With the plethora of school closures amid the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic sweeping the nation, schedules for all parents and children are changing dramatically. As parents are becoming more resourceful with their time, money and energy, they are looking for new ways to keep their kids learning and active during all of the calamity.
Teachers are scrambling to create virtual classrooms and pull together lessons to keep children on track, which is helpful and stressful to parents trying to divide time; especially when they have more than one child at home. There has been lots of instruction around learning, how to quarantine, how to limit electronics, and even how to forge through each day in seclusion. However, there hasn’t been much information on how to help active children release their energy. To help those parents looking to keep their children active indoors, we’ve come up with a few ideas to get them moving.
Indoor Yoga Sessions
Yoga has wonderful benefits for parents and children alike. Doing yoga together as a family can boost mood, lower stress and anxiety and help children release excess energy. There are plenty of videos for free on YouTube geared toward children’s themes from Disney characters to favorite holidays, there are options to keep your children entertained for close to an hour a session. Learning new flows and techniques can be entertaining in itself, but if all else fails they can at least learn to Namaste for a minute or two, right?
Create an Indoor Obstacle Course
Kids love a challenge and obstacle courses geared toward their age can give them just that. You can use household items, from sofa cushions to stools and stairs, to create the perfect sequence just for them. Think American Ninja Warrior Jr. training. Not only will this tire them out once they run through it a couple of times, but it also teaches them about overcoming challenges and crushing obstacles. To add a dash of extra fun, add a timer and challenge them to beat their time each go-round. Bonus if you include an end-of-course buzzer.
Host a Gym Class in Your Pajamas
If your children are school age, they’ve all participated in some sort of gym class at one time or another. Flip the script a bit and allow them to host the gym class for you. Encourage them to work together with their siblings to come up with a special pajama-style gym class just for you. From jumping jacks to indoor hopscotch (created with cardboard box cutouts or popsicle sticks) let them coach you through it. If they come up dry on ideas suggest things such as jump rope challenges, leapfrog or freeze tag.
With all the stress of the current world pandemic, we can often find ourselves struggling to make things work in our new “normal”. Try to make the most of your time together as a family, keep your children entertained and engaged and find creative ways to keep them active through it all.
