These are strange times for us all. This blog has always been a place where I could share my favourite ways to get out with my kids and enjoy the best Ottawa has to offer. I can’t do that now, but I can share some of the activities the kids and I have been keeping busy with at home and continue to share them with you in case you find them helpful. This week I am focusing on some fun “movement” activity challenges. Here are five that we will be tackling.

An Obstacle Course

This can be done inside or outside – and it’s just so easy. If inside the house, use pillows, chairs, whatever you have around to set up a course that will have your kids weaving, hopping and crawling to complete. Time your kids and see how fast they can go – then try and have them beat their time. Take the obstacle course outside and you can make the challenges even bigger and more spread out. Get creative!

String “Laser” Maze

I saw this one posted a few weeks ago by the City of Ottawa and I thought it was a great idea! To create a maze you can use yarn, string or even masking/painters tape. Your kids will have to bend their bodies in all kinds of way to get through this Mission Impossible style challenge. You can do it inside – in a hallway is best, or you can go outside and find a few things to anchor your string/tape to. Zigzag your string at varying heights down the hall or from one anchor point to the next. You can use tape to anchor it to a wall or simply wrap it around door knobs, furniture, large toys and more. Don’t use anything that can topple over and break. When it is complete kids will try to get from one end of the maze to the next without touching the string.

You can even place a “treasure” at the far end of the maze. Have them collect the treasure and then bring it back through the laser maze without getting “zapped”!

Do A Chalk Course

One of my mom friendshere in Ottawa did this with her kids the other week. I saw the video of her three kids following the chalk obstacle course and it looked amazing! Essentially, using chalk she drew a course of lines, dots and commands that the kids would have to follow. So, running along the lines as they zigzag, then maybe hopping from circle to circle (some with hopping on one leg or two leg like hopscotch), there was even a spot they had to stop and do the dab dance. Be creative – write out the alphabet and make the kids hop from letter to letter in the right order. Use your driveway, a sidewalk or even on the street (if it’s quiet). This can be tailored to any age, make it as easy or difficult as you like!

Jump the River

All kids love a challenge. This is a really easy challenge that can be done inside or outside (I would recommend taking it outside if the weather is good, because the more room the better). It can also be tailored to any age group. You can use two jump ropes, or any ropes, or even hockey sticks, rolled up towels, anything to designate two “banks of a river”. For little kids explain that you are on a walk and when you come to the “river” (designated by two lines you create with ropes etc), they have to jump over the river. Start with the ropes close together and then as they jump over it, start to move the ropes further apart so they have to challenge themselves to jump further. Think of it kind of like a “limbo” game but for jumping, and instead of a bar getting lower, the two sides of the river get further apart.

Learn a New Dance Together

We’ve all seen the TikTok dances that have been keeping so many people occupied during this at-home isolation time. If you (or your kids) are cool enough to have and understand TikTok then take the time to learn a dance together. I’m not cool enough for the app but I do love a dance challenge. My kids enjoy the videos from GoNoodle. You can find the GoNoodle Youtube channel and it is a great resource for getting the kids moving and providing some fun and easy dances you can all follow along with.