Setting: Curricular
Season: Winter
Activity Goal
Participants practice sending an object to target while adapting to winter conditions. Participants explore how their movements are affected by weather conditions and their outdoor clothing to adjust their game strategy. Participants consider how they can play this game with friends and family to stay active in winter.
For participant safety, please review the contents of the Beyond the Walls: Safety Considerations page for information on Safety Standards, Winter Safety Considerations, and Outdoor Playing Areas and Surfaces.
Equipment
- Bean bags
- Hoops
- Pylons or cones
Before Play
- Review the safety rules and activity instructions with participants prior to activity.
- Establish the boundaries for the designated play area and share them with participants.
- Divide the class into groups of four participants and provide each group with two hoops and one bean bag for each participant.
- Have groups create their “cornhole” targets by placing one hoop at each end of the designated playing area. Have participants scoop out snow to make a "cornhole" in the centre of each hoop. If there isn’t sufficient snow to make their cornhole, have participants use a pylon or other object to designate the cornhole.
- The objective of the game is to work in teams of two to get their bean bag into the cornhole. Teams are awarded one point if their bean bag lands on the edge of the hoop, two points for getting their bean bag inside the hoop, and three points for getting it in the "hole". Bean bags cannot touch the ground before landing in the hoop.
During Play
- Decide which participant goes first. Participants stand with one foot on the edge of one of the hoops. This is the designated throwing line. The participant's foot must keep contact with the hoop throughout the throw otherwise it is constituted as a foul and the throw doesn’t count.
- Each participant throws their bean bag, taking turns with their opponents.
- When all bean bags have been tossed to the hoop, the score is tallied.
- Whichever team earns the most points in the round, wins that round and throws first in the next round. If there is a tie, no points are awarded and the team who threw first in the last round will throw first again.
- Each round begins by throwing from the hoop the participants attempted to score on during the previous round.
- The game is won when a team reaches 21 points with a lead of more than two points.
After Play
Use the following prompts for groups to explore movement concepts and strategies to be successful in winter conditions:
Question prompts:
- How did the weather contribute to or hinder your accuracy in sending your bean bag to the cornhole?
- What adjustments did you make throughout the game to account for the weather conditions and playing surface?
- What strategies were most successful for hitting your target?
- What strategies did you use to try to score 21 points before your opponent?
- How might you change this game to play with friends and family to encourage others to be active in winter?
- What other equipment could you use that you might find in your home? Where might you play?
Adaptations
Consider these tips to maximize the challenge and the fun for participants.
- If there is sufficient snow on the ground, have participants draw their targets in the snow.
- Add in the rule that participants can knock their opponent's bean bag out of the hoop thereby eliminating the points their opponent would have earned.
- Add more bean bags to the game.
- Change the distance between cornholes to increase or decrease the challenge.
Modifications
Consider these tips to maximize inclusion and fun for all participants.
- For participants with mobility challenges, have them send the object at different levels in a stationary position.
- For participants with a visual impairment, have them work with a partner. The partner would provide verbal descriptions for the participants, providing verbal cues of how to send the object to a designated target (location, direction, level, force).
