40 Easy and Fun K-5 Elementary PE Station Ideas
Get ready to make your K-5 physical education classes a total blast with these 40 Easy and Fun Elementary PE Station Ideas.
These fresh station ideas make it simple for teachers to organize active, inclusive, and skill-building lessons that students will LOVE!
In this post you’ll find 40 small group activities designed to work as fun PE Stations for Kindergarten kiddos all the way through fifth grade.
Elementary PE Station Ideas
Hi there, it’s so great to meet you! I’m Mrs. T. or you can call me Jen – a Michigan mom, wife, new grandma (aka “Jemma”) and K-12 PE teacher who is on a mission to MAKE SCHOOL FUN AGAIN!
Keep your students moving, engaged, and excited to learn with these 40 Easy and Fun K-5 Elementary PE Station Ideas.
READY! SET! LET’S PLAY!
PART 1 : Elementary PE Station Ideas
#1: SHOOTING HOOPS – This is such a great PE Station activity because it can easily be modified to meet the fitness needs of all grade levels. Upper grades can use a regular basketball to improve their basketball shooting skills. Younger kids can use smaller, lighter balls, to shoot hoops – or you can ring a hula hoop around your basket for younger kids to shoot through and feel successful.
#2: HIPPITY HOPS – My kindergarten through second grade PE students LOVE these and they are great for practicing balance too!
#3: CUP STACKING – Who would have thought Solo Cups could bring so much joy to kids in PE Class! I love watching how creative my students get with this station activity. It’s a great calm down activity that focuses on improving hand-eye coordination.
#4: BOWLING on One Lane – Roll out just one bowling lane and let your students practice their underhand rolling skills. If you get tired of traditional bowling you can always have your students play BOWLING BINGO or WACKY BOWLING at their PE station.
#5: CREATE YOUR OWN PE GAME – Have your students work in small groups to PLAN, TEACH, and eventually PLAY their very own PE game.
Create Your Own PE Game
#6: CROSS THE SWAMP – Grab two jump ropes and a small group of kids ready to have fun practicing their jumping and leaping skills. After each successful jump across the swamp (2 jump ropes) move the jump ropes further apart.
Cross the Swamp
#7: BALLOONS – Place a few balloons in your station area and let the kids have a blast trying to volley and keep it up in the air using their hands or other body parts.
Balloons – PE Station Activity
#8: VOLLEYBALL – Give a small group of students one volleyball and let them practice bumping and setting while in a circle formation. I like to give my younger K-2 students a beach ball instead of a regular volleyball for this station activity.
#9: SOCCER STATION – Set up a small indoor soccer net, give a small group of students a soccer ball and let them practice their soccer skills. If you have enough room you could set up two nets and let them have a mini game. No nets – No problem – use 2 cones spread out as your goals.
PART 2 : Elementary PE Station Ideas
#10: JUMP ROPE PRACTICE – Place a few jump ropes in the station area and let the kids practice their jump rope skills. For older kids you could also use double dutch ropes.
#11: LIMBO – Have two students hold a horizontal stick or rope at shoulder height while each student takes turns leaning backward and attempting to pass under it without touching the bar or falling. After each successful round, lower the bar slightly to increase the challenge.
#12: PAPER PLATE or SCARF SKATE – Your students will have a blast using paper plates or scarves tied on their feet to practice their skating and sliding skills.
#13: MINI GOLF or SINGLE PUTT PUTT HOLE – Have your students work together as a group to create their own Mini golf Hole. This makes for a great STEAM activity too.
Mini Golf in PE Class
#14: TWISTER – I love this PE Station ideas because it combines fun with physical activity. This classic game helps develop essential PE skills such as flexibility, balance, coordination, spatial awareness, and body control, while also promoting teamwork and social interaction.
#15: JOUSTING with INFLATABLES – If you use a fun blow-up set (like the one I got at Five Below) this is such a safe and exciting way for students to engage in active play, promoting social interaction and friendly competition. It also develops skills such as balance, coordination, gross motor strength, and spatial awareness.
#16: MINI TRAMPOLINE – These little trampolines provide a full-body, low-impact workout that improves cardiovascular fitness, strength, and coordination. Just make sure to have safety rules in place – my students like to get a little creative with the trampoline from time to time – LOL.
PART 3 : Elementary PE Station Ideas
#17: HULA HOOP FUN – Practice spinning hula hoops around the waist, arms, or legs to build coordination.
#18: PARACHUTE GAMES – A small or a mini parachute works best as a small group station activity.
#19: SKIP-IT or ANKLE SKIPPER – This is a plastic toy worn around one ankle that has a ball or counter on the end. Kids swing it in a circle and jump over with the other foot to improve coordination and have fun. Sometimes I put these at the jump rope station.
#20: MINI OBSTACLE COURSE – Set up a mini obstacle course in one area of the gym complete with a variety of fun challenges like hurdles, tunnels, balance beams, and jumping stations. I also like to give my students a stopwatch at this PE station so they can time each other as they go through the course.
#21: MINI NINJA WARRIOR COURSE – Be creative and put together a challenge course with whatever equipment you have. I’ve done rope climbing, swings, nets, rock climbing and hurdles. Just have fun with it!
#22: BALANCE STILTS – Balance Buckets or Walking Stilts help students develop essential balance, coordination, and gross motor skills – and they’re super fun too.
#23: CATCH and STACK
Catch & Stack PE Station Idea
#24: JUGGLING WITH SCARVES – Scarf juggling is a super fun elementary PE station idea. It is a safe, low pressure way for kids to practice their hand-eye coordination and juggling skills. You can also use small, soft, Hacky Sack-like balls at this station.
#25: FOOD FIGHT WITH SQUISHIES – my PE students LOVE to play with food squishies when they are in station groups. There are so many fun things to do with them, but their favorite, by far, is to play FOOD FIGHT. You can get the FULL LESSON PLAN Here.
#26: PLANK HOLD CHALLENGE – Who can last the longest?
#27: MINUTE TO WIN IT CHALLENGES– I love setting up Minute-to-Win-It Challenges at my Elementary PE Stations. Be creative with your challenges:
- CUP STACK CHALLENGES – Students race to stack and unstack plastic cups as quickly as possible.
- SHOOTING HOOPS – Kids each have a basketball and compete to see who can make the most baskets in a one minute period.
- SPOON RACE – Each student balances a ping pong ball on a spoon and races to a finish line and back without dropping it for a full minute.
- BALLOON BOP – Students each try to keep their balloon up and in the air for one minute using only their hands or elbows.
You get the idea. Oh, and don’t forget to give your students a stopwatch or two at this station so they can time each other.
PART 4 : Elementary PE Station Ideas
#28: SCOOTERS – I mean, who doesn’t love scooters? Designate an area of the gym and allow your students to scoot around freely. Just make sure you have safety rules in place for your students when they use scooters.
#29: GYMNASTICS – This is another “FAN FAVORITE” station. Set up a mat and a balance beam and let your students practice their tumbling and balance skills.
#30: INDOOR CORNHOLE or BULLSEYE BAGS – Bring in an outdoor cornhole set and place it in one section of your gym. Or, if you don’t have a regular cornhole set you can always play Bullseye Bags. Learn how to play RIGHT HERE.
#31: FOOTBALL FUN– Give your small group of students a football and let them have fun tossing it back and forth or practicing fun football drills – You Decide!
#32: DANCING– Kids absolutely LOVE to dance. I often make Dancing one of my Elementary PE station ideas. Sometimes I just let the kids freestyle dance and other times I let them play Freeze Dance or RING AROUND THE DANCER – so much fun!
#33: YOGA – Gather up a few yoga mats and put on a fun little Yoga video like COSMIC KIDS YOGA (My students LOVE the MINECRAFT one)and watch your students have an absolute blast stretching, calming down, and improving their physical and mental health.
#34: FAKE SNOWBALLS – Get ready to have some serious fun with fake snowballs. I purchased a pack of 100 fake snowballs from Amazon and my students absolutely love playing with them in PE class.
#35: TOSS and CATCH – Have your students play a simple game of catch with partners or it’s also fun to use those really cool Velcro Toss & Catch Sets.
#36: BASKETBALL DRIBBLING – Set up cones and have your students dribble around the cones. I also like to place a basket of Beanie Babies at this station. The kids like to balance the Beanie Babies on their arms, shoulders and head as they practice dribbling.
#37: SPORTS CHARADES – A fun small group station game where students take turns acting out different sports—like soccer, swimming, or basketball—without speaking, while the rest of the group tries to guess which sport is being demonstrated.
#38: HIGH TO THE SKY – This is a fun self tossing and catching game that can easily be played in a small group station setting. Watch exactly how to play below.
#39: BEAN BAG DARTS – Watch exactly HOW TO PLAY Right Here.
#40: FREE CHOICE – Let’s the kids choose what they want to do at the “Free Choice Station” Give them some safe, fun, options and let them take control over their learning and fun time.
Why Use Stations in PE Class?
There are so many benefits to incorporating these Elementary PE station Ideas into your physical education curriculum.
- #1: – INCREASED STUDENT ENGAGEMENT – Small group stations keep students active and involved by offering a variety of activities that reduce downtime and boredom and rotating through stations maintains excitement and motivation, as students look forward to new and fun activities.
- #2: -DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION – Stations allow teachers to tailor activities to different skill levels, ensuring all students are appropriately challenged and supported. Teachers can offer modifications or extensions at each station, meeting individual learning needs.
- #3: – MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT – Small Group Stations provide students with more hands-on practice and repetition, which helps reinforce key physical education skills.
- #4: IMPROVED CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT – This is one of the main reasons why I love and use stations so often with my PE classes. Small groups are easier to supervise. This reduces behavioral issues and allows the teacher to give more focused attention. Plus, clear station routines and expectations foster a structured and positive learning environment.
- #5: ENHANCED SOCIAL SKILLS and TEAMWORK – Working in small groups encourages communication, cooperation, and peer support. Additionally, it’s a great way for students to build friendships and lean to work together toward common goals.
- #6: EFFICIENT USE OF SPACE and EQUIPMENT – Stations maximize gym space by spreading students out and making the most of available equipment. Teachers can run multiple activities simultaneously, making class time more productive.
- #7: PROMOTES STUDENT AUTONOMY – Stations provide an opportunity for students to learn to manage their time, follow instructions, make decisions, and take responsibility for their own learning at each station.
- #8: SUPPORTS ASSESSMENT and FEEDBACK – Stations allow teachers to circulate and observe students more closely, providing immediate feedback and assessing progress in real time. Small groups make it easier to document student achievement and identify areas for improvement.
- #9: INCLUSIVE FOR ALL LEARNERS – I love using stations because they can be designed to include students of all abilities, ensuring everyone can participate and feel successful.
How to Set Up PE Stations (Tips that Work)
I’ve been running Pe Stations with my students for many years now and feel like I have a pretty good system set up that helps my stations run smoothly.
Here are a few PE Station Set-Up Tips for you that have worked really well for me over the years.
- GROUP SIZE: Try to keep your station groups between 3-5 students. Anything more or less than that can make things a bit challenging.
- CONE MARKERS: I like to use bright colored, medium-sized cones to mark my different stations. I also number each station by simply writing or taping numbers on a piece of paper and taping it to the cones.
- EQUIPMENT: I like to put a basket with all equipment needed for that station next to each numbered cone.
- STATION ROTATION: I have found that having my students rotate from numbered cone to numbered cone in a counter-clockwise direction works really well. So, when it’s time to rotate, the kids at Station #1 will go to #2, #2 goes to #3, and those at #4 will rotate to Station #1.
- USE MUSIC: I love using music in the gym – not only is it fun for the kids and I to listen to but it seriously works as the absolute best classroom management too. My rule is: MUSIC ON-Your Turn, MUSIC OFF – My Turn! When I stop the music, my students know that it is time to rotate WITH THEIR STATION GROUP MEMBERS to their next station. Once everyone is at their next station – start the music back up again.
Using small group stations in elementary PE classes helps create a dynamic, inclusive, and effective learning environment that benefits students physically, socially, and emotionally.
If you want to create a lively, energetic atmosphere where kids look forward to PE class, start using these Awesome elementary PE Station Ideas today!
So, what do you say? Are you ready to set up the most epic elementary PE Stations for your students or what?
Choose your favorite elementary PE Station Ideas field day from this list of 40, play some “CLEAN” and “UPBEAT” PE music for kids and get ready to have the absolute BEST TIME with your physical education kiddos.
If you’re looking for more easy, fun, and super unique (not boring) Low or No-Prep physical education games, I’ve got a bunch more for you.
As a matter of fact, I have a GIANT BUNDLE of Elementary Physical Education Games.
You can grab your Physical Education HUGE GROWING BUNDLE Right Here!
Be sure to check out my other unique and fun Teacher Resources (Instant Bulletin Boards, Fun Classroom Decor, Learning and PE Games) in my Love 2 Teach and Learn TPT store RIGHT HERE!
Thanks for stopping by today and reading my 40 Elementary PE Station ideas. I really appreciate it and I hope that you have a TRULY BLESSED And BEAUTIFUL Day spent laughing until your cheeks hurt!
