How to encourage children to be physically active in bad, rainy weather? Just offer them one of the movement games below. This is a great way to spend free time with your family. What kind of physical activities will appeal to every toddler? Here are some interesting suggestions.
This is great fun for both younger and slightly older children. To create an obstacle course you can successfully use various objects at hand, such as balls or blocks. We make a slalom out of them. The child’s task is to overcome it in such a way as to avoid the individual objects by jumping. Another suggestion is to create a balance beam by drawing a line from a scarf or thick string. The game can be varied with sashes or bags filled with peas.
We write different kinds of tasks on pieces of paper, for example, doing three jumping jacks or standing on one leg for 10 seconds. We put them in a jar. Then the participants of the game draw cards and perform the instructions contained therein.
For this game you will need a large cardboard box or laundry basket. It consists of two teams, at least two people in each. We mark out the starting line and the distance to run. At its end we put boxes (one per team). The first player of the team runs to it, takes off his shoes and puts them in the box. He runs back and touches his hand to the other player who does the same task. When all participants are shoeless, they run one at a time to the box, put them on, and come running back. The team that finishes first with shoes on their feet wins.
This movement game requires an inflatable kiddie pool and a sponge. Players stand around it and bounce it over it. When the sponge falls to the ground, the player on the other side gets 1 point. If it lands in the pool, the person who touched it last is deducted 1 point. In addition, he/she must enter it to pull out the sponge. The person who manages to get 10 points first wins. Instead of a swimming pool, a large cardboard box can be used for the game.
Participants divide into two teams – moms and kids. Moms blindfold their children with scarves. When the word “start” is given, the children call out to them and they have to find them in the dark. The first mother to catch her child wins. A second round can be played with the dads.
The accessories needed for this activity are: a hole punch, colored paper, small bowls of water and a stopwatch. With the punch we make circles out of colored paper. We divide the participants into two teams of an even number of people. Each of them gets a bowl with water and paper circles in it. One member of the team starts sticking fake freckles on the other person’s face. After the allotted time, the referee counts the freckles. The team with the most freckles wins.
For this game we need small plastic plates and ping-pong balls for each team. The players line up at the finish line. The first child from each of the two teams holds a plate with a ball placed on it in an upraised hand. After hearing the signal: “start” the players run to the previously designated point and then turn back. Their task is to pass the plate with the ball to the next person from the team, who starts to run. If a player drops the ball, he/she returns to the starting line and starts running again. The team whose all members pass the run with the ball as a breaststroke wins.
Featured photo: Freepik
