Healthy Communities • Healthy Kids • Healthy Living • YMCA Child Care
4 energy-burning activities you can do with your kids at home
15 March 2020 - by YMCA of Greater Toronto
As child care centres across our region close and more and more families are staying home, you're probably looking for ways to keep your kids active (and help them burn through some of that pent-up energy!). Here are four activities you can do with one or more child of any age, using everyday items you probably already have laying around at home. Bonus: they were developed through the YMCA Play ON program and they incorporate the five physical literacies: hopping, walking backwards toe to heel, running back and forth, throwing, and kicking.
1. Hopscotch
What you need: masking tape, paper, any floor
Best suited to: anywhere with floor space
This one will give your kids a little taste of summer fun! Use tape to create an indoor hopscotch. Crumple up the paper into a ball and have your child throw it toward the squares. They must make sure to hop over whatever square the ball landed on.
Keep the fun going: Move the lines of tape to change the arrangement of hopscotch boxes, or to change the shape of the box to something different, like a triangle. Your kid will get to practice creating and naming their shapes while they're at it!
2. Mission Impossible
What you need: streamers, tape
Best suited to: long hallways
Have streamers left over from a party? Grab some tape and string the streamers across a hallway at different angles. Challenge your child by having them figure out how to crawl or jump through the obstacle course.
Keep the fun going: Change the placement of the streamers to increase the difficulty, time your child for their personal best, or have them walk backwards toe-to-heel to reach the start.
3. Snow Treasure Hunt
What you need: water-safe toys
Best suited to: anywhere with a bit of snow
If there's a big snowfall in your area, it’s a great opportunity for a treasure hunt. Head out to your yard and hide small toys or items from around the house in the snow, then challenge your child to find them all. Keep time for them to see how long it takes. Can they run in the snow and find them even faster next time?
Keep the fun going: Make it a memory game; hide all but one of the items from the first hunt. Can they guess which one is missing?
4. Paper “snowball” throw
What you need: masking tape, paper, containers (like buckets, cooking pots, or gift bags)
Best suited to: any large room
Too cold to play outside? Arrange a few buckets or other containers on the floor. In front of them, tape three lines, each at a different distance away. Scrunch up a few sheets of paper into “snowballs” and challenge your child to try throwing them into the buckets from each tape line. See how many they can get in from each distance. Encourage them to keep trying until they make every throw!
Keep the fun going: Try tossing shower curtain rings, candy canes, or buttons. Ask them to notice if throwing something heavier or lighter makes it more difficult. What else can they try throwing in? Tip the buckets on their side; can they kick the snowballs into the buckets?
We wish you and your family safety and good health during what we know is a difficult time. Please take care of yourselves, follow the precautions outlined by public health authorities, and check ymcagta.org/Alerts for updates on our programs and services.
1. Hopscotch
What you need: masking tape, paper, any floor
Best suited to: anywhere with floor space
This one will give your kids a little taste of summer fun! Use tape to create an indoor hopscotch. Crumple up the paper into a ball and have your child throw it toward the squares. They must make sure to hop over whatever square the ball landed on.
Keep the fun going: Move the lines of tape to change the arrangement of hopscotch boxes, or to change the shape of the box to something different, like a triangle. Your kid will get to practice creating and naming their shapes while they're at it!
2. Mission Impossible
What you need: streamers, tape
Best suited to: long hallways
Have streamers left over from a party? Grab some tape and string the streamers across a hallway at different angles. Challenge your child by having them figure out how to crawl or jump through the obstacle course.
Keep the fun going: Change the placement of the streamers to increase the difficulty, time your child for their personal best, or have them walk backwards toe-to-heel to reach the start.
3. Snow Treasure Hunt
What you need: water-safe toys
Best suited to: anywhere with a bit of snow
If there's a big snowfall in your area, it’s a great opportunity for a treasure hunt. Head out to your yard and hide small toys or items from around the house in the snow, then challenge your child to find them all. Keep time for them to see how long it takes. Can they run in the snow and find them even faster next time?
Keep the fun going: Make it a memory game; hide all but one of the items from the first hunt. Can they guess which one is missing?
4. Paper “snowball” throw
What you need: masking tape, paper, containers (like buckets, cooking pots, or gift bags)
Best suited to: any large room
Too cold to play outside? Arrange a few buckets or other containers on the floor. In front of them, tape three lines, each at a different distance away. Scrunch up a few sheets of paper into “snowballs” and challenge your child to try throwing them into the buckets from each tape line. See how many they can get in from each distance. Encourage them to keep trying until they make every throw!
Keep the fun going: Try tossing shower curtain rings, candy canes, or buttons. Ask them to notice if throwing something heavier or lighter makes it more difficult. What else can they try throwing in? Tip the buckets on their side; can they kick the snowballs into the buckets?
We wish you and your family safety and good health during what we know is a difficult time. Please take care of yourselves, follow the precautions outlined by public health authorities, and check ymcagta.org/Alerts for updates on our programs and services.
