10 Easy and MEGA FUN Underhand Throwing PE Stations for Elementary Kids

Looking for some easy, creative, and MEGA FUN underhand throwing PE stations for your elementary physical education classes? You’re in the RIGHT place!

This must-have elementary PE teacher resource and blog post delivers simple, low-prep PE stations perfect for K-5 gym classes, building underhand throwing, cooperation and teamwork skills with zero hassle.

10 Underhand Throwing PE Stations

From flying food squishies and rubber chickens to Beanie Babies and jumbo stacking cups, these 10 CRAZY FUN underhand throwing stations will have your students practicing their throwing skills, improving hand-eye coordination, and having an absolute BLAST!

Best of all, these elementary PE station activities are easy to set up, use simple equipment, and can be adapted for different grade levels and abilities. So grab your squeaky rubber chickens, get ready to toss, and LET THE FUN BEGIN!

In this post love2teachandlearn (Mrs. T.) will share every awesome detail related to how to easily set-up these 10 Underhand Throwing PE Stations.

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”) K-12 PE teacher, blogger (Love 2 Teach and Learn) and author of 59 CRAZY FUN Elementary PE Games that ROCK!

I love teaching PE class because I get to spend time telling Silly SPORTS JOKES and exercising, while laughing with my students.

Oh, and I’m also on a serious mission to MAKE SCHOOL FUN AGAIN and these BASKETBALL PE STATIONS are a great way to to just that!

So grab your squeaky rubber chickens, get ready to toss, and LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Underhand Throwing Station #1: CHICKEN IN A BASKET

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• SEVERAL SQUEAKY RUBBER CHICKENS
• BASKETBALL HOOP
• SMALL BASKET (to hold the rubber chickens)

PE STATION SET-UP: Simply place the rubber chickens in the basket and place near the basketball hoop – That’s it!

HOW TO PLAY: Students take turns underhand throwing squeaky rubber chickens toward the basketball hoop, trying to make a basket! How many chickens can you get into the basket before it’s time to rotate to the next station?

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIPS:  

• You can find adorable rubber chickens on Amazon. If you search “rubber chicken dog toys” a bunch of super cute ones pop up.
• If you don’t have rubber chickens, you can use Beanie Babies (Beanie in a basket) or regular bean bags instead.

🛡️SAFETY TIP: Make sure to remind students to throw only when the area beneath the basket is clear.

Underhand Throwing Station #2: CASTLE CRASHERS

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• 10-15 JUMBO STACKING CUPS or Plastic Solo Cups
• 3-4 SOFT FOAM OR GATOR SKIN BALLS (Bean Bags work too)
• POLY SPOTS or FLOOR TAPE (to mark the throwing line)

PE STATION SET-UP: Choose a designated area in the gym and place the stacking cups on the floor or in large bin. Use poly spots or floor tape to create a throwing line several feet away from the castle, adjusting the distance based on students’ grade and skill levels.

HOW TO PLAY: One student becomes the Castle Builder and quickly stacks the cups into a giant pyramid castle!

Once the castle is built, that student becomes the Castle Guard, standing beside the castle and attempting to protect it by swatting away or catching incoming balls while the other 2–3 students take turns underhand throwing soft balls from behind the designated throwing line.

Once the castle comes crashing down, a new student becomes the Castle Builder and Guard, and the CRAZY FUN continues!

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIPS: 

• Add a stopwatch and challenge students to knock down the castle in 60 seconds or less!
• Keep things safe by reminding students to use UNDERHAND THROWS ONLY—NEVER OVERHAND!

Underhand Throwing Station #3: GRANNY PANTS

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• 1 PAIR OF GRANNY PANTS (oversized pants or large buckets work too)
• 6-10 SOFT BALLS (or fake snowballs or food squishies work too)
• POLY SPOTS (to mark the throwing line)
• TIMER or STOPWATCH (optional)
• KIDS READY TO HAVE A BLAST!

PE STATION SET-UP: Place the Granny Pants and soft balls at the station. Use poly spots to mark a designated throwing line approximately 5–8 feet away, adjusting the distance based on students’ grade and skill levels.

HOW TO PLAY: One student puts on the giant Granny Pants and holds the waistband open to create a HUGE target! The other 2–3 students take turns underhand throwing one ball at a time, trying to land their balls inside Granny’s Pants!

THE CHALLENGE: Can your group get 10 BALLS INTO GRANNY’S PANTS before the station timer runs out?

Once the group reaches 10 successful throws, everyone celebrates, a new student becomes Granny, and the challenge starts all over again!

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIPS: 

• ❄️ SNOWBALL GRANNY: Use soft fake snowballs for a fun winter-themed variation.
• 🪣 NO GRANNY PANTS? Substitute a large bucket or laundry basket for an equally fun tossing challenge.
• 🛒 You can purchase your own GRANNY PANTS from AMAZON Right Here!

🛡️SAFETY TIP: Use soft, lightweight balls and UNDERHAND THROWS ONLY! Students must aim for the open waistband, never the face, and the student wearing the Granny Pants should remain stationary while teammates throw.

Underhand Throwing Station #4: MONEY DOTS

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• 3-4 SMALL BASKETS
• 3-4 BEAN BAGS (one for each student)
• 10–12 POLY SPOTS
• MONOPOLY MONEY or PLAY MONEY of different denominations ($1, $5, $10, $20, etc.)

PE STATION SET-UP: First tape the play money to one side of each poly spot. Then, scatter 10–12 poly spots on the gym floor at varying distances from the designated throwing line. Finally, give each student a beanbag and a small basket to serve as their personal MONEY BANK!

HOW TO PLAY: Students take turns underhand throwing beanbags, trying to land them on the MONEY DOTS! If a beanbag lands anywhere on a dot, the student collects that dot and places it in their MONEY BANK (small basket).

Students keep throwing and collecting until all the dots are gone or the station timer runs out. Then each student COUNTS THEIR CASH to see who collected the highest dollar amount.

If it’s not time to rotate stations yet, simply reset the MONEY DOTS, play again and challenge students to beat their previous money total!

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIPS: 

• If you have Beanie Babies, they work great in this game in place of the bean bags and the kids absolutely LOVE THEM!
• If you can’t find the fake play money at your local Dollar Tree store you can use Monopoly money from an old board game or Amazon has some really colorful and cool play money RIGHT HERE.

LOVE MONEY DOTS? This CRAZY FUN underhand throwing station can also be played as a whole-class team game!

Check out my MONEY DOTS PE Game blog post for the full directions and even MORE Whole-Class throwing FUN!

Underhand Throwing Station #5: SPLASH LANDING

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• 1 LARGE BIN or TUB
• WATER (enough to fill the bucket approximately ¾ full)
• SEVERAL SMALL RUBBER DUCKIES
• BASKET
• LARGE TOWEL (for possible spills)

PE STATION SET-UP: Fill a large plastic bucket approximately ¾ full with water to create your DUCK POND! Place the towel under the bucket and the rubber duckies inside a basket. Use floor tape, poly spots or a jump rope as a designated throwing line.

HOW TO PLAY: Ready, aim, SPLASH! 💦 Students take turns grabbing a rubber ducky from the basket and underhand throwing their rubber duckies, trying to land them inside the bucket of water!

After all of the ducks have been thrown into the “pond” students quickly retrieve the duckies and play again until it’s time to rotate stations.

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIPS: 

• Place the bucket away from high-traffic areas, keep towels nearby to wipe up spills immediately, and remind students to walk—not run—when retrieving their duckies.
• Use a shallow plastic tub with just a few inches of water to minimize spills while still getting that FUN splash effect!

• For indoor gyms, consider placing the bucket on a waterproof mat to protect the floor.

Underhand Throwing Station #6: ICE CREAM SCOOP

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• 3-4 CONES
• SMALL COLORFUL BALLS
• 3-4 POLY SPOTS
• BIN or TUB

PE STATION SET-UP: Simply place the cones and balls in the tub or bin near the area where you want your station to be. Then arrange the poly spots in a circle, spacing them closer together or farther apart depending on your students’ grade and skill levels and the desired throwing distance.

HOW TO PLAY: Have students stand in a small circle, with each student standing on poly spot, holding an ice cream cone. Give one student a soft foam ball to start the activity.

Students gently underhand toss their ice cream scoop (foam ball) to another student in the circle, who tries to catch it inside their ice cream cone!

Once the ball is caught, that student becomes the next thrower and tosses it to someone else in the circle. Keep tossing and catching until it’s time to rotate stations!

Level up the fun with a few station challenges including:

• 🍦 SCOOP CHALLENGE: How many successful ice cream catches can your group make in a row without dropping a scoop?
• 🍦🍦DOUBLE SCOOP CHALLENGE: Once students get the hang of it, add a second colorful ball (scoop) to the circle – and then a third if they really want to have some CRAZY FUN.
• 🌈 FLAVOR FUN: Use different colored foam balls and let students name their ice cream flavors (pink = strawberry, brown = chocolate, green = mint etc.).

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIP: 

• Remind students to toss gently, aim toward their partner’s cone at a comfortable catching height, and keep their cones away from their faces.

Underhand Throwing Station #7: BULLSEYE BAGS

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• 3-4 HULA HOOOPS
• 3-4 POLY SPOTS
• 9-12 BEAN BAGS
• FLOOR TAPE, LONG JUMP ROPE OR POLY SPOTS to mark the throwing line
• Large BIN or TUB

PE STATION SET-UP: Each student creates their own BULLSEYE TARGET by placing a poly spot in the center of a hula hoop on the gym floor. Set up the targets a designated distance away from the throwing line, allowing enough space between each target.

HOW TO PLAY: Students stand behind the designated throwing line and underhand throw their three beanbags, one at a time, trying to land them as close to the center of their target as possible!

SCORING:

• 🎯 3 POINTS: Beanbag touches or lands on the center poly spot (BULLSEYE!).
• ⭐ 1 POINT: Beanbag lands inside or touches the hula hoop without touching the center poly spot.
• ❌ 0 POINTS: Beanbag completely misses the target.

After all three throws, students add up their points, retrieve their beanbags, and PLAY AGAIN! Continue challenging themselves to improve their scores until it’s time to rotate stations.

Level up the fun with a few station challenges including:

• 🎯 ADJUST THE DISTANCE: Move targets closer or farther away depending on students’ grade and skill levels.
• 🏆 PERFECT SCORE CHALLENGE: Can you score a PERFECT 9 POINTS in one round?
• ⭐ BEAT YOUR BEST: Challenge students to beat their previous three-throw score!

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIP: 

• Add a small piece of painter’s tape or duct tape to each side of the hula hoop to keep it from scooting around when beanbags land on it!

Underhand Throwing Station #8: GOLD RUSH

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• 8-10 BUCKETS OR BASKETS
• BUCKET FILLED WITH SEVERAL PLASTIC GOLD COINS (or gold-colored beanbags)
• PLAY MONEY or SMALL SIGNS/STICKY NOTES in varying dollar amounts $10, $100, $500 AND $1000 (one for each bucket)
• TAPE
• POLY SPOTS, JUMP ROPE OR FLOOR TAPE to mark the throwing line

PE STATION SET-UP: Place 8-10 buckets on the gym floor scattered at varying distances from the designated throwing line. Label the closest bucket with the smallest dollar amounts ($10) and the farthest buckets with the largest dollar amounts ($1,000). Place the bucket of plastic gold coins near the throwing line.

HOW TO PLAY: Students take turns underhand tossing their gold coins into the buckets (one at a time), trying to collect as much treasure as possible! Each coin that lands inside a bucket earns the dollar amount displayed on that bucket.

After throwing all of the coins, students add up their team treasure total, collect their coins, and PLAY AGAIN!

Can you beat your previous GOLD RUSH total?

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIP: 

• COIN SWAP! Large plastic poker chips are a GREAT alternative if your gold coins are too lightweight to throw accurately – yellow bean bags work great too.
• Fun PLAY MONEY can be found at most Dollar Tree Stores and AMAZON has a great colorful play money set too RIGHT HERE.

Underhand Throwing Station #9: MONSTER MUNCH

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• SMALL BUCKET OR ROUND LAUNDRY BASKET
• BASKET OF FOOD SQUISHIES (hamburgers, donuts, pizza, fries, etc.)
• 4–5 POLY SPOTS to create the throwing circle

PE STATION SET-UP: Arrange poly spots in a circle, spacing them approximately 5–8 feet from the center based on students’ grade and skill levels. Place a small bucket or round laundry basket in the middle of the circle and give each student on the outside a food squishy.

HOW TO PLAY: One student stands in the center of the circle holding the bucket or laundry basket and becomes the HUNGRY MONSTER!

The other students stand on their poly spots and take turns underhand throwing their food squishies toward the monster, who tries to catch the flying food inside their basket!

After everyone has thrown, count how many food squishies the monster caught, switch monsters, and PLAY AGAIN!

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIP: 

• Rotate the Hungry Monster after every round so everyone gets a chance to catch the flying food!
• Remind students to throw one at a time, aim toward the basket (not the monster’s face), and wait until everyone has finished throwing before retrieving their food.

Underhand Throwing Station #10: PIN THE RAINBOW

SUPPLIES NEEDED for this Station: 

• 6 RAINBOW-COLORED HULA HOOPS (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
• 6 PLASTIC BOWLING PINS (one per hoop)
• 3–4 SOFT FOAM BALLS (one per student)
• POLY SPOTS OR FLOOR TAPE to mark the throwing line

PE STATION SET-UP: Arrange the six rainbow-colored hula hoops in a large rainbow-shaped arc on the gym floor, with one bowling pin standing in the center of each hoop.

Place a designated throwing line several feet away, making sure all six pins are visible and reachable from the throwing area.

HOW TO PLAY: Students take turns underhand throwing their soft foam balls, trying to knock down all SIX bowling pins!

Each time a pin is knocked over, leave it down and move on to the remaining rainbow pins.

The challenge is to work together as a team and KNOCK DOWN THE ENTIRE RAINBOW before the station timer runs out!

Once all six pins are down, stand them back up and PLAY AGAIN!

Level up the fun with a few station challenges including:

• 🌈 RAINBOW ORDER CHALLENGE: Can your group knock down the pins in rainbow order—RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, and PURPLE?
• ⭐ BEAT YOUR BEST: Count how many throws it takes your group to knock down all six pins. Can you beat your previous record?
• 🎳 PERFECT RAINBOW: Challenge students to knock down all six pins in just six throws!
• 💥 RAINBOW RESET: If all six pins fall before the station timer ends, reset the rainbow and start another round!

💡Mrs. T.’s BONUS STATION TIP: 

• Use soft, lightweight foam balls and UNDERHAND THROWS ONLY! Beanbags work well for this activity too.
• Be sure to remind students to stay behind the throwing line and retrieve their balls only when everyone has finished throwing.

Why use Underhand Throwing PE Stations in Class?

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 40 more Awesome General PE Station Ideas – I got you! You can check them out RIGHT HERE!

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 pretty darn smoothly.

Here are a few PE Station Set-Up Tips for you that have worked really well for me over the years.

PE Station Tips for You

• 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 typing 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 tool. 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.

The Last Throw

So, what do you say? Why not blast some “clean” and upbeat PE music , maybe tell a few funny SPORTS JOKES and bring the excitement of these 10 Underhand Throwing PE Stations to your gymnasium today!

So, whether you decide to play these CRAZY FUN Stations with your kindergarten students, first grade cuties or all the way up to fifth grade, Just have tons of underhand throwing FUN!

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my 10 easy and super fun Underhand Throwing PE Stations.

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.

K-5 PE Games *Always Growing* Fun BUNDLE

As a matter of fact, I have a GIANT BUNDLE (500+ Pages and Growing) of Elementary Physical Education Games and Resources.

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!

I really appreciate it and I hope that you have a TRULY BLESSED And BEAUTIFUL Day spent laughing until your cheeks hurt!