variations: Teams continue to collect all the balls and make the longest
word possible. Collect balls to spell specific words assigned by the
instructor
4. Conveyor Belt
 Objective: Pass all the tennis balls from one end of the line to the other
 Create several equal numbered teams with an equal number of balls.
Teams lie down on their backs – head to foot – in one line. The balls
Start at the foot of the line.
 On a signal, the first person in line, with the tennis balls at their feet, sit
up, pick up a ball, then lie back down and pass it over their shoulder to
the next player in line who has sat up to receive it. Continue until all
balls are passed to the head of the line.
 Variations: Have players take turns getting up and finding a ball on the
floor and bringing it back to the foot of their line to pass it up
Activities with Clothes Pins
5. Clothes Pin Tag
 Objective: collect as many clothes pins as possible while defending
your own
 Each player starts with 3 clothes pins on their backs. On a signal,
players run around and try to steal one clothes pin at a time off the
back of another player.
 Each clothes pin stolen is placed on the front of their shirts and are
“safe”. See who has the most clothes pins after a given time.
 Variations: Make the winners those who have all 3 of their clothes
pins still on their back. Award points for defended pins, stolen pins.
6. Human Rock Paper Scissors
 Objective: Collect as many clothes pins as possible
 Players start with 2 clothes pins. Players find a partner to play rock
paper scissors against. Facing each other, players jump 3 times and
display their sign on the 3rd jump. Winner takes a clothes pin. If tied,
players play one another again.
Rock = crouch into a ball
Paper = arms and legs out wide
Scissors = arms and legs crossed
Rock smashes Scissors, Scissors cuts Paper, Paper covers Rock.
 If a player runs out of clothes pins they must play the instructor to win
a clothes pin. A player must have at least one clothes pin to play another
player.
Activities with Sponges
7. Heads or Tails
 Objective: Have the most sponges turned over showing your designated
colour.
 Divide group into two teams. Designate the side/colour of the sponges
for each team.
 Scatter sponges on the floor. On a signal, players try and turn the
sponges up showing their team’s colour
8. Sponge Tag
 Objective: Try to hit others with a sponge below the waist while
avoiding being hit.
 Scatter sponges around the floor. On a signal, players pick up sponges
and try to hit others below the waist.
 If hit, players go to a designated area, perform a fitness activity, then
return to the game.
 Variations: On a warm day, play with wet sponges outside. Provide
buckets of water to recharge sponges.
9. Balance Tag
 Objective: Try to avoid being tagged
 Everyone starts with a sponge on their head. Designate a few players to
be “it”. On a signal, players who are it try to tag others. If tagged,
players drop their sponge on the floor and wait for someone else to pick
it up and place it back on their head so that they can join in again. If the
sponge falls off on its own – players must freeze and wait for someone
else to pick it up and place it on their head. If the sponge falls of their
head of those who are it they must stop and replace the sponge before
continuing.
 Variations: If tagged or sponge falls off – players perform a fitness
activity before returning to the game.
Games with Foam Letters
10. Letter Tag
 Objective: to avoid being tagged and to perform an exercise to resume
the game after being tagged
 Before the game begins, make a chart that lists an activity for each
letter of the alphabet and tape it to the wall. Put all the foam letters
from one alphabet puzzle into a bucket.
 Designate two players to be it
 When a player is tagged, they go to the bucket, pick out a letter, look
at it and see which activity it corresponds to on the chart, performs the
activity, return the letter to the bucket, and return to the game
Games with Scarves/ Trail Tape
11. Tail Tag
 Objective – Collect as many scarves/trail tape pieces as possible while
defending your own
 Players place a scarf/piece of trail tape in the back of their waistbands
so that it hangs out
 On a signal, have players try to pull off the tail of another player. If a
tail is taken, the player who’s tail was pulled must take it to the
instructor who will give that player a fitness activity to perform. The
player can then tuck their tail back in their waistband and return to the
game
 Variations: Players kneel and place a stolen tail in their waistband
beside their original one. A player kneeling cannot be tagged.
12. Dragon’s Tail
 Objective: To steal other dragons’ tails while keeping your own
 Divide players into 4-6 teams. Teams join by holding on tightly to the
waist of the team mate in front of them. Place a piece of trail tape in the
back of the last persons waistband
 On a signal, the dragons will move around (without breaking apart) and
try to steal the tails of other dragons while protecting their own.
 Variations: Give each player on the team a “tail”. When the player at
the back looses their tail, they move to the front of their line and
become the new “head” of their dragon, while new tail is exposed to
their opponents.
Games with Plastic Eggs
13. Fitness Eggs
 Objective: Warm up by getting fit and having fun
 Write fitness activities on small strips of paper and place one piece
in each egg. Place eggs in a basket or bucket.
 Play lively music. Have students pick one egg out of the basket, read
the activity and perform the exercise. Then place it back in the basket
and take another egg.
Games with Bean Bags
14. Beach Ball Blast
 Objective: to score a point on the other team by making the beach ball
cross the other teams line
 Divide the class into two teams. Give each player a bean bag. Place the
beach ball in the centre of the playing area, between the two teams.
Designate a goal line for each team which runs parallel and in front of
the line where each team is standing and are not allowed to cross.
 On a signal, players throw their bean bag at the beach ball, trying to
move it away from their own goal line and towards their opponents.
 Players can pick up thrown bean bags as long as they don’t cross their
team line. Instructor may call “reload” – players stop throwing and run
into the middle and grab as many bean bags as they can while the
instructor counts to 5. Players return to their line and wait for the
instructor to call ”go”
 A point is scored when one team can make the beach ball roll across
the other teams goal line
15. Bean Bag Dribble/Mass Slalom Dribble
 Objective: Relay race; dribble the bean bag around the markers
 Divide students into teams of 5-6. Provide 1 bean bag per team and use
4 more bean bags as markers for players to dribble around.
 On a signal, have the 1st person on each team dribble the bean bag with
their feet around the markers and back, passing to the next person in
line. Once everyone on the team has gone once the team sits down in a
straight line to signify that they are done.
 Variations: Scatter 50 tennis balls and 50 bean bags and have all
members of each team run out, dribble one object around a central
pylon (used by all teams) and back to their end line. The team with the
most objects dribbled around the pylon and back wins.
16. Guard the Jewels
 Objective: Keep the other team from stealing all of the bean bags
 Divide the students into teams of 5-6. Give 6 bean bags to each team.
 One member of the team volunteers to be the guard – in charge of not
letting members of the other team steal the bean bags.
 Bean bags are set up in a small circle with the guards standing around
them. The rest of the teams rotate clockwise so that they are standing
around a guard from another team.
 On a signal, teams try to steal a bean bag from an opposing guard. If
tagged, player must go to a designated area, perform a fitness activity,
then return to the game. Players can not be tagged once they are in
possession of a bean bag. Player puts the bean bag to the side then
is able to try to get another
 One team wins when they are able to get all the bean bags from the
guard
Games with Rubber Animals
17. From Knee to You
 Objective: To quickly pass the animal from one player to another
through the entire team
 Divide students into equal numbers. Teams line up. First person in line
starts with the animal (between their knees)
 On a signal, the next student receives the animal from the first student
with their knees, then spins around and passes to the next player
 When the animal reaches the end of the line the last person waddles to
the front of the line with the animal between their knees and begins
passing it down the line again
 The first team to have all of their players rotate back to their original
order wins
 Variations: Have teams line up, one behind the other. Everyone jogs on
the spot. On a signal, animal is passed over the shoulder to the player
behind who then passes under their legs to the next player etc…
18. Pitch the Pig/ Fling the Fish/ Chuck the Chicken
 Objective: To score more runs than the other team
 Divide group into two teams. One team starts with the Pig. A player
from that team yells “Pitch the Pig” and throws the pig anywhere in
the playing area. Then that player begins running circles around the
rest of their team.
 The defending team runs to pick up the pig, forms a line, then passes
the pig back in an over/under fashion as quickly as possible. When the
pig reaches the end of the line the last player yells “stop”.
 The offensive team that threw the pig counts the number of runs their
team mate scored by running around the group.
 The groups now switch roles
 Variations: To make the game more active, have both groups move on
the spot while running and passing are taking place