10 Ways to Get Out and Get Active with your Kids

Select a smooth area on the sidewalk or driveway and use chalk to draw out a pattern of 8 squares (some single, some double) on the sidewalk. Number them in order from 1-8. Each player has their own marker, such as a flat stone, a coin, a bean bag or a bottle cap. Player 1 stands at the starting line (behind square 1) and tosses their marker into square 1. Hopping on one foot, player 1 hops over the square that contains the marker and continues to hop from square to square (always on one foot unless the pattern has two squares beside each other) until they reach square 8. On square 8, hopping on one foot, the player turns and hops back to the starting line, pausing on the way to bend over and pick up their marker. At the starting line again, the player tosses their marker into square 2 and continues as before.

Getting out: A player is out if the marker fails to land in the proper square, the player steps on a line, loses balance when bending over to pick up the marker and puts a second hand or foot down, goes into a square where a marker is, or puts two feet down in a single box. Once out, the player puts their marker in the square where they will resume playing on their next turn, and a new player begins from the starting line. Note: A player must always hop over squares with markers – even if the marker belongs to another player.

• Modify the game for younger players. Younger children find simply hopping on one leg versus two legs in the hopscotch pattern loads of fun.
• The larger the squares and the more players, the harder the game.
• Some school yards have areas perfect for hopscotch and even a permanent pattern painted on.

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Start with objects that come at your child slowly and are easy to grasp. Just toss it towards the child from a few feet away. Ask your child to grab it before it hits the ground and then to reciprocate by tossing it back to you. Encourage moving around to catch the item once your child gets better at the game. More advanced games can include walking while playing catch, or inviting friends from the neighbourhood to play. Even adding more balls/objects – always keeps it age-appropriate and safe! Tossing 3 teddy bears at once isn’t likely to hurt anyone, but tossing 3 hardballs would be dangerous. Learning to play catch encourages kids to get involved with more advanced ball ‘game’ activities.

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Start this fun game while you walk around your neighbourhood with your kids. Before you start out, write up a list of 10 things you want your kids to find during your walk. For instance ask them to find a fruit tree, a brown wooden gate, a porch, a truck parked in front of a white house, a basketball net on a driveway, a house with green shutters, kids toys in the yard, etc. Be sure to pick things they can discover in your neighbourhood. Set a time limit. Maybe you need to finish the walk and the list within 45 minutes -- so this makes you all walk at a good, energetic pace. If there are hilly spots in our neighborhood, try to include them to add a bit of intensity.

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It’s important for younger kids to learn that body movement is not only healthy but lots of fun too. You can start playing this popular game when your kids are about 3 years old. The goal is to tire them out with a fun adventure around the yard or a park nearby your home. Ask one of your older kids to be the leader, or do it yourself. Parade up and down stairs, all over the yard or park, around trees, over bridges, through gates, even a garage if you have one. Sit down. Stand up. Take some backward steps. Hop. Jump. Run a bit. Include some silly movements. The object is to have some fun, and for the other kids to follow everything the leader does. This game can be adapted to a variety of activities such as swimming, obstacle courses, and even playing on playground swing sets, teeter tooters etc . And don’t forget to encourage your younger kids to be the leaders sometimes !!

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Gardening can be a great way to get moderate activity into your day. Kids can do this with their parents or older caregivers in the family. You don’t need a big garden with rows of vegetables. A small window box or plant pots will also work. From watering to weeding, raking grass, planting vegetables, digging holes and planting flowers or seeds, it all counts and can be a great way to build relationships with your kids and to work towards a common goal.

Think about these possibilities:

• Give them their own garden bed. Keep it small, very small for young kids
• Repurpose your sandbox for a garden bed if your kids have outgrown it
• Involve them from seed to table (for vegetables) no matter how modest the result
• If their attention wanes and all else fails, make a scarecrow for another layout of interest

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Players use a GPS device to find their way to the general spot that a ‘cache’ or container is hidden and then they try and find it. The cache can be tiny, some in a challenging spot like in a tree while others are very well hidden. Still others require you to solve a riddle or puzzle. They can be found in forests, hiking trails or even in city parks and on streets. You’ll need to go online to download cache listings and to record your cache finds. To begin, go to www.geocaching.com and start searching your local area and other helpful links. As with hiking, always think ‘safety first’ when exploring unfamiliar areas for caches.

If you prefer to ‘just hike’ with your kids, your options in Manitoba are wide and varied. Many provincial parks have short hiking trails suitable to walk with your children. Depending on their age and skill level and how long you want to hike you may want to try trails that include campsites, tables, fire pits etc. And many trails include chances for wildlife viewing! To start, perhaps check out some of the choices available here: https://www.gov.mb.ca/sd/parks/recreation-and-activities/hiking/index.html

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• Frozen tag: Once tagged you freeze in place until another player thaws you with a touch. Once everyone is frozen, “it” chooses someone new to be “it”.
• TV tag: To avoid being tagged you sit down and yell out a TV character until “it” runs off to chase another player.
• Reverse tag: Instead of “it” chasing after other players, they chase after “it”. Whoever tags “it” first then becomes “it”.
• Zombie tag: “it” is the zombie and moans and staggers around trying to tag the other players. Once tagged you become a zombie too. “it” tries to turn everyone into zombies.
• Blob tag: Each time “it” tags someone that player holds hands with “it” and becomes an extension of “it”. Both ends of “it” can tag people. Each time the blob gets bigger until everyone is part of the blob.

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