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On days when we can’t be outside days, I am always trying to think of new ways to help my kids burn off some energy. It is so hard when you cannot get outside due to weather. Here are some of our favorite ways to burn off energy… inside.
1) Simon Says- Such a classic game and such a wonderful way to burn some energy with kids.
2) Red Light, Green Light- We love playing this game in the living room- walking not running.
3) Pretend to Be- With this game, I will call out different animals or other things such as an airplane or race car. Then the kids have to pretend to be these things.
4) Color Game- Put 4 different colored pieces of paper on 4 different walls. Then call out the colors and have your kids go to the different colors. You could also do this with shapes, letters, or numbers.
5) Masking Tape Hop Scotch- Using masking tape, create a hop scotch on your kitchen floor.
6) Music- Just turn on some music and have a dance party. Instant energy burner!
7) Treasure Hunt- Show the kids a toy and then hide it in a room. Then the kids have to find the toy. Or you could hide a whole set of things like 5 different colored rings or a set of dinosaurs.
8) Ball- With a soft ball, sit down and roll the ball to each other.
9) Balloons- I love using balloons with our kids (use safety and supervision as balloons that are popped can be a chocking hazard).
10). Hide and Seek– not only is this a fun activity, but it is awesome for teaching your kids numbers, counting and patience.
11). Jump from color to color – I like to lay out construction paper and let the kids jump from color to color. You could do this with shapes, too – jump to the color or shape and call out its name (or you, the parent, tell them which color or shape to jump to).
12). Pillow Hop – Our kids like to lay out the pillows from all of their beds and make a long trail (they normally do this on the days when I am changing the sheets and have the pillows off of the bed so I can change the pillowcases. They will grab them while they don’t have the pillowcase on and use it to make a trial.)
13). Juggle – let your kids try to juggle whatever you have at home – oranges, plastic balls, socks (rolled up). Our kids love trying this!
14). What’s in the bag? Let them run around the house and gather five things to put in a bag. They bring it to you (or a sibling) and let them guess what is inside without looking.
15). Bake these 3 ingredient Cookies– maybe not an energy burner, but fun nonetheless!
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Thanks to Keri at Living In This Season for these awesome ideas!
I love her Snowman Ideas on her blog (bring the winter indoors!)
You should check it out if you are looking for some fun creative things to make with your kiddos!
We’ve done hide and seek a lot lately, and balloons are a definite in our downstairs play room… I always keep an extra bag around just to be like hey i have an idea lets blow up some balloons 🙂
Thanks for the tips for more… its not going to be above freezing here for like 10 more days 🙁 -4 was had to swallow before the wind chill :/// Glad to be a SAHM/WAHM
Same here!! Super cold!
These are great babysitting ideas! Thanks!