More Surviving the COVID-19 School Closures

We've been fortunate over the past few weeks with the great weather we're having, and hopefully it will continue into the next few weeks, so our kids will be able to spend plenty of time outside, running around and burning off some energy. But since we need to avoid group activities and playing with friends, we need to find some inside and outside activities that kids can do on their own or with only their siblings. Here are some resources I've found to help with getting kids moving.

Fitness Blender Kids Workout - This 25-minute video features a workout in the form of games that work well with a parent and child (so it gets YOU moving, too!). Appropriate for even preschool kids, it's easy to stop and start or do chunks. The video shows a mom and two kids doing the activities, so it's fun for kids to watch other kids doing the exercised.

The Learning Station - This YouTube channel includes a whole series of silly songs with associated movements. Use a single song as a quick wiggle break, or do a whole dance party with all the songs.

Go Noodle Fresh Start Fitness - I mentioned Go Noodle in yesterday's list of fun websites, but their Fresh Start Fitness collection is worthy of its own mention. A lot of Go Noodle videos are just fun wiggle breaks, but this series is actual exercise videos. There are eight 3-4 minute videos, plus a full 20-minute workout video.

Obstacle Course - The linked site gives some good ideas of how to create an indoor obstacle course, but with a little creativity, you can use what you have on hand to make either an indoor or an outdoor course. Pillows, blocks, old pieces of wood or fabric, folding chairs or TV trays can all serve as excellent obstacles.

Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventures - If you have Amazon Prime, check out this free series (37 15-minute episodes). With fun animated backgrounds and a leader with a charming accent, each episode turns you into a kind of animal. The silliness factor makes it especially fun for littler ones.

Scavenger Hunt Walk - No link for this one, it's just one I like to do for my kids. Write up a list of things you might see on a walk through the neighborhood, or on a hike in the woods, or wherever you can go that's not too crowded (even indoors in your house!). Your list might include someone walking a dog, a squirrel climbing a tree, a yellow flower, a wreath on someone's door, Christmas lights still up, a puddle, a cat in a window, a bird hopping on the ground, a hawk soaring in the sky, a bird's nest, someone on a bike, a car with something strapped to the roof or the back, etc. An indoor scavenger hunt list could include a red Lego, a book with a title that starts with "The," a winter glove or mitten, a shirt with words on it, a striped sock, a fork, a musical instrument, something that starts with the letter P, a bath toy, etc. Get creative - and make sure they put all their "finds" back when they're done!

Side Note: I mentioned this to my daughter and she suggested that since it's St. Patrick's Day, we have a "Green" scavenger hunt and count how many different green things we see. Great idea!!

Dance Party - If you have access to Alexa or in-home Sirius XM radio, put on a kids' music channel like Kidz Bop Kidz or Radio Disney or Kids Place live and just groove freestyle! If you don't, search YouTube for "kids dance party music" and let 'er rip. Or, even better, make your own playlist of your kids' most upbeat favorites. Good dance songs that our family loves include "Happy" by Pharell Williams, "Can't Stop the Feelin'" by Justin Timberlake, "Try Everything" by Shakira, "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall, "Alligator Stroll" by Josh Turner, "Copycat" by Brad Paisley, "Broken Piano" by Ben Folds, "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars (or Kidz Bop), "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus, "Seize the Day" and "King of New York" from the original Broadway cast of Newsies, and "High Top Shoes" by Jojo Siwa.


Now get out there and burn off some energy!!