Keeping kids active after school
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After school, it can be easy to turn to television or video games to keep your kids busy. These fun outdoor and indoor activities, courtesy of the Good Habits for Life website, are the perfect alternative to avoid the afternoon slump and a great way to get your kids moving. The best part is they can easily be done in the backyard or living room!
Egg and spoon race
What you need:
A spoon
A boiled egg (or another object you can balance on a spoon)
What you do:
Make a start and finish line and get players to stand at the start line.
Get each player to place the egg onto their spoon and then place their other arm behind their back.
When you say go, players race as fast as they can without the egg falling off the spoon to the finish line.
If the egg falls the player must go back to the start line.
Whoever crosses the finish line first with their egg still balanced on their spoon and an arm behind their back, wins. Happy balancing!
Hopscotch
What you need:
Chalk
A different rock for each player
What you do:
Draw a hopscotch game layout on the concrete with chalk. Number the squares from one to 9.
The first player throws their rock onto the first square. They then hop over that square to the second square on one foot. On double squares, you must land side by side, one foot in each square.
The first player turns around and comes back the same way. When they get to the square with the rock they must balance on one foot and pick up the rock. If completed with no mistakes then the player goes again and throws their rock to the second square and so on.
If while throwing the rock the player misses the right square or it lands touching a line then they lose their turn and it is the next player’s turn.
Remember: Rules are that you can’t step on a line, miss a square, hop in the square with the rock in it or lose your balance. If you do any of those four things your turn is over and the next player has their go.
Nature bracelets
What you need:
Sticky tape
What you do:
Before a walk, wrap sticky tape around the kids’ wrists, sticky side facing out.
Go for a walk and encourage the kids to find things from nature like leaves, petals and small pebbles to stick to their ‘nature bracelets’.
Make it a game by seeing who can find the most petals, green leaves or seeds.
Alphabet scavenger hunt
What you do:
Ask the kids to find things that begin with every letter of the alphabet in your backyard or home.
Indoor activities for when the weather isn’t so kind….
Indoor bowling
What you need:
Used plastic bottles
A soft ball
What you do:
Line up the used plastic bottles in a row.
Take turns throwing or rolling the ball at the bottles and see who can knock over the most bottles. Keep score by writing down each person’s score after each round. You can play for as many rounds as you like!
Ribbon limbo
What you need:
A ribbon or string
What you do:
Choose two people to hold the limbo stick (ribbon or string) on either side.
Ask everyone to line up single file behind the limbo stick.
Walk forward and bend backward under the limbo stick one after the other.
If someone touches the limbo stick they are out.
Once everyone has had a turn going under, start again by lowering the limbo stick.
Whoever can limbo under the limbo stick the lowest is the winner.
Indoor obstacles
What you need:
Obstacles! These can be anything around the house – boxes, cushions, pillows, blankets or chairs.
What you do:
The idea is to get the kids to go through fun obstacles doing different movements, such as jumping, hopping, and crawling while avoiding obstacles and being timed.
Clear some space in the living room and set up your course.
Get the kids to crawl under chairs then jump over pillows.
After these obstacles get the kids to do 5 star jumps then get them to balance along some sticky tape on the floor.
Whoever gets through the quickest wins!
Hint: Don’t forget to demonstrate the course to the kids so they know what to do. Use this as a guide and get creative and come up with your own obstacles.
Balloon tennis
What you need:
Paper plates
Ruler or stick
Tape
Bed sheet
Two chairs
Balloon
What you do:
Make your ‘tennis racquet’ by taping a ruler or stick to the back of a paper plate. You will need a racquet for each player.
Tie the bed sheet between two chairs to create your tennis net.
Blow up the balloon to use it as a ball
Take it in turns to serve and hit the ball over the net.
Hint: You can make up your own rules around what makes the ball out and how points are scored. The main thing is that you are up, moving, and having fun!
For more great games and useful tips to help your family enjoy a healthier lifestyle, visit ACT Health’s Good Habits for Life website.
ACT Health run a range of programs to support you and your children to set good habits, such as Fresh Tastes: healthy food at school and Ride or Walk to School. Check out these programs here.
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