These fun activities are great for physical activity and exercise for kids…through play! Great ideas for a rainy day indoors!
It’s a chilly, rainy spring day. Or maybe you’re still in the depths of an unrelenting winter. And the kids are bouncing off the walls. They’re wrestling, jumping, tackling, fighting, whining. It’s going to be a loooooong day.
What can you do to entertain everyone (and maintain your sanity)? Get them moving! That’s right, even when you can’t get outside, movement and exercise for kids are huge components of health and development.
Today, we have some awesome ideas for infusing movement into the everyday lives of kids!
Active, competitive games are a hit with any age group…kids love competition whether it’s against each other or against the clock! These quick bursts of physical activity, easily disguised as a game, will satisfy the need to move and will cram a dose of family fun into any rainy or snowy day!
6 Fun Ideas for Physical Activity and Exercise for Kids!
1 || Couch Cushion Toss
How fast can you remove all of the cushions from the couch and put them back on again? How many times can you do it in a minute?
2 || Kitchen Chair Bridge
Pull out the chairs from around the table and line them up. Walk from one side of the chair bridge to the other and then put them all back in their places at the table. See how fast you can go or how many rounds you can do in a minute!
3 || Blanket Dog
Find a throw blanket, lay it on the floor and roll up in it until you look like a hot dog. Staying inside the blanket, see if you can stand up. Lie back down on the floor, unroll and fold the blanket back up again!
4 || Cardio Mash Up
Do 10 mountain climbers, 5 burpees, 5 sit-ups and hold a plank for 5 seconds. Did it take you a minute?
5 || Doorway Dash
Go through every open door or doorway in the house (bedrooms, bathrooms, etc) as fast as you can!
6 || Stair Climb
How many times can you climb the stairs in your house from the bottom to the top (basement to upstairs) in 1 minute?
Check out some of our other ideas for getting kids moving with simple props you already have at home!
Whew! That was impressive. This calls for a snack! Talk to your child about which activity was the hardest and why. Did your child feel their heart rate rise? Did they break a sweat? Who won each event? Which activity was your family’s favorite? Leave us a comment below!
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Lauren Drobnjak is co-author of The Inspired Treehouse blog and a pediatric physical therapist who currently practices in the educational environment. She has been a physical therapist for 18 years, with 17 of those years specifically in pediatrics. Her drive to make a difference in the lives of kids has led her entrepreneurial spirit in the direction of creating opportunities for play-based wellness and child development. She is a busy mama of 3 who thrives on chaos. To come down from the stress, Lauren enjoys exercising like she’s still 20, yoga, chocolate, a great book, browsing Pinterest, and anything crafty!
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Great, simple ideas just using stuff from around the house! Love them all. My kids love to play don’t touch the floor. They try to get around the entire house never touching a rug. You can touch hardwood or tile floors just no carpets. Super entertaining for them. A little messy sometimes when they start bringing dish towels, placemats, etc everywhere to prevent their feet from touching the actual rugs. Lots of bending, reaching, balancing and climbing to get the job done.
Love this idea Margaret! We’ll be playing this one at our house today! :) Thanks for the suggestion!