How to Juggle Three Oranges

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Juggling is a challenging form of exercise, hand-eye coordination, balance and concentration. But most of all, it's fun!! Not to mention a great ice-breaker!

I taught myself to juggle years ago as a teenager, using oranges I picked while walking to school.
I think if you practice these simple instructions, you will find that juggling is really not that hard to do! It does take practice! Here's how I learned to juggle three oranges:

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Three small to medium-sized oranges.

Step 1

Two Oranges

Hold two of the oranges in one hand. Rest one of them on your index and middle fingers, which are spread apart in a "V" position. Rest the other orange next to that one, on your palm. The orange sitting on your palm will be held in place by your thumb on one side, ring and pinkie fingers on the other.
Step 2

Get comfortable with alternately tossing and catching the two oranges straight up in one hand. Toss the orange from the "V" first. Practice that motion of separating out the ability to toss the orange from the "V" position while holding the other one in your palm. We will call the one in the "V" position the "behind" position.
Step 3

As it prepares to come down, move your hand, (all fingers now) holding the other orange slightly away from your body, so that you are tossing the 2nd orange from the "behind" position, and catching the 1st orange tossed in your palm, using all fingers. If you were to stop tossing and catching, you would see that the two oranges have switched positions in your hand. Repeat this motion until you can do it repeatedly. From your vantage point, you will be tossing one orange behind the other each time.
Step 4

Juggle three!

Once you have mastered the two-oranges-in-one-hand juggle, you are ready to add the third. Hold two oranges in their positions from Step 1 in one hand, and hold the third orange in your other hand.
Step 5

Toss the orange in the "behind" (or "V") position pretty much straight up, as if you were only juggling the two. You're going to catch this with the same hand.
Step 6

As it comes down and you catch it, toss the second orange in that hand up and over toward your other shoulder, but in front.
Step 7

THEN, toss the third orange toward (but in front of) your original hand's shoulder that started with two oranges. Now that this "new" hand is available, catch the incoming orange as it falls! You are catching the second orange thrown from the first hand. This "new" hand you are catching with was originally holding the third orange.
Step 8

With practice, and at any given time, the juggle pattern will start to look like this: One hand holding an orange, the other traveling diagonally toward the other side, and the other hand holding an orange. Each hand will be doing this, alternately. Each hand will have to catch and throw an orange to the other side, which will be holding an orange, ready to toss it, so to be available to catch the incoming orange.