Are you excited about leading a Sports & Exercise Adventure but need some inspiration? Check out these ideas to help kick start your imagination about what magical experience you can lead for kids.
Balloon Olympics
Create an entire Olympic competition using small and medium-sized balloons! You can customize the experience with the child’s favorite sports (volleyball, tennis, hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, etc.) by replacing balls with balloons and also add in a few other unique balloon-based events. Get everyone warmed up by moving a balloon from one side of the play area to the other without it touching the ground. Have kids use different body parts. (ie. stomach, elbow, head). In the main Olympic events, challenge the kids to problem-solve by finding items around the house that can serve as the goals/nets/bat. Add an extra challenge by timing how quickly they can complete an activity and beat that time. Continue to include the kids in cleaning up by trying to pop as many balloons as they can by sitting, or stomping on them as the final game.
Why Kids Will Love It
They love balloons, moving their bodies in silly ways, and fun games.
Why Parents Will Love It
Their children will be able to use gross motor skills, gain better coordination, build on problem-solving skills, and allow their children to get their energy out in a fun way.
Make It Extra Special
Make your own medal for an Olympic ceremony.
Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
Lead the kids on a scavenger hunt in their backyard or safely around the neighborhood. Each round kids or adults can hide items or toys around the yard. You can read off an item from a list you created before the game. Once kids find an item, they can check it off their list. For kids to work on their locomotor skills; each round they can hop on one foot, skip, run, and walk on tiptoes to find items. Don’t forget to take water breaks, or a snack break in between rounds. After the scavenger hunt, kids can draw all the items that they found while on the hunt.
Why Kids Will Love It
They like trying to find things and they enjoy being outside.
Why Parents Will Love It
Their child is able to exercise their mind and body. It also allows their child to practice tangible problem-solving skills, listening, and understanding skills.
Make It Extra Special
You can turn this activity into BINGO. Kids win when they can cross off four in a row, or play blackout bingo and cross out the whole board. You can also create your own list of items to find and play themed rounds with things you hold, starting with the letter “a”, and things that are the color blue.
Backyard Obstacle Course
Create your own obstacle course in the backyard, or at the park. Kids can help pick out items in the house, like a chair or ottoman and grab a few toys like pool noodles and jump ropes. Before the course is run, kids can problem-solve ideas on how to design the course. Grab some colored pencils and paper and start planning. Kids can also help set up the course based on their designs. After a few rounds through the course, create some movement rules where kids have to walk/run backward or be on both their hands and knees to complete the course. Don’t forget to take water breaks, or a snack break in between rounds and have the kids clean up the course when finished.
Why Kids Will Love It
They like jumping, climbing, balancing, and challenging their bodies to move through a set of obstacles.
Why Parents Will Love It
Their child will be developing and enhancing strength and balancing skills as well as problem-solving skills. This activity will also help in the development of their child’s gross motor skills.
Make It Extra Special
Give your obstacle course a theme. Underwater adventure, or jungle safari. Kids can also be timed through the course so as to try and beat their time on the next round.
Miniature Golf Course
Create your own mini-golf course in the backyard, or at the park. Kids can help pick out items in the house and grab a few toys like pool noodles, legos, and plastic cups. Before the course is set up, kids can problem-solve ideas on how to design their mini golf course using the material they have. Grab some colored pencils and paper and start planning. Kids can also help set up the course based on their designs. After a few rounds through the course, change things up or add in different elements to make it more challenging. Don’t forget to take water breaks, or a snack break in between rounds and have the kids clean up the course when finished.
Why Kids Will Love It
It’s fun and yet challenging and they are able to overcome exciting obstacles.
Why Parents Will Love It
It will help their children develop hand-eye coordination, balance, focus, as well as improve math, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Make It Extra Special
Amp up the activity by writing active tasks on each “tunnel” that need to be completed once your ball makes it through, like “do 15 jumping jacks as fast as you can” or “go run up and down the stairs 2 times”.
Squirt Gun Races
With a few simple items, you can create a squirt gun race course in the backyard, or playground. Kids can gather the necessary materials like rope or yarn, plastic cups, buckets of water for filling stations, and of course the squirt guns. With help, kids can map out their course and start tying the rope on different objects making sure to attach the plastic cups to the rope. Kids can determine where the starting and finishing lines will be. After a few rounds through the course, make it more challenging by timing each round to see if kids can complete the race faster, or place the water buckets farther away from the course to involve running. Don’t forget to take water breaks, or a snack break in between rounds and have the kids clean up the course when finished.
Why Kids Will Love It
They love using squirt guns, working their way through a course, and playing with water.
Why Parents Will Love It
It promotes visual-motor integration through force, distance, and aiming. It will also allow their children to get their energy out in a fun way.
Make It Extra Special
Change up the game by using their non-dominant hand, hopping on one foot through the race, or reversing the course.
Be a Bike Pro
Whether a child is just starting to be bike-curious or has mastered two wheels, these activities can be tiered up or down to suit needs. Using games, kids will get practice with three components of cycling: bike basics, bike maintenance, and street smarts. All riders can practice doing the ABC Check. Older riders will learn the parts of their bikes and how to care for them (ie. cleaning their chains, adding air to the tires). Younger cyclists can play a bike version of Simon Says to practice hand signals. When you’re all done, use sidewalk chalk to set up a street obstacle course for kiddos to practice their skills. At the end, decorate and issue bike licenses for each child.
Why Kids Will Love It
Mastering 2-wheeled bike riding is a rite of childhood and a huge step towards independence.
Why Parents Will Love It
Kids will get one-on-one bike lessons without the stress of doing it themselves.
Make It Extra Special
Get crafty with some common household materials and make custom decorations together for the child’s bike (with parent permission). Use ribbon and a ponytail holder to make handlebar streamers. Decorate the spokes with brightly colored plastic straws. Or go bolder with creative expression and DIY scraper wheels with colorful duct tape.
Be a Little Yogi
Start by exploring yoga with the child. Talk about what part of the world it comes from and why people practice it. When you’re ready to get started, make sure you’ve got everything you need: a mat (or towel), a water bottle, and some comfy clothes. Begin by breathing together, then practice a few simple poses together. Many poses are named for animals and sharing these may be a good way to engage younger kids. Research and practice different animal poses. Encourage your little yogi to make up their own poses inspired by animals. Yoga can help us feel calm, happy, focused, or energized. Spark up a conversation about how each of the poses makes you feel and when it might be a good time to use each of them (bedtime, before a test, when you wake up).
Why Kids Will Love It
Kids love learning new ways to move their bodies and especially love to show off new skills.
Why Parents Will Love It
Yoga teaches children to focus their minds and control their bodies without feeling restricted.
Make It Extra Special
Want to level up? Create a yoga routine with the child and draw the poses on index cards to help them remember the order (stick figures are fine!). Add a title card that includes the way this routine makes you feel (calm, focused, etc). Punch a hole in the corner of the cards and tie them together with string so the child can practice their poses independently.
Looking for more ideas to kickstart your Adventure creativity? Here are some creative ideas for Adventures in each of the available categories. Have fun!
