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Putting the ACTIVE in Activity!

These winter months can be daunting if your kids battle colds and the air is too chilly to play outside.  I have two very active little boys who like to run! (And crawl at warp speed!)  These same little boys have been down for the count over the past week with the runny noses, coughs, and all that yuck-yuck. So, we have been quarantined to the house for the most part.

Quarantined for days on end = cabin fever for my babies.

We had a few nice days last week where we were able to step outside for a bit, but lately it has been COLD.  So, I've had to improvise.

It's tricky trying to get the energy out of my children before their respective naps if we can't go outside or don't have plans outside the house.  If the energy hasn't been burned, their little bodies can't nap.  Well, Ezra's can.  Levi's can't.  We have a few things we do indoors to get our sillies out and burn some energy at the same time!  I thought I'd share because they're such a hit around here!

RUN & TAG

Run & Tag is Levi's favorite game.  He wants to play it all the time even when we aren't trapped inside.  But we make sure to always play it when we are.  I, from wherever I am in the house, call out something for him to run and tag and then he has to run back to me and touch my hand before I call out the next item.

For instance.

Go tag your chalkboard!

Run.Run.Run.Tag.Yay!RunbacktoMommy.

Go tag the bathtub in Mommy's bathroom!

Run.Run.Run.Tag.Yay!RunbacktoMommy.

Go tag the backdoor!

Run.Run.Run.Tag.Yay!RunbacktoMommy.

And it goes on and on and on.  Sometimes I get creative and pick specific items that requires him to hunt a little.  He laughs and runs and crashes on the floor out of breath when we're done.  It's great. And after he catches his breath, he's ready to go again!

ROLL & CATCH

Levi and I sit in the floor in the living room (our biggest open space) and roll a ball back and forth to each other.  Sounds kind of boring, but man, it's fun!  Levi never tires of roll & catch.  We sometimes add one bounce or two bounces, and he laughs and laughs and laughs.  He could play this for hours. Ezra gets in on the fun sometimes, too!  Too cute!

SOCCER DRIBBLE & BASEBALL

We have a big open living room and hallways where Levi can freely kick his soccer ball around, just as he would do outdoors.  We count out loud how many times he kicks it before it is out of his control, and I tell him to kick it around certain items.  Super fun, and Ezra loves crawling after the ball! And we also love to play baseball, too. We take turns pitching and swinging and it's great fun.  We use soft baseballs so we don't break something or hurt the baby.

JUMPING JACKS & PUSHUPS

Levi LOVES "exercising".  He has me count his jumping jacks and his pushups, so we do this to burn some energy off.  His jumping jacks are THE cutest thing in the world, and he does it with a smile each and every time.  He's the cutest.

OBSTACLE COURSE

Obstacle course is fun and we get creative.  Sometimes I throw Run & Tag in there with some soccer dribbles, then some jumping jacks and ending up on his top bunk (he loves climbing his ladder). Obstacle course is never the same each time, it's just a hodge-podge of things I know he likes to do. And he LOVES for me to time him.  Even when he's doing a chore he'll ask me to time him.  Ha!

KINECT

We got Levi a Kinect for Christmas and he LOVES it.  He typically plays it with his Daddy when he gets home from work, but he gets such a red little face playing those games (BURNING ENERGY!) I love that it's interactive and you don't sit on the couch and play it.  You HAVE to get up and move around.  It's super fun and there are all kinds of different games.

So, besides our typical games, puzzles, books, etc., these are some active indoor activities that gets them going when we can't go outside.  And you know what they say, a little boy needs to go outside every single day!  But, some days we simply can't.  Especially with a baby in tow.

Do you have any fun indoor *active* games you play?  Share away!






I am a modern day homemaker with a passion for family, cooking, celebrating, decorating, travel, and memory making! The Lord has blessed me with the desires of my heart in my husband and our two sons. We recently built our dream home and cultivating a loving and happy haven for my family is where I find so much joy.

Comments

  1. I LOVE the "run and tag" game! I will have to teach Parker, my 3 year old, this game! We live in Florida and haven't had any cool weather since before Christmas, but it's also been too warm/humid to play outside for too long. Our have activity is to have dance parties! Both my kids (I also have a 20 month old) love to dance so we crank up the music and dance for a while!

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  2. I work with k-5 kids.. Their favorite games are capture the flag and freeze tag. They're so easy to please. Otherwise, I like any game that requires them to listen to directions.

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  3. We have a large sunroom with concrete floors and I used blue painters tape to mark off a huge hopscotch board. Kids have loved that!

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  4. How fun! When I was reading "Roll and Catch" at first I read it as "Levi and I...roll IN a ball back and forth to each other" and I pictured you rolling up in a ball and rolling around on the floor together. Hahaha! And then I re-read it the correct way. But I laughed. :) Sounds like you all have a blast!

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  5. Thanks for sharing these! I'm definitely going to steal. =) My almost 4 year old loves kicking the soccer ball down the hall and we do a lot of the rolling/bouncing the ball back and forth. Even my 16 month old likes that one.

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  6. Me and my daughter play roll and catch. She's been great at it since before her first birthday (16 months now).
    We used to have a Kinect a couple of years ago. I agree that it's great, and certain games really do give you a work out. I think we played Kinect Adventures a TON.

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  7. These are great! We ventured outside today and it was SO cold, 30 minutes and your toes are frozen, even all bundled up! We go "hunting" and crawl all over the house searching for pretend things that might get us. Usually pretend wolves. I really need to invest in knee pads.

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  8. Great ideas! I've been needing more and more things to keep these boys busy without turning on the tv as a default! We had tons of fun with shaving cream the other day. Squirted a bunch on a cookie sheet and let him go to town, then got out his matchbox cars, an old toothbrush, and a bowl of water for a "carwash." It was a big hit!

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