Juggling Lessons for the Novice

From Year 2 to Adult

This resource, Juggling Lessons for Novices, is a comprehensive guide designed to introduce students (and adults) to the art of juggling through playful, structured physical literacy. By breaking down complex movements into manageable “muscle memory” tasks, these lessons ensure that both the teacher and the learner can succeed without any prior juggling experience

What’s Included?
The resource provides two detailed lesson plans that move from individual bean bag skills to the foundational three-ball cascade.
Lesson 1: Foundational Mechanics. Focuses on “one bean bag” exercises to build hand-eye coordination, proprioception, and a “professional” mindset toward dropping.
Lesson 2: Partner & Multi-Ball Patterns. Introduces partner-assisted juggling to slow down the process, allowing the brain to process the three-ball pattern through collaborative drills.

Key Learning Objectives
Physical Literacy: Building muscle memory for both hands through high-energy activities and rhythmic throwing.
Proprioception: Developing awareness of body position, hand placement, and “head height” throw consistency.
Resilience & Peer Support: Shifting the focus from “dropping” to “what you do after you drop” and using partner feedback to correct form.

Teacher Tips for the Classroom Adaptability: These lessons are highly scalable. For younger children (e.g., Year 2), focus on the “joy and fun” of partner reflections; for older learners, increase the pace and quantity of exercises per session.

The “Flash” Milestone: Three successful catches is a “flash,” and six catches officially qualifies a student as a three-ball juggler.

Equipment: Lessons transition from simple bean bags to using three balls per student/pair.

Created by Natalie Verhaegen, www.lephysical.co.uk, Teacher, Director, Performer