Fun ways to get kids moving during lockdown
Kids love to be active so being cooped up indoors in winter can be especially challenging. Here are some tips to help them burn off energy and maintain fitness during lockdown.
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Keeping kids active when you’re stuck at home can be difficult.
Melbourne’s winter might not provide the best weather to be outside, but whenever you can, it’s great to get the kids moving in the outdoors.
Here are some ideas to burn off some of their energy and maintain some fitness during lockdown. Many of these activities are suitable across all ages — just adjust the difficulty level.
PREP-YEAR 2
Balloon fun (inside)
Approximate time: 20 mins daily/ongoing
Activity:
Use a balloon to play a range of activities inside your house. You will need to choose activities that suit your house and available resources. Here is a list of suggestions but it is only limited to your imagination and the space you have.
● Keep it up — Set a stopwatch and see how long you can keep a balloon from touching the ground or furniture. (Alternatively, you could count the number of taps you can keep it up for) Play by yourself, or with a sibling, working together to keep it up.
● Target practice — draw up a target and affix it safely to a wall or door. Decide on a starting point. From this point, tap your balloon towards the target. Keep track of how many times you hit the target.
● Balloon tennis — divide a space in two with a piece of string tied to the back of two chairs at either side of the room. Tap the balloon over the string to a sibling or parent. The aim is to hit it back without letting in touch the ground. Each time it hits the ground the other person scores a point. First to 10 points is the winner.
Hopscotch (outside)
Approximate time: 20 mins daily/ongoing
Activity:
Draw up a hopscotch pattern on a footpath or driveway (or another suitable space) using chalk. You can create your own hopscotch design or use one of the more traditional models shown. Number your boxes.
The idea is to hop up and back on the course. Where there is a single box you hop on one foot, where there are two boxes side-by-side land with one foot in each box. You can simply practice hopping up and down or you can play Hopscotch.
How to play
Use a token and toss it into the first box. Hop over that box (land in number 2) and continue hopping the course up and back. When you get to number 2, maintain your balance on one foot, while you bend down and pick up your token and then finish the course.
Next toss your token into box 2. Hop the hopscotch course, missing box 2 on the way up and picking up your token on the way back.
Continue this until you have landed your token in each numbered box. Then hop the complete course once.
Variations
Challenge yourself by timing how long it takes you each day to complete the game. Can you get quicker?
Play with a sibling or a parent, taking in turns to complete the course.
Swap feet and hop on your non preferred foot.
YEARS 3-4
Dance, Dance, Dance (inside)
Approximate time: 20-30 minutes
Activity:
Put on some of your favourite music and dance away inside the warmth and comfort of your home. What style of dance will you do — freestyle, hip hop, rap, classic, ballet or another? Who has the best or most unusual dance moves in your household? Dance around for at least 15-20 minutes, keeping your heart rate up.
Variations
Have a “dance off” with a sibling or parent. Use a clock with a second hand or a timer. Put on some music and take it in turns to dance your heart out for 20 secs. When the time runs out swap spots and take a rest while your sibling or parent hits the dance floor for the next 20 secs. Swap places each 20 secs, dance your heart out then catch your breath. Who has the wildest dance moves between the two of you?
Musical Statues or Freeze — Play against your siblings or parents. Have someone in charge of the music. They press play and everyone dances around. At random times, press stop and everyone has to freeze. Can you hold your balance for a few seconds? Take turns at dancing and being in charge of the music.
Obstacle course (outside)
Approximate time: 20-30 minutes
Activity:
Set up an obstacle course that you can complete each day aiming to improve the speed you complete it in. Your obstacle course will be dependent on what you have available in your yard. (Parents, you can set it up so that a few household chores get done in the process!)
An example is:
● Start at your front door.
● Run to the letter box and check if there is mail. Bring that back and drop it on your doorstep.
● Pick up a basketball (or another ball suitable for bouncing), bounce your ball to the letter box and back.
● If you have a basketball hoop or netball ring, take shots at the hoop until you get three shots in or three in a row. (If you don’t have a basketball hoop or netball ring choose a safe target that you can aim at instead.)
● Run 3 laps of your house.
● Check the washing on your last lap. If it is dry bring it in (or hang it out if needed).
● Balance along the edge of a garden bed, beginning again each time you fall off.
● Using your feet, control the ball up and down the driveway
● Use a tennis racquet and tennis ball to hit the ball against a wall for 2 minutes.
● Bounce for 1 minute on the trampoline.
Your obstacle course can be completed each day — aiming to get faster or complete more activities in a given time.
YEARS 5-6
Crab soccer (inside)
Approximate time: 30 mins
You will need: a large clear space (such as a lounge or rumpus room, or a wide hallway); someone to play against; a soft ball or a balloon to reduce the likelihood of damage; a chair at each end of the playing space for goals. Getting the ball through the legs of the chairs scores a goal.
How to play:
Play this similar to traditional soccer, except you need to move like a crab! Sit on the floor, place your hands slightly behind you and lift your bottom off the ground. Move around the room in this position.
Start with the ball in the centre and each player in front of their own goals. On a signal, both players crawl towards the ball and using only your feet, intercept the ball and kick it towards their goal. Keep going after it and dribbling or kicking it until you score a goal.
Safety - Be careful when intercepting the ball. Use your feet to gain control of the ball but not kick your opponent (playing in socks not shoes will also make it safer)
Skipping (outside)
Approximate time: 15-20 mins
Activity:
Skipping is an excellent cardiovascular activity and fun and challenging to boot! Improve your fitness and skipping skills by spending 15-20 minutes outside with a skipping rope each day. Try to improve your speed or the number of jumps you can do in a row. You can also try to learn new skills like “double unders” or “side swing cross”. You can find some tutorials on how to do skipping tricks and skills on the Jump Rope for heart website (resources.heartfoundation.org.au/jump-rope-for-heart/skipping-skills). You might even be able to make up your own tricks to perfect.
YEARS 7-8
PE with Joe (inside)
Approximate time: 30 mins
Activity:
Check out the YouTube channel The Body Coach TV. (youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1). Joe runs PE with Joe sessions from his lounge room. These run for about 30 minutes.
Select one of his latest videos and follow along with the workout from the comfort of your own home.
He also plays “5 minute moves” and “Workout with Kids” sessions for younger kids.
Light post drill (outside)
Approximate time: 20 mins
Activity:
Choose a light post on your street to start at.
Run from this post along the footpath, to the next light post and back to the start. Do five push ups.
Run to the second light post and back. Do five sit ups.
Run to the third light post and back. Do five burpees.
Continue running to the fourth, fifth and sixth post and back, rotating through exercises before beginning the next lap.
Continue this drill for about 20 minutes.
You could repeat this each day, aiming to improve the number of times you complete the drill or the time it take you to complete the drill.
Note: Be careful when crossing any driveways or roads, check for cars backing in or out and check the roads before you cross
If there is no footpath, or your street is not suitable for this activity, choose another safe area to complete it, perhaps at a local oval where you can set out your own markers
YEARS 9-10
Approximate Time: 45 minutes
Yoga (inside or outside with a mat or rug)
Activity:
Yoga is a great way to exercise — it helps with strength and flexibility but can also help with stress and anxiety. You can do it at home and there are lots of beginners classes for free online to get you started.
Try this class by Yoga with Adriene (and her dog Benji) that is just for teenagers: youtube.com/watch?v=7kgZnJqzNaU
Want to go outside? Set up an exercise circuit outside. Find different things in your yard or around your house that you can use. Try to set up five different exercises that you can do in three circuits. For example, a set of steps can be used to do 25 step ups, a skipping rope for 30 skips, jog up and down the driveway twice or along the street, find things that you could use as weights (like tins of food), a flat space to do some push ups or sit ups. Have a good look around, use your imagination and see what you can come up with!
GETTING FIT FOR PURPOSE
Going back to basics is what’s helping Victorian kids keep active during lockdown.
They’re learning to use what they’ve got — often in their lounge room or backyard.
And while you can’t beat a walk along the beach, they’re also finding innovative ways to keep fit and healthy.
Sean Allcock, director of sport at Melbourne’s Haileybury College, said he encouraged students to make the most of a trying situation and making time for regular exercise was vital to staying healthy, both physically and emotionally, while at home.
“What we were really mindful of is replicating a normal sports session with the resources available,” Mr Allcock said.
“You can’t tell someone to shoot a basketball if they don’t have a ring at home — so we flipped it back to the fundamentals.
“We’re asking kids to look at how can they strengthen their muscles or technique and use what they have to their advantage.
“That might be using a balloon, using socks, using a broomstick or doing yoga on a chair — so that there is no excuse to not doing exercise.”
Mr Allcock, who teaches years 5 to 12, said encouraging student interaction — such as connecting with a friend or teacher via video — had been central to their program.
“From speaking to my students, what they’re missing is the verbal contact,” he said.
“And it’s also that accountability. Knowing that someone is there, having someone on the other end that they can engage with is really important.”
Bittern mum Jenna Kirk said having simple and easy activities available — both inside and outside — had helped daughter Millar, 12, stay active.
— Alanah Frost and Olivia Jenkins
TIPS FOR PARENTS
MAKE IT EASY
Parents are trying to balance a million and one things at the moment so it’s about making things easy. Adults also need to be active, so try and make exercise social and get the kids and yourself active. That could be as simple as getting outside and shopping some basketball hoops or going for a run while the kids are on a bike.
INVOLVE OTHERS
Involving locals sports clubs or gyms is a great way to keep kids engaged. If they usually play football or cricket, they should continue to engage with their club, if possible, via online means. For example, a local karate club teaching classes over Zoom. This also helps them with regaining a sense of community.
ASK, DON’T TELL
Keep in mind that kids will respond differently to a parent’s advice. There’s no point lecturing them about screen time or getting active during the pandemic — the best thing parents can do is work with the kids. Rather than telling them to get outside, tell them they’re doing really well and ask them if they would like to go for a walk or what they would like to do — particularly with teenagers.
STRUCTURE AND ROUTINE
Make exercise/being active part of their daily routine. If you can look at their daily roster or class schedule beforehand and block out a time for getting active, it will often work better — particularly for younger children. This could be a simple 15 or 30 minute chunk.
USE TECHNOLOGY
Technology often gets a bad name, but it can — especially during a pandemic — but extremely helpful. Gyms doing online classes or celebrities, such as Chris Hemsworth, hosting their own workouts can be a fun and engaging way to exercise.
MAKE IT A GAME
Introducing a level of competition can be a really good way to keep kids and teenagers exercising. This could be a virtual fun run, step counter or general competition among friends/family.
TIPS FOR KIDS
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU MISS DOING
What is it that you miss since being in lockdown? Is it your friends? Organised sport? Skill development? Work out what it is and see if you can centre your exercise around that. This could be doing something virtual, like a workout, with friends or asking a parent/sibling to help with a drill you’re doing at home.
USE YOUR SCREENS
Screens are really helpful right now — in more ways than one. Think about how you can use your screen to be active. Does your school have any online classes or does the local gym/club do a daily workout?
HAVE FUN
Exercise doesn’t have to be organised sport, especially for younger children. If you like to have a dance in the loungeroom, or play outside, just getting up and active helps.
Tips based on advice from Brea Kunstler, a physiotherapist and physical activity researcher at Monash University.
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