INDOOR MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES
Kids need vigorous movement, and that can be hard to do inside
the house. Here are some ideas. See if any of them work for
you.
ONLINE LINKS
For older children
Challenging animal walks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14BjRxE7f1o
Even harder animal walks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgVwrJZ4stI
PE with Joe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEWcBIvqjDk
Rigorous brain gym workout:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL4an7UC3wA
For younger children
Animal walks for little ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpgKyq3WCuw
Animal exercises for little ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26guG6wr5so
Brain gym for little kids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL4an7UC3wA
Cosmic Kids Yoga.
https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga
For all
Kung Fu instruction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78nUyoTFfRk
Kung Fu instruction:
https://www.google.com/search?q=kung+fu+for+kids&oq=kung+fu+for+kids&aqs=chrome.0.0l4.3367j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES
For older children:
Push-ups, crunches, strenuous yoga asanas, skipping rope, hula
hooping, YouTube workouts.
To make the activities more interesting, have the child record
the number or repetitions or length of time each day and challenge
themselves to improve over time. Avoid comparing children.
Research has shown that praising the effort the child makes
rather than the results s/he attains is more effective in inspiring
the child to try harder and harder challenges:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWv1VdDeoRY
For younger children (or older if they enjoy and of them):
Jumping in place, jumping jacks, standing on one foot, yoga tree
pose, etc.
To make the activities more interesting, have the child record
the number or repetitions or length of time each day and challenge
themselves to improve over time. Avoid comparing children.
Research has shown that praising the effort the child makes
rather than the results s/he attains is more effective in inspiring
the child to try harder and harder challenges:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWv1VdDeoRY
Animal walks: crab, alligator, frog, kangaroo—see videos in
online section above for more ideas. To make the walks more fun,
try:
Animal freeze: Play music, sing, or beat a drum (a kitchen plate
will do fine). Then suddenly stop and the child(ren) must freeze.
Let them hold the frozen position several seconds before
continuing. Holding still in one position also uses the muscles
strongly.
Animal change: With or without music, you call out an animal and
the child(ren) move like that animal. After some time, suddenly
call out another animal and the child(ren) switch quickly to that
animal.
Arm circles. Children make circles while holding their arms
straight out in front of them. Let the circles build up speed, then
at some point say “Reverse!”, and let the children see how quickly
they can change to going in the opposite direction. For variety try
different sized circles, triangles or squares.
Puppy dog crawl. Child(ren) crawl around the room on all fours
holding a small stuffed toy under their chin.
Log roll. Child rolls across the room with hands over head and
body straight as a log.
Balloon games:
· See how long players can keep a balloon in the air without it
touching the ground. Try it without using hands, or only using
elbows or only using feet or head, etc.
· Child(ren) hop all around the room or farther with a balloon
between their legs. Don’t drop the balloon!
· Log roll across the room with balloon in hands above the head.
With balloon between the knees. With balloon between the
ankles.
· Balloon basketball. Toss balloon into a box or laundry basket
from a given distance. Increase distance each turn. Can also play
with a bean bag or small cushion.
· Foot basketball. Child lies on their back on the floor near
the “basket” with feet pointing away from the basket. Put a balloon
between their ankles and they have to put the balloon into the
basket by lifting their legs up over their head in a yoga plow
posture.
Swimming. Child lies on floor on tummy with head raised and
looking straight ahead, then:
· Lifts right arm then left arm 5 times.
· Lifts right leg then left leg 5 times.
· Lifts right arm and left leg, then left arm and right leg 5
times.
Tummy surfing or flying. Child lies on tummy and:
· Lifts both arms off the floor and count seconds for how long
child can hold this position.
· Lifts both legs off the floor and count seconds for how long
child can hold this position.
· Lifts both arms and both legs off the floor and count seconds
for how long child can hold this position.
Dog tricks. Child is on hands and knees on the floor, then:
· Lifts right arm straight in front of him/her
· Lifts left arm straight in front of him/her
· Lifts right leg straight behind him/her
· Lifts left leg straight behind him/her
· Lifts right arm and right leg straight in front/behind
· Lifts left arm and left leg straight in front/behind
· Lifts right arm and left leg straight in front/behind
· Lifts left arm and right leg straight in front/behind.
Good dog! You get a (pretend or real) biscuit—even if you
couldn’t do them all. Remember, praise the child’s effort, not the
result!
To make harder, have child turn head right and left in each
position.
Penguin/Pigeon. Child is standing up straight with feet slightly
apart, then:
· Call out “penguin” and the child gives a little jump and lands
with feet pointing away from each other
· Call out “pigeon” and the child gives a little jump and lands
with feet pointing toward each other.
· Call out “penguin” and the child gives a little jump and lands
with feet pointing away from each other and hands by their side
with palms facing the front.
· Call out “pigeon” and the child gives a little jump and lands
with feet pointing toward each other and hands by their side with
palms facing to the back.
· Try this several times until the child is getting good at it,
even when you call one after the other fairly fast. Then:
· Call out “penguin” and the child gives a little jump and lands
with feet pointing away from each other and hands by their side
with palms facing toward the back.
· Call out “pigeon” and the child gives a little jump and lands
with feet pointing toward each other and hands by their side with
palms facing the front.
Musical Bumps. Child(ren) dance or move while music is playing
or someone is singing or drumming. When music suddenly stops, the
child(ren) sit down as fast as they can. How fast can they sit, or
who is the first one down?
Roly poly starfish: Child(ren) lie on the floor on their backs.
Parent calls out “Roly poly, roly poly, roly poly.” The child curls
up with knees tucked up to chest and head off the ground. Can hold
knees with arms, or if that is too easy, can cross arms across
chest, and roll back and forth on rounded back. Parent suddenly
calls out “Starfish!” and the child spreads arms and legs out to
sides so the he/she is in the shape of a star. Back is slightly
arched and chin is pointing to the ceiling. Kids love this!
If more than one child is present, or if an adult is willing to
play with a child:
Backward London Bridge. One child who assumes a crab position
(hands and feet on floor, tummy toward ceiling, back arched high)
is the bridge. The other child(ren) are alligators who crawl under
the bridge, keeping their tummies on the ground. How many times can
the alligator can go under before the bridge collapses
Crab chase. One child is an alligator. The other or others are
crabs. The crab(s) must walk in crab position, with hips off the
floor, and the alligator must keep its tummy on the ground at all
times while it chases the crab(s). When a crab is caught, it then
becomes an alligator.
Kneeling ninja warriors. Two children face each other in
kneeling. They bow to each other with a “namaste,” then extend arms
and touch palms. One who is designated pusher tries to push the
other over. Change roles. Ninjas bow at the end of the match. Match
children for strength. If an adult is playing with the child, let
the child use their full strength, then, if the child is the
pusher, fall over dramatically. If you are the pusher, push hard
but then “give up” before the child falls over, at least part of
the time