Simple Summer Exercise thechildcareconsultinggroup.com
Many children – especially school age children – gain unnecessary weight during the summer break due to decreased motivation and/or opportunities for physical activity. Kids over age 2 need about an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise each day. This hour can be broken into 2 or 3 indoor periods throughout the day. To avoid making kids feel like exercise is a dreadful chore, your program should emphasize variety with regard to physical education. And remember, they need aerobic activity as well as activity that promotes flexibility and builds strength. Here are some simple, fun ideas to get kiddos moving!
· When you sing with the children, revamp it into an action song! If “Five Little Monkeys” are jumping in the song, your little monkeys should be jumping while they sing it. At the very least children can stand and dance, do high knee raises, touch elbow to opposite knee, or step from side to side and clap while they sing. And remember, vigorous arm movements can offer as much aerobic benefit as leg movements!
· Have a Sock Hop! Play music from the fifties and sixties and sweat to the oldies! “Run Around Sue,” “Lollipop,” “I’m a Believer,” “Rescue Me,” Celebrate,” and “Wild Thing!”
· Play running games such as TAG; FOUR LANE ANIMAL RACES (bunny hop, kangaroo hop, bear walk, crab walk, one foot hops, etc.); TAIL TAG (everyone except the two “its” has a strip of fabric tucked into back of waistband and everyone runs around while the “its” try to steal a tail for themselves and those kids are new “its.”) BEAT THE CLOCK (run around the playground wile teacher times you, then try to beat your best time.)
· Put magazines, phone books, catalogs, etc. in medium sized boxes and have children take turns bending over and pushing them across the carpeted floor. Younger children will enjoy it as an activity in itself, while older children may prefer racing against one another.
· Fill empty laundry detergent bottles with water (half full for younger children) and challenge children to carry them from one area to another. Older children can use them as weights for weight lifting and count the number of reps, too.
· Yoga! Yoga for Kids http://www.abcyogaforkids.com/ has a great and simple poster of poses “ABC’s of Yoga (poses) for Kids as well as a read aloud book, coloring book, etc.
· Isometric exercises. Teach children how to do wall push-ups or the idea of "The room feels small this morning. Can everyone help me push the walls out?"
· Sittercise! From Kimbo Educational. Or make up your own exercises while sitting in a chairs.
· Tug-of-War across a taped line between two children using a towel. (Never a rope!)
· Carry something in a spoon and back and pass it to the next person.
· Let the older children devise an obstacle course for the younger children.
· Let older children devise an obstacle course for themselves. Provide a word list to spark creativity: hop, roll, jump, over, under, etc. Provide props like tumbling mats, hoola hoops, game cones, laundry baskets, balls, etc.
· Have a Water Play Field Day with water activities added to the usual Field Day events such as egg toss with water bomb balls.
· Soak It Up Water Sponge Relay is played on a surface where children can easily run. Two teams, two buckets of water at one end, two empty at the other end, two large carwash type sponges. The first team to fill its smaller bucket by squeezing wet sponge into it wins.
· Dodge ball or Bombardment with wet sponge balls or water balloons. Children are only “out” of the game for as long as it takes to recite alphabet while hopping on one foot.
· Ice Cube Melt – two teams line up, the first player on each is given an ice cube, he rubs the ice cube between his hands for as long as possible to try to make it melt. When s/he gets too cold, the ice cube is passed to the next child in line. The first team to melt the ice cube wins!
· Younger children will enjoy playing “Cold Potato” with an ice cube or baggie filled with ice. When the music stops, child holding it must continue to hold it while group counts to ten.
· You’ll find many more fun water activities at kidactivities.net http://www.kidactivities.net/category/games-outside-water.aspx