For most of us, being inside for days on end with our family isn’t our normal routine and the terms lockdown and quarantine aren’t part of our everyday vocabulary. Here are some ideas to help your family stay active, healthy and happy.
Get Outside
Surrounding yourself in nature and fresh air makes any day happier. The latest Wisconsin updates allow us to go outside to exercise as long we use common sense and social distancing.
- Take your family for a walk or a run or get out on your bicycles. If you live on a farm or near a wooded area take a walk and just notice your surroundings. It may not be a cardio activity but it’s good for your body to get out in nature. Look around, notice the plants starting to pop up from the ground. Learn about new plants and watch them grow over the next days or weeks. You’ll get some fresh air and it’s educational at the same time.
- Rekindle your childhood. Teach your children the outdoor games you used to play as a kid. Get out a jump rope or play Red Rover, Red Rover, Frozen Tag, or Hop Scotch.
Inside Activities
Six Games to Keep Your Family Moving and Having Fun.
- Name the Exercise Game. If your family is glued to the television, implement this game to get them moving and have a laugh or two. Each time a commercial comes on the air everyone has to stand. Each person has a turn to be in charge of a commercial. If the ad is for Purell, they think of an exercise that begins with the letter P. Then the whole family does the exercise together as long as they can during that commercial. The exercise for the letter “P” could be a plank for example. When the next commercial comes on the next person decides the exercise based on the first letter of the product being advertised (A Charmin commercial could mean you do crunches)! Your family will move their bodies for approximately 16 minutes during a one-hour show!
- Balloon Volleyball. Blow up a balloon and play volleyball. No net is needed! All you need is two or more people split into two teams sitting in chairs volleying the balloon back and forth between an imaginary line or net.
- Dance Party Freeze Game. Get the music going and dance. Everyone should freeze in the dance position when the music is randomly turned off throughout the song.
- Spelling Scavenger Hunt. Hide letters throughout your home or a couple of rooms. Everyone begins to hunt for the letters. The first one to spell a word with their letters wins. This game can keep your kiddos occupied for hours! Again, it may not be cardio but keeps them moving!
- Push-Ups. A little food motivation never really hurt anybody, right? See how many push-ups you can do with a small plate of food below you! Better yet, show your kiddos some love and give them kisses while YOU do the push-ups!
- Timed Cleanup Race. At the end of the day, it’s nice to clean up our surroundings so that we can wake up to an organized space. Time your kids to see who can clean up their room the fastest before bed. The fastest cleaner can win a prize or a treat for the next day but let’s face it, you’re all winners with this one.
It’s a stressful time in our country but now we have an opportunity to use this extra precious time to connect with our family and to connect with ourselves.
Stay safe, stay connected, stay kind.
