Keeping kids active in an increasing technology-driven and sedentary society is tough work. The American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic both suggest limiting screen time and setting a good example in order to promote physical activity in your children. Choose a regular time to head to the gym with your kids and provide them with games and activities that teach them that fitness and fun go hand in hand.
Silly Relays
Warm up the gym games with silly relays. Separate your kids and their friends into two or more groups with at least two children in each group. If you're short on kids, jump in and participate with them. Line up each group along the baseline of the gym's basketball court. Depending on the age group of the kids, adjust the distance of the race. Preschoolers should race to the free throw line, kindergartners through second grade should race to half court and children third grade and up should run the full length of the court.
Instruct the kids that each leg of the race is down-and-back. When you say "go," the first child will crab walk, supporting her body weight on her hands and feet as she moves back and forth down the court. The second child will barrel roll down and back for his leg of the race. When the second child returns to the baseline, the next two children will leap-frog down and back. The first team to reach the finish line gets to choose what game to play next. Be creative and add or change activities as you see fit to meet the age, ability level and interests of the players.
Tag
Pick your poison--blob tag, band-aid tag, freeze tag, nose and toes tag or even tail tag. All varieties of tag keep kids active, and based on the level of screeching and giggling that accompany a traditional game, you know kids enjoy it. Your kids probably know of more versions of the game, so when you suggest tag as an option, let them come up with which style they want to play.
To start a game of nose and toes tag, round up a gaggle of kids and designate three or four of them to be "it." The it tries to run around tagging the other kids. The other kids can gain immunity from a tag by holding one hand to their nose and the other hand to their toes for up to three seconds at a time. When it tags an immunity-free kid, she also becomes it and joins the effort to tag the other kids. The last child tagged wins the game.
To play tail tag, have each child place a bandanna or scarf in their back pocket or hanging loosely from the waist-band of their shorts. The goal of each child is to collect as many of the other childrens' bandannas as possible while protecting their own from being stolen. The child who has collected the most bandannas within a designated period of time wins the game.
P-I-G
P-I-G is a sport-specific game typically played in basketball, but that can be adapted to other sports like soccer, lacrosse, floor hockey and football. In basketball, the first child takes a shot from anywhere on the court that she chooses. If she wants, she can designate parameters for the shot like, "this must be a bank shot off the backboard." If she makes the shot, the next player must take the exact same shot. If he makes the shot, the next player follows suit. The first player to miss the designated shot receives a "P," and the next player gets to take a shot from anywhere on the court. If all the players make the shot, then the shot was too easy and the original shooter earns a "P." Each missed shot earns a new letter, and the first person to miss three shots, spelling out "P-I-G" loses the game. Play continues until the last player standing wins.
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