5 indoor physical activities

Pedal boating in your living room? That’s right! Simply place two chairs side by side and take a seat. Ask your child to sit next to you. Raise your knees slightly, start your imaginations, and pedal! To make this activity even more fun, ask your child to do the following:

• Speed up
• Slow down
• Describe what they see on the horizon
• Etc.

Here’s how you play colour leapfrog:

• Cut out paper circles in different colours
• Place the circles on the floor in a straight line
• Leave a two-foot space between each circle

Once you’re set up, you can give your child the following challenges:

• Jump over each circle until you reach the end of the line, then do it again three times
• Jump over the yellow and blue circles to land on the red one
• Jump between the yellow and blue circles
• Etc.

It’s amazing what you can do with a simple birthday balloon! Here are some great activities that will get your child moving:

• Throw the balloon in the air and clap your hands, but don’t let the balloon touch the floor
• Headbutt the balloon 10 times in a row
• Keep the balloon in the air for as long as possible using your breath, hands, and feet
• Etc.

Dancing is a great way to move your body while being creative. To add a splash of colour to your day, tie coloured ribbons to your child’s ankles and wrists. Put on some music and see if they can follow these dance instructions:

• Keep pace with the music
• Twirl only your wrist ribbons
• Twirl only your right ankle ribbon and left wrist ribbon
• Etc.

In this game, your child imitates an animal for a specified amount of time, at your signal. For example, you can ask them to do the following:

• Crawl like a snake
• Jump as high as a kangaroo
• Do 8 sets of 10 bunny hops
• Etc.