Move It Monday: Fun Family Fitness

From our friends at the Monday Campaigns:

It’s Saturday morning and the kids have just wrapped up cartoons and polished off their cereal.

And now they’re restless.

But what’s a parent to do when they’ve got a couple of little ones bouncing off the walls? Instead of trying to get Chris and Sally to sit down to a puzzle, board game, or art project, use family game day as an opportunity to get everyone moving.

We’ve picked some awesome Move it Monday actives to help the kids expend all of that excess energy: No iPad, X-Box, or television required!

Build an Obstacle Course
Let your imagination (and children) run wild with an obstacle course. Shift around the furniture, throw in some pillows, create some corridors, and send your kids on a fun journey through the house and into the yard. Need some inspiration? Consider adding in a puzzle half-way through the obstacle course or make a section that requires kids to crawl, hop, or wiggle their way through to the end.

Wacky Races
Go beyond the typical running race and introduce your kids to some cool and funky variations. Three-legged and wheel barrow races are always a hit, but you can also add in a crab walk, hop scotch, jump rope, or soccer ball to ramp up the fun. The more creative you get, the more captivated your audience.

Family Freeze Tag

This activity is perfect for a bigger group and a spacious backyard. Freeze tag is a classic, but the comradery necessary to rescue your frozen teammates can get even mom’s and dad’s adrenaline pumping. The stopping-and-starting of freeze tag allows you to exert a burst of energy — and then rest. In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a refresher on the rules: One person is “it” (they do the tagging); everyone else runs around until they are tagged. Once tagged, you remain “frozen” with your legs set wide apart until another player crawls through them, which unfreezes you. The game finishes when all players are frozen (or the “it” gets too tired).

Freeze Dance
If you’ve got a lot of kids to entertain, there’s nothing better than a groovy game of freeze dance. Put on some pop hits, grunge, gospel, rock, rap, Disney tunes, or whatever other music you fancy and start dancing. When the music is stopped (someone will have to be the DJ), anyone who is still moving is out. The last person standing wins!