Cornhole is now being taught in schools.
Wait, what? Cornhole in schools? The popular tailgate game that is usually reserved for parties, drinking games, and outdoor activities, in a classroom? Yes, you did read that right.
One of the fastest growing settings for cornhole is within classrooms in schools across the nation. It’s portable, entertaining, and appropriate for students of most ages and ability levels.
In this article, we will explore some of the benefits of incorporating cornhole into a school curriculum.
Playing Indoors? Read the best tips for playing cornhole inside your home or office or school. Read it here.
Cornhole for Physical Education 
The most obvious school setting in which to incorporate cornhole is the realm of physical education. Cornhole can be set up pretty much anywhere including both a gymnasium and a playground.
It is an easy game to introduce to just about any grade level, and the exercise component of the game makes it appropriate for a physical education class.
One of the main factors in a successful cornhole game is the mastery of an underhand throw, when tossing the bag; this is actually built into the physical education standards that most states use to create their curriculum. So, it’s actually educational as well as entertaining.
PE teachers can change up the game and add different elements, alternating between team and individual play. They can also use the boards and bags for different games or incorporate the equipment into relay races or other activities.
In addition, many students can feel overwhelmed in PE class by the level of competition and physical ability needed for many of the games usually played. Although cornhole is competitive in its own right, it is slower paced than other games and less intimidating – no one will feel left out or embarrassed.
Education is all about embracing each student regardless of their abilities and needs, and cornhole actually provides a great way to do that in gym class.. In fact, an 18-year-old man, Dayton Webber, who is a quadruple amputee competed in the 2016 American Cornhole Association World Championships. His tenacity serves as an example not only of what people can do when they work hard, but also the approachability of cornhole as a game for all people.
Playing Cornhole in the Classroom
Of course, the gym is the most common location within a school to play cornhole. However, students can play the game in actual, academic classrooms as well. One of the benefits of cornhole is its portability; boards can be set up and taken down in under a minute, and for informal purposes in the classroom, they don’t need to be arranged exactly according to official rules. The cornhole set can be used to burn off extra energy, earned as a classroom reward for good behavior, or help pass the time during every teacher’s worst nightmare: indoor recess.
For more information about how to play cornhole indoors, check out this article.
Classrooms do not have to use full size boards either. To save space, schools and/or teachers can purchase junior size cornhole boards, which are half the size of official tournament boards. They even make tabletop cornhole boards, which can be set on top of a desk – perfect for review games and free time.
Slick Woody’s offers a “half-size” board we call the Junior Board. Its size makes it an ideal product for the classroom’s smaller “playing field” environment.
Don’t fret – Cornhole is affordable
Along with every good idea comes the question: how much is this going to cost me? The good news is, cornhole is a relatively inexpensive addition to any classroom or PE teacher’s equipment room. The smaller-sized sets of cornhole boards are usually less expensive than the full-sized ones, so teachers wishing to purchase individual sets for their classrooms will not have to shell out as much cash. Plus, many cornhole manufacturers offer bulk discounts; schools looking to outfit their physical education programs will be able to do so in a cost-effective manner.
How to Play Safely
One of the biggest concerns regarding physical education activities is the safety aspect of each game. Dodge ball, kickball, basketball, and many other typical gym class activities often result in trips to the nurse’s office for skinned knees and elbows. Not so with cornhole.
While there are some risks whenever you give students bean bags and tell them to throw the bags across the room, cornhole is much less dangerous than other games.
