5 Inside Activities to Keep Minds and Bodies Active during a Cold Snap

1. 5 Inside Activities to Keep Minds and Bodies Active during a Cold Snap The Windy City can be downright unpleasant during the cold winter months, and that means many kids spend more time indoors. Unfortunately, it can be tough for children to find a productive way to burn off their energy and zeal without going outside. If you’re looking for tips and tricks to help your child stay active –even when there’s a foot of snow on the ground and it’s well below zero – check out the five activities below Chicago area kids can do. #1 – Balloon Volleyball Though you may need to take a little time to prepare a room for such an activity, and it’s best played in an open area such as a basement or a large playroom, it’s well worth it. Balloon volleyball is much like regular volleyball, only you play with a balloon (for safety) and you use a strip of masking tape instead of a full net. Just place a strip of masking tape down on the floor and divide into two “teams”. Each team stands on one side of the tape and hits the volleyball back and forth to the other team. You can make up your own rules, but in most cases, the simple rules of volleyball do the trick. Don’t hit the balloon more than three times to get it across the tape, and don’t let the balloon hit the ground. The first team to 10 (or 21) points wins. #2 – Freeze Dance Freeze dance is a kid-approved favorite, even if you don’t have much room inside to move around. Just pick one of your little one’s favorite songs, then turn the volume up. You and the kids will dance around in place to the music, but there’s a catch –when you turn the music off, everyone must freeze in place. It’s a great way to get some exercise but be sure you have your camera handy. Some of those “frozen” poses can be downright hilarious. #3 – Visit GoNoodle.com with Your Kids Though browsing the internet may not seem like a healthy activity to keep your kids active on cold days, GoNoodle.com is different. It’s a hub that has been filled with physical activities you can do in even the smallest of spaces. There’s a free version and a paid version, and aside from physical activities, it also offers up academic challenges that make learning a great deal of fun. #4 – The Paper Plane Airport Game Paper airplanes are simple enough to make, but they can quickly grow boring. To make it more exciting and turn it into a game, get yourself some cardboard boxes and use them as hangars for your airplanes! You can leave them as-is or take the time to spruce them up with some markers, construction paper, glue sticks, and more. Try to find three boxes of different sizes, if possible. Label the boxes 1, 2, and 3 according to size with 1 being the largest and 3 being the smallest. Then, put them at the end of a hallway and ask your kids to try to land their planes in one of the hangars from the other end. After five tosses, tally up the points to see who wins. #5 – Good Old-Fashioned Twister Twister is a classic game that kids of all ages (and adults!) love. You can find it in many department stores or even make your own version out of an old sheet, some cardboard, some paint, and some bread ties (for the spinner). To make it more competitive, set a “turn limit” of 10. Each child will have to follow the spinner’s directions 10 times, and the one who makes the fewest mistakes wins. Keeping busy and active in winter can be difficult, but with games and activities like these to keep them busy, every day can be an adventure. The best part is that you can change the rules as necessary to suit your kids’ ages, abilities, and preferences.