Juggling Unit

Day 1- Scarves/Plastic Shopping Bags

Day 2-  Balls or Bean Bags

Day 3-  Rings

Juggling  SKILLS

1) One Scarf

a. Single scarf/Plastic Bag activities
b. Toss and Catch
- palms face down
- “flip the scarf up”, “claw the scarf down”
- “hello!” & “goodbye!”
2) Two Scarves

a. The ‘X” pattern
- Criss Cross , Apple Sauce or throw , throw , catch , catch 
- “flip-flip-catch-catch”
b. Columns (straight up and down)
c. Circles (the hand-off)
3.Three Scarves:

a. Starting out: 

- last 3 fingers (pinky, ring and middle finger) wrap around one scarf.
- same hand, pinch one scarf between thumb and index finger ( I call alligator fingers)
- third scarf is held in the other hand between the thumb and index
finger

Always start with the hand that has two scarves/plastic bags/balls/bean bags/rings

b. Juggling patterns

- Cascade (basic pattern): toss and catch from inside-under-out
- Reverse Cascade: toss and catch from outside-over top-drop middle
- Columns/Calypso: 2 on the outside, 1 on the inside-straight up and down

4) TEACHING TIPS:
a. Students should throw 2nd scarf after 1st scarf reaches peak.
b. To slow down the scarves, stand in front of the student and catch the
scarves after the throws-drop when the student is ready.
c. To correct hand-offs, require student to start with the non-dominant
hand.
d. Watch for students who reach across the body to catch.

BEAN BAGS/Rings

1) One Bean Bag
a. Toss sideways-across the front of the body
b. Toss no higher than the head (don’t break the glass ceiling)
c. Catch the bean bag at the waist-palms up (holding a bowl of soup)
d. Watch the top of the arc, not the catch!
2) Two Bean Bags
a. The “X” pattern
b. “Toss-toss-catch-catch”
c. Throw 2nd bean bag when the 1st bean bag has reached the peak.
3) Three Bean Bags
a. Cascade: Same pattern as the scarves.
b. Reverse Cascade: Same pattern as the scarves.
c. Tennis: Two bean bags in the ‘X’ pattern, one bag over the top.
d. Under the leg: Interrupt the ongoing pattern with a toss from under the
leg (outside of leg to inside).
e. Over the shoulder: Interrupt the ongoing pattern with a toss from behind
the back and over the shoulder.

Catching Scarves

a. Catch on head
b. Toss and catch

c. Toss, turn the stick, and catch
d. Catch on elbows
e. Behind the back
f. Under the leg
g. Two scarves
3) Partner Skills
a. Partner toss - how many people?
b. run across and catch after tossing scarves up .