10 activities for kids at home to keep them moving
Sports Performance | Strength & Conditioning// Get your kids moving at home with these activities
With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to spark closures around the world, many of us are now into a second or even third week of social distancing.
For some, this may have been relaxing—maybe you caught up on your Netflix queue or learned to make toilet paper using leftover printer paper.
But for those of us who are parents, it has meant hours and hours of entertaining our children, while still trying to limit screen time and the accompanying brain rot.
No doubt you have already been on Pinterest, looking for craft projects to keep those little ones busy. But what about wearing them out with some much-needed body movement?
Use this time with your kids to build a strong athletic foundation with them. Tap into some primal movements to keep your kids active during this time of isolation.
Here are 10 activities to get your kids moving without ever leaving your house:
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1. Have a Dance Party
Pump up the jams and get jiggy with it. Try turning it into a game of “Freeze Dance” by stopping and starting the music.
2. Play Simon Says
In this version, the goal is to keep your kids moving. Try commands like:
- Run in a circle 10 times, then go in the other direction
- Jumping jacks
- Jump as high as you can… over and over again
- Quick feet
- Butt kicks
- Animal movements (e.g. hop like a frog, walk like a crab, slither like a snake, waddle like a penguin)
3. Make an Exception and Let Them Jump on the Bed
You can even instruct them to freeze and jump for some added fun.
4. Practice Headstands and Handstands
(Supervision required!)
See how long they can hold their position upside down.
5. Create a Furniture Obstacle Course
Have them army crawl under a line of chairs, jump off raised surfaces, and roll and tumble on cushions. See how many times they can complete the course.
6. Bust Out the Chalk and Play Hopscotch
This is also a great time to bring out a jump rope or hula hoop if you’ve got them.
7. Wrestle
Challenge the kids to take you down. Carpet or a padded mat help make this more comfortable for those of us over four feet tall.
8. Tape Games
Grab duct or painter’s tape that you have lying around and let the fun begin. You could create a:
- Balance beam for practicing different moves
- Path to dribble a ball along the line with their feet
- Laser obstacle to navigate through like James Bond. Have them climb over and under the tape to get through the obstacle. Touching it means they’ll have to start over.
- Jump obstacle for hopping from one tape line to the next one several feet away
9. Balloon Games
- Don’t let the balloon touch the ground
- Penguin waddle
- Balloon blow: Have them move the balloon from a starting line to a finish line without using their hands.
10. Indoor Sports
Use what you’ve got to get them playing the games they love
- Beanbag toss into a bucket or laundry basket. (No beanbag? Use a ball or get creative with rolled up socks.)
- Bowling. Stack up empty plastic cups and let them bowl with any sort of ball. See how many they can knock down.
- Soccer with a laundry basket goal
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