It’s warmer here than it was earlier in the month (34F this morning and set to go up into the low 40s, hooray!), but still not the kind of weather where we can spend a lot of time outside. This post got me thinking about some of the ways we stay active indoors.
- Dancing: I love this one because it’s simple and easy. Put on some fun music and improvise. I’m a terrible dancer, but my kids are too young to know it.
- Hide and seek: Neither one of my kids gets the concept of hiding and then waiting to be found, so if I count to ten they run and hide (nearly always in the same place) and then come running out when I say “Ready or not, here I come!” I actually love this version of the game, since I can play it with Emma while making dinner, emptying the dishwasher, etc. Johnny just runs and hides wherever Emma is.
- Rolling and throwing balls: Kids get a workout with this one, especially when their coordination isn’t good enough to catch the balls. This is probably Johnny’s favorite game (he loves balls). You can have them roll/throw the balls to you or have them throw the balls into box or roll/kick them into a large bag (or a box on its side). Oballs make fantastic indoor balls because you can’t throw or kick them far enough/fast enough to do any real damage. We also have a cool soft rubber spiky ball I picked up in the “Beyond” section of a Bed Bath and Beyond store once that has similar benefits. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it’s called.
- Activity songs: Both kids love these. When I don’t know or don’t like the words/actions I just change them/make them up.
- Balance challenge: Put masking tape on the floor and challenge your child to walk along it. Johnny’s too young for this one, but Emma loves it.
- Different modes of transportation: Practice walking on tiptoes, jumping, skipping, standing on one foot.
- Red light, green light: The goal is to get from one end of the room to the other. They can move forward when the person in charge (who typically stands at the end of the room everyone else is trying to reach) says “green light” and stop when they say “red light”. This works best if you have a large room (we don’t), but we use our long-ish hallway.
- Simon Says: My kids don’t get they they aren’t supposed to do it if it isn’t prefaced by “Simon Says”, but they will eventually and it’s still good practice in listening to and following directions.
How do you keep your toddlers active indoors?