As we head into winter and the days are shorter with colder temperatures and rainy days, it becomes harder and harder for kids to get all of their activity minutes and get their energy out.
While rainy day hikes and park visits can be fun, it is nice to have some activities planned when we are stuck inside!
Here are a few tips and ideas for indoor activities kids can participate in to move their bodies and get their activity minutes in.
Animal Walks
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- This is a great way to work on strengthening at home while also incorporating imaginative play. Decide on a hallway or pathway in your home to make your “runway.” Some ideas to start with could be the classic bear crawl, crab walk, or galloping like a horse. From there, you can all come up with new and different animal walks to imitate or create.
Obstacle Course
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- This can be done with little ones or older kids.
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- With little ones working on crawling and walking, use pillows and couch cushions to create an obstacle course to increase strength and confidence, motivating them to reach a preferred toy or treat.
- With older kids, use those pillows and to step on and over to improve balance and incorporate stepping stools or small obstacles to jump over to get some of that energy out!
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- This can be done with little ones or older kids.
Yoga
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- Yoga poses are a great way to focus the body to work on strengthening and body awareness. You can find a video online that incorporates different poses, or you and your child can create some fun poses and compete for who can hold the pose the longest. A few ideas to start with could be tree pose, downward dog, chair pose, or bridge pose.
Laundry Basket
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- Use that laundry basket for some fun floor activities! You can pile in laundry, blankets, or pillows to provide some support for a kiddo to sit inside. Then use a towel or blanket to pull the laundry basket around the room. This is a great activity for kids to do together or you to participate with them, working on core strength for the little one in the basket and providing heavy pulling work for the person pulling the basket.
Painter’s Tape Activities
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- Painter’s tape can be used and easily removed from carpets or hard flooring to create designs on the floor for kids to walk on and challenge their balance and body positioning. I like to use painter’s tape to create things like a balance beam, a hopscotch pattern, or even just a ladder pattern to jump and hop in and out of boxes.
Balloon Play
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- Quick and easy to set up: Find a balloon, blow it up, and create a game with it! This can be interactive with all ages. You can use your hands or feet to keep it in the air or even create targets for it to hit such as containers for it to land in or using painter’s tape again to mark an “X” to hit with the balloon.