Whether it is summer vacation, winter break, or just stuck inside because of bad weather, you may hear a few “I’m bored” a bit more from the kiddos. They might be bored, but they’ve still got energy to burn. Here are some ideas to get those wiggles with some movement out on those too-hot or too-rainy days.

Yoga

Yoga for kids doesn’t have to be anything complicated, and it doesn’t have to be a perfectly curated flow sequence. Search “yoga for kids” on YouTube, and you’ll find all sorts of different styles of yoga for little ones all the way up to teens. Cosmic Kids Yoga creates fun stories to lead kids through a yoga series. Or simply start with a few downward dogs and move your body how it feels good to you and let your little ones guide you!

Indoor sock golf

Use a rolled-up sock or a soft plush ball as your golf ball. Set up boxes or a laundry basket at different points all around your home. Take turns tossing your sock ball at the basket. Just like golf, you need to play your ball from where it lands. If you get a hole in one, you remove your ball from the hole and toss it toward the next hole. If you don’t, you keep tossing your sock ball toward the hole/basket until you sink it, keeping a tally of your strokes as you would in golf or mini-golf. You can place the baskets wherever you like, making it as much of a challenge as you want.

Don’t let it drop

Grab a balloon, and don’t let it touch the ground. Or for those of us with fans of the show, Bluey, it’s also known as “Keepy Uppy.” Fill up a balloon or two and bounce them off your hands or your head, but whatever you do, don’t let them touch the ground! Add challenges by saying they need to keep the balloon in the air using only their right hand, by standing on their left leg, or by hopping with both feet or only using their head.

Lego color hunt

Grab ten Lego bricks of each color, red, green, blue, and yellow, and hide them all over your house. Start the clock and have the kids search for them. As they find each piece, have them return the piece to the corresponding colored sheet of paper. 

Movement chain

Have one person start with a movement, say one jumping jack, the next person in line has to do one jumping jack and add on their movement. The next in line has to do those two movements plus their own, and on it goes until the wiggles are sufficiently exhausted.

Dance party

Put on some tunes and have a dance party! Get crazy and break out the silly sunglasses or hats, or turn off all the lights and grab the flashlights…or those light-up toys your kids insist on getting at every event and put them to good use. 

Bodyweight exercises

Do a quick workout circuit of bodyweight exercises with your kids, like squats, pushups, planks, sit-ups, butt-kickers, mountain climbers, and jumping jacks. For a little cardio, have them march in place, jump up and down, run in a circle, run laps around the living room, or go up and down the stairs. 

We hope some of these activities will get their wiggles out so you can finally enjoy a cup of coffee…while it’s still hot. For more ideas, check out our top 7 family-fun indoor activities.