Hungry Hoovers 🧹
🧹 Hungry Hoovers
Theme: Coordination • Motor Skills • Imagination
Duration: 5 minutes (approx)
🎤 Coach Script / Setup:
"Who’s hungry? Not for snacks — but for tennis balls! 🟡🍽
You are the Hungry Hoovers! Your traffic cone is your Hoover nozzle, and your small tub is your dust bag.
Your mission is to clean up all the balls from the court as fast as you can!"
Tip: leave all balls out from the last exercise and play this game to tiday up!
🔧 Equipment Needed:
Traffic cones = Hoover Nozzles
Small tubs (1 per child) = Dust bags
Large tubs (2–3 max) = Main waste collection tubs
Foam or soft tennis balls spread across the area
🔁 Gameplay:
Each child holds:
A cone (nozzle) in one hand
A dust bag (small tub) in the other hand
Children stamp the cone over the balls to pick them up (they can assist with the other hand if needed).
Once the cone is full, they tip the ball(s) into their dust bag.
When their dust bag is full, they run and empty it into the main collection tub (white bucket) and return to the game.
Game continues until all balls are cleaned up!
🪶 Feathers (Simplify for Tots):
Let children use both hands freely to pick up and transfer balls.
Fewer balls to avoid overwhelm.
Let parents assist with holding dust bag or helping pick up balls.
Allow walking only (no running).
Use bigger balls to make hoovering easier.
⚡️ Progressions (Older / Confident Children):
❌ No hands allowed! Must use a racket in one hand and a cone in the other.
Racket scoop challenge: scoop balls into dust bag using the racket only.
Add obstacles or zones where only one child can be in at a time (like kitchen tiles).
Add a timer – how fast can they clean the court?
Use smaller or flatter balls that are trickier to pick up.
🎯 Skill Focus:
Fine and gross motor skills
Hand-eye coordination
Object manipulation
Imaginative play and theme engagement
Teamwork if done in teams or relay style
seasonal variations for Hungry Hoovers 🧹🍬 — keeping the core mechanics (collecting balls with cones and depositing into tubs) but adding themed storytelling and items:
🧽 Hungry Hoovers – Seasonal Variations
🎄 Christmas – Elf Workshop Clean-Up
Santa’s elves have dropped all the Christmas baubles and decorations! Kids become magical hoovers collecting them. Use red, green, gold balls as “baubles” and “sweep” them up with cones into their dustbags. Tidy the workshop before Santa gets back! 🎅🎁
🐣 Easter – Bunny Burrow Sweep-Up
The Easter Bunny’s helpers have made a mess! Beanbags are colourful Easter eggs, and kids use cones to collect them and sort them back into the bunny baskets. Maybe add a few hidden “chocolate eggs” (special coloured cones)! 🐰🥚
🎃 Halloween – Witch’s Broom Blitz
The witches left slime blobs (green balls), spiders (black cones), and eyeballs (round cones) everywhere. Kids must use “magic vacuums” (cones) to hoover them into their cauldrons (dust tubs). Play spooky music for atmosphere! 🧙♀️🕷️
💘 Valentine’s Day – Love Heart Clean-Up
After a Valentine’s party, love hearts and chocolates (red and pink beanbags or balls) are scattered across the floor. Kids sweep them up gently and place them into gift baskets. 💌🍫
👩 Mother’s Day / 👨 Father’s Day – Kitchen Tidy-Up
After making breakfast for Mum or Dad, the kitchen’s a mess! Kids must hoover up pretend crumbs, toast crusts, and eggs (balls/beanbags), placing them in the bin (main tub). 🧼🍳🧹