Outdoor Fun!!

We are having a huge problem with obesity in our country and the epidemic is starting younger and younger with children.  A major part of the problem is all the processed foods that we eat and the fact that our bodies are made to crave fattening things, which kept us alive back in the day as hunters and gatherers but for now with the grocery store just a car trip away it is an instinct that is very challenging to overcome.
This is how obesity has increased in just the last few years!!

This is an issue that I have not quite figured out myself yet. So instead of informing you on something that I dont know much about I will give you some insights on the other side of the equation = Activity!
We live a very sedentiary lifestyle and the children watch their parents sitting all day so that is what they think is normal.  Then very exciting and interesting things are created which encourage children to sit and zone out all day such as television and video games.  While that may be more normal for an adult it is definitely not normal for children.  They need activity to keep them healthy but also to learn the skills and coordination that they will need to be sucessful in life. 



When an adult actually takes time to do something active with a child it makes such an impact on that child!  These are activities for you to do with your child, the more we encourage them to learn these skills and the love of being active the less disease and heartache they will have to go through later in life. 

So at school we have had a goal to have two different outdoor activities every day at school and it has been so much fun!!  I will share some of them with you.  These are great and the kids have loved them!!  First, we started with balancing activities.  So we started with a piece of tape on the ground and having the kids walk on the tape like a balance beam. Next we have a balance beam at school but you could easily make one.  Just take an old 2x4 board and lay it on the ground and have them walk on it.  It doesn't need to be high.  If they are under 5 just get a whole bunch of shorter lengths of boards (go to home depot if you dont have them laying around and buy a 2x4 and just have them cut a whole bunch of 18" lengths or do it yourself.)  Let the child lay them out in any pattern or way they want and then practice walking around on them. 



Next do stepping stones (this can be anything somewhat flat that the child can pick up and move).  Have them jump from one to the other.  They will challenge themselves if they are ready and try to move them further apart to jump further this is a great activity for them.



Next let them try balancing with their small muscles.  Get easter eggs and put something in them so when they hit the ground they explode open.  Put the egg on a large spoon and have your child take one and you and do races without dropping your egg off of your spoon.



Then we moved on to some other activities.  First we tried your basic tag, then we moved on to freeze tag.  Whoever gets tagged needs to freeze and someone has to climb underneath their legs to unfreeze them (ps this is hard to do for adults we learned you have to teach this to kids but they have to crawl under each others legs because an adult crawling under a child doesnt work.



The best tag we learned though was ribbon tag.  Everyone sticks a piece of ribbon in their pocket or their beltloop if this is not an option just tuck it in the top of your pants.  If they are as long as the child's leg that is about right.  They dont have great muscle control yet so they need something to grab onto that is not such a small target but you also don't want them to trip over it.  Then you try to get other people's ribbons.  Kids don't really care who wins or loses they just have so much fun playing.  They really understand getting tagged as well because it is a concrete thing (when their ribbon is taken they were tagged).  This was so much fun the kids have begged to play it again almost every day since.



Another fun thing is bubble's.  I learned that every time I give a child bubbles they inevitably spill them or the wand is too big for them to have enough force to blow out the bubbles.  Then I went to a wedding and found the solution!!  Wedding bubbles!  You can get them at almost any dollar or craft store.  It is a tiny amount of bubbles so if they spill then no big deal, and it is easy for them to make bubbles with the tiny little wand and they love catching them on the wand after they make them.  You buy a big thing of bubbles and let the children have the small wedding bubbles it is a blast.

Next try bowling!  We just filled up a bunch of old bottles with a little bit of water then we put them all in a row on the cement and gave the kids balls and they bowled to see how many they could knock over. Then we showed them how to line them all up again and they played the whole time we were outside.



You can always play london bridge, duck, duck, goose, and ring around the rosies.  These are simple favorites.

Walks are always a hit as well!  Try to find something different for every walk.  Bugs, or different leaves you can do an art project with.  Different grass, rocks, textures to rub with crayon or chalk and paper.  Things you can glue together and make a collage.  Pinecones that you can take home and cover with peanut butter and bird seed then hang in the trees to make birdfeeders.  Watch clouds, walk to the park.  Walk somewhere and fly a kite. There are a million ideas of things you can do on a walk.  And go different places.  Even if you take your car somewhere and then go for a walk.  You will be amazed at all the things a child will see that we don't even notice anymore as adults.  A walk a day at least is so great for a child!  And there won't be any toys to clean up at the end!



These are just a few fun ideas I will post more later!!

Toodles