During periods of lockdown we end up spending more time inside our apartments, which can naturally lead to sedentary behaviours, such as more sitting, more lying down, and less movement. However, children of all ages need to move their bodies in order to stay healthy, grow properly, and sleep well. Although staying active during a lockdown can be challenging, it’s not impossible, and doesn’t have to be stressful for parents or kids. By now, we all know that yoga, dance, and aerobics/fitness training can be done at home with the help of YouTube videos and other apps. But at the end of a long day of Zoom lessons and screen time, the last thing a child should be doing is watching more videos!
So here is a list of simple, fun, activities that you and your family can do together at home to keep your bodies moving:
- Build an obstacle course inside your apartment with sofas, chairs, pillows, tables and other objects. Challenge your kids to build their own.
- Play Charades. Charades is a game where one person acts or mimes a word or phrase, and other people try to guess what it is. You can even make it a competition and play in teams.
- Play hide and seek.
- Ask your children to think up and plan a short play (or dance routine) to perform in front of the family. You can even record a video of the play for them to watch later.
- Have a family dance party! Each family member selects their own favorite song and everyone has to dance to it and sing along.
- Build a cabin with some chairs, tables, sheets, and towels.
- Take turns hiding household items in your apartment and have a treasure hunt.
- Have your children perform household tasks such as washing the dishes, helping prepare dinner, watering the plants, sweeping the floor, and keeping their bedrooms organized.
- Grow plants, herbs, or vegetables on your balcony.
- Play catch with a ball or pair of socks if you haven’t got a ball.
- Try limbo: use a string or broomstick and see how low you can go.
All of these activities can be done at home, they keep your children moving and engaged, and most importantly they create opportunities for family bonding. Don’t let the lockdown blues get you down or keep you sedentary.
Look at the bright side: it’s an opportunity for you to move in different ways, and to spend more time bonding with your family.
Visit our Distance Learning page for more resources on distance learning at CIS.
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