More Indoor Games for Kids to Burn Off Energy

I know you don’t want to think about it. I don’t either. I still have PTSD from last winter. This was our driveway at the end of February. The snow was four feet high in some places.

It’s barely made it to 60 degrees since last Thursday. Technically it’s still summer. It should be in the 70s, and the kids should be wearing shorts to school. It was so cold this morning my boys wore stocking caps and mittens waiting for the bus! Apparently that Polar Vortex thing never really went away. Thanks Canada!

It’s coming. They say it may be as bad as last winter. Or worse. And earlier. Based on the Farmer’s Almanac and local meteorologists’ forecasts, this is my prediction for the upcoming season:

 

So with that in mind, many of us may have a lot of snow days and days spent trapped inside. It’s never too early to prepare. In anticipation dread, I’m sharing More Way for Kids to Burn Off Energy Indoors, a companion to last winter’s popular post, 10 Ways for Kids to Burn Off Energy Indoors. Because after a day or two of sitting around in the house, everyone is going stir crazy and kids are swinging from the chandeliers. If you’re lucky enough to have chandeliers. We don’t even have a bannister to slide down.

Since most of these kinds of days aren’t really scheduled, I tried to come up with things you can do without buying extra supplies. I don’t want you driving to Target in a blizzard for glitter and Mod Podge.

1. Play in the bathtub. Put one or two kids in their bathing suits and let them play in the bathtub. Pool toys work in the tub. Or give them shaving cream. Just be sure they don’t get it in their eyes. You can make a bubble bath with shampoo or body wash. Here’s a recipe for homemade bath paint.

2. Sing silly songs with them that have motions like Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Hokey Pokey or Do Your Ears Hang Low.

3. Play an old-fashioned game of Simon Says. Include lots of actions like jumping and running in place.

4. Teach them a dance. Did you do the Macarena in college? Maybe The Electric Slide is more your style. Do you go country line dancing? Show the kids how to do it too!

5. Broom hockey – Do you have more than one broom? Give them to the kids along with a small foam ball. Let them push the ball around the kitchen. If they want to get serious, set up some laundry baskets to use as goals. Maybe they’ll clean your floors for you too.

6. Simple tumbling – If you have a large enough open space have them do somersaults, head stands, tripods and back bends. With your help and supervision for safety, of course.

7. Wheelbarrow walking– They lay on the floor, you lift up their legs while they raise themselves up with their arms and walk on their hands.

8. Catch popcorn with your mouth. Pop some popcorn. Have them practice throwing the popped kernels and catching them in their mouths. They’ll also have to help picked up all the missed pieces, unless you have a very lucky dog.

9. Egg spoon race – Give them each a spoon with an egg balanced on it. See who can get to the finish line without dropping it. Hard boil the eggs first to minimize the mess.

10. Hopscotch – Use masking tape to make a removable hopscotch board on the floor.

Ok, fingers crossed we’ll have an unseasonably warm winter and we’ll be playing outside in t-shirts in February. But just in case, maybe you should pin this for later.