These activities focus on movement. Whenever you suspect that your child has some pent up energy, try these 10 movement & physical activities for children based off of our Semester of Learning!
1. Animals Walks
Have your children stand in a line and then call out various animals. They then have to mimic the walk of that animal. I.e. If you said ‘Horse’ they would start galloping around the room.
2. Simon Says
This is a great activity for listening skills and gross motor. You can do whatever actions you would like, which is what makes this activity so engaging. Have your children jump, spin or wave their hands around to get some of that energy out.
3. Balancing Act
Place pieces of paper, towels, pillows, etc. on the ground for your children to follow along. Have them jump from one item to the next on one foot. This will work on their balance and coordination skills.
5. Move it Move it
For younger ages (toddler) have your child shift from one foot to the other along with their favourite song. Another option, have them jump, turn or take a step forward in time to the music.
4. Balance Beam
Put a strip of tape on the floor somewhere in your home with an open area. Have your child maintain their balance as they walk down the piece of tape. If they need something harder, have them go backwards, sideways or doing an animal walk!
6. Invisible Ball
If you’re doing these activities indoors, it’s best not to throw around a ball. As a solution, use your imagination! This is also perfect for younger ages that do not have the developed coordination to catch a ball. So move around your living room and pretend to throw a ball at each other and your child has to catch it in a unique way every time! I.e. hand behind the back, bending over, while spinning and more.
7. Endurance Training
For older children, have them do some body weight exercises. Practice squats and lunges. You can even make it a friendly competition and see if you or your child can do more!
8. Obstacle Course
Make an obstacle course in your living room! Have your children belly crawl from the couch to the chair and then side step to the ottoman, roll to the TV! The type of movements can be easily adjusted to your child’s age!
9. Mini-Catch
Find a small material (think bean bag size) and play catch with your child. Being able to catch a smaller item will work on your child’s hand-eye coordination. This will be at a much slower pace with underhanded throws vs. the invisible ball game.
10. Dance it Out!
Play a family favourite song and freestyle dance out that energy!
