At the start of the year in physical education, we like to give our students challenges that require communication, concentration, timing, and quick reflexes. One of the best activities for this is the scarf exchange.
Students work with a partner and are each given a scarf. They stand a few yards apart and, on an agreed-upon signal, attempt to throw their own scarf up in the air and dart to catch their partner’s scarf. If they don’t succeed, they try again. If they do succeed, the students take a step back and extend the distance between them.
After a few minutes, we will combine pairs into quads. Can they figure out a four-person scarf exchange? Sometimes quads join to become octets. We’ve even attempted whole-class scarf exchanges before. Who knew the humble scarf could be such an elite training tool?
– Alex Tzelnic, director of physical education
