It was scary was when I noticed at some point in the last school year that my son was slouching a lot. I realized that some of that is habit and simply him being a tween but then I read somewhere that kids also do that because they have “weak” back and core muscles.
I didn’t pay much attention to it but it stayed filed in the back of my mind. One day I had my boys doing a fun kid fitness activity with me and I noticed one of my boys was struggling with all the exercises that required core and back work. It was more than the usual “I just don’t work out struggle”, and he happens to be our child who never crawled. It could all be a coincidence, regardless I figured it wouldn’t hurt to strengthen that area . It also doesn’t help that schools are shortening and even cutting physical education class and recess.
Well, with summer here it’s when I have more time to be intentional about finding ways to keep the kids active so I decided to get a routine of physical activity for us. I share here the 5 Things My Kids do Every Day. Note I didn’t say, keep them busy but said “active” so they are using up their energy and getting some outdoor time. I’m far from being in great shape myself but I do exercise regularly and try to eat healthy and I want my kids to learn how to do that for themselves even if they are not super models or wrestling champions.
When my boys were really little they would mimic me when I did my aerobic videos but not so much anymore. They don’t hate physical exercise but they definitely don’t beg for it though they do sometimes ask me if we are going to workout.
When I homeschooled one of the things I regularly heard moms say they struggled with is incorporating physical education into their day. Well, here are some ideas I incorporated into our day to get the kids active during homeschool and during the summer. It’s also my resource list to have on hand when my boys need to go their energy out and just be active.
Kids Fitness Games & Activities
Running Club – So a few years back we started a running club during the summers for our kids. It was a family running club and we worked our way up to 2.5 miles. By the end of the summer our kids were running that many miles and we eventually registered to do a race together. I share about our family running club and tips here. But now I have knee issues and have stuck to walking which is more gentle on my knees. So this summer we started a walking club. We also did this one year during homeschool.
Walking Club – Basically, we walk around the park for 2.5 miles or we walk in our neighborhood which is very hilly. When we walk around the park we have a routine and every 5 minutes we stop to do a FitDeck Jr. card which is basically a card that has a different exercise for you to perform. I have each of my kids take a turn pulling out the card and we do the exercise on the card for 1 minute. Sometimes we pull out 1 card other times we pull out 3 each time we stop.
What’s Your Name? Fitness Activity – I love this idea I found over at They Smell blog. Hop on over to get all the details. She has an extreme version too!
Yoga for Kids- I have recently gotten into Yoga to help me with some physical problems I’ve been having and quickly realized that this is also great for kids. Here are some great poses for you to try with the kids. Kids Yoga Stories has an awesome list of 58 poses to try with your kids. You can do these outdoors or indoors!
Running Games for Kids – You don’t always need to have a fitness schedule to get the kids active, active games can definitely get them using up all that energy. Lessons Learnt blog has a list of fun running games for the kids.
Get the Kids Moving Blocks – This fun printable turns into a block and all you have to do is drop it and see what exercise you have to perform. You can find the free printable over at I Heart Naptime blog.
Jump Rope Songs – There’s nothing like jump rope to get your heart pumping. Do you all remember “Jump Rope for Heart”? Is that old school or do kids still do that? Anyways over at Five Little Chefs you can get printables with some of the fun songs and practice jump roping to them.
Yoga with Sensory Benefits – I totally love this post because she talks about the Yoga pose but she includes how this is good for your child. You can find it here at The Jenny Evolution
Youtube Videos to Get the Kids Moving – This is great for those days when it’s too hot or the weather is just not cooperating. Just pop up one of these videos and you’re ready to get fit with the kids. Childhood 101 shares links to 7 Youtube Videos.
GoNoodle videos – I first heard of GoNoodle through some teachers who love using it in their classroom so since I was homeschooling I thought I’d try it and my kids loved it. It’s free and my kids begged for it, so it was a winner in our house. You can go here to see their videos.
Uno Movement Game– Another one of my favorite game ideas to get the kids moving. You just need a deck of Uno cards and you’re set. Over at Still Playing School they have some ideas for younger kids and over at Creative Southern Home the activities are for a wide age range.
Obstacle Course – This is great fun and easy to put together in your backyard or at the park. Imagination Soup shares her idea here.
Kids Fitness Circuit – I love this idea you can find it over at They Smell blog.
Dancing– I love dancing so in our house you will regularly find us having what my son calls “dance parties”. Just turn on the music and dance! There’s also Just Dance you can play on the Wii.