Use Your Noodle

This easily customizable pool noodle obstacle course is perfect for a playdate or family time in the backyard. You can customize the rules or switch them up every few rounds for more excitement.

You will need:

14 pool noodles 4 of them straight and 10

bent into circles and secured with tape

8 pens pencils or markers

duct tape

50 water and non-water balloons

Setting up your course:

1. Set up the straight pool noodles in semi-circles on the ground for crawling and high jumping: Poke a little hole in the ground with a pointy item such as a pen and insert a pen pencil or marker into it. Push one end of a pool noodle onto the pen or marker.

2. Bend the noodle to make a semi-circle and poke another hole in the ground where the noodle ends. Insert a second marker into the hole. Push the other end of the noodle over the marker.

3. Repeat this process until you have the desired number of arcs spacing the noodles about two feet (60 cm) away from each other. (We made four arcs but you can do more or less depending on how much space and how many noodles you have.)

4. Set up the circular noodles as agility rings: Using duct tape connect four pairs of circular noodles to each other so you have four sets of double rings. (Don’t tape them together too tightly or the obstacle course won’t lie flat.)

5. Connect two sets of double rings together with duct tape followed by a single circular noodle then another double set of noodles and again a single noodle. (Again you can adjust this course based on how many noodles or how much space you have.)

6. Place the rings about four feet (1 meter) from the arcs.

(Excerpted from Family First Issue 553)