Let’s Get Moving, Kids!

This past year has been one for the record books! There were many lessons, and one of the biggest lessons was about how important it is to keep our families moving so we all stay healthy. Maintaining health was such an important part of 2020 for everyone, especially our kids. All sports were cancelled, and all outdoor activities were suspended too. So, what did we do at the Leonetti house? We got creative! We came up with some fun outdoor activities to help our kids stay moving. Below, I will take you through some fun and sweaty kid’s exercises we came up with to keep the little ones moving while also having a good time.

Obstacle Races

Setting up an obstacle course in our backyard was easier than we thought. We used boxes to crawl through, piles of Legos to jump over, and incorporated many other things that were just laying around. We even used recyclables! At one station, we filled empty milk jugs with water for the kids to lift. Once the whole course was set up, we timed the kids to see how long it took them to go through it. We had them go through three times, and the best time won. By the end of the race, they were exhausted and sweaty! Let’s see how creative you can be and design your own for your kids.

Yoga

Everyone needs a good reset in their week, our children included. So once a week we would take our towels to the back yard put on a kid’s yoga lesson. I found a lot of lessons available on Amazon prime video and on YouTube. This allowed us to stretch, control our breathing, and reset for the week.

Simon Says

This is a new twist on a classic. Simon Says a great activity to help develop listening skills and multistep directions for a child, and now we are adding in physical play! As Simon, I would have the children follow my directions for some fun easy exercises. Here are some to try.

• Jump up and down like a monkey
• Jump like a frog
• Gallop like a horse
• Run like a cheetah
• Crawl like a bear
• Crawl like a baby
• Walk like a crab
• Move side to side like a penguin

All these activities are set up to be fun, but also allow your children to get outside and be active!

Now, ready, set, go!