When indoors, many of us revert to the same old routine. It is easy to rely on movies and TV shows to keep the kids occupied. But just because you are inside doesn’t mean you have to be sedentary or lose your imagination. There are plenty of things to do to get your kids’ brains and bodies moving. You might be surprised at how many ways you can keep your kids active, even while indoors. So, whether you are stuck inside (due to too hot, too cold, or rainy weather) or you want to shake things up and do some new activities with your kids inside, we’ve got you covered!
Indoor Fitness Activities for Kids Stuck at Home
Here are 18 easy ways to incorporate indoor fitness activities for kids at home. You may even want to join in on the fun!
1. Toss + Catch Sock Ball
This game is simple! All you need is a sock and a clear space. Start close and take a big step back for every throw/catch combo. If you drop the sock, take a step forward. This is a fun way to work on gross motor skills and have a little competition to see how far back you can get in your tossing games.
2. Indoor Workout Equipment
With kids, it is worthwhile to invest in some indoor workout equipment. My child likes to lift the 20-pound kettlebell. Other ideas are the Little Tykes trampoline, medicine balls, and hula hoops that your kids may enjoy.
3. Make Your Own Weights
If buying workout equipment is not in the budget, here are a few ways you can make your own weights!
First, take an empty plastic water bottle and fill it with uncooked rice. This will give you about 1-2 pound weights to work with for some fun and easy arm exercises. Secondly, you can use old milk containers for weights. You can fill them with rice, dried beans or use sand for heavier options. Lastly, soup cans make a great way to incorporate light weights into a workout. See how many bicep curls or arm raises your kids can do!
4. Yoga
Kids are naturally more flexible, so yoga is a great activity. Cosmic Kids Yoga is an excellent station on YouTube that features kid-friendly and fun yoga sessions that your kids will be more interested in than what you do. Plus, if you all do it together, everyone gets their yoga in.
5. Back-to-Back Partner Ball Pass
You can find any larger ball (basketball, soccer ball, volleyball, beach ball) for this activity. Stand back to back with a sibling or parent and pass the ball to the other person. This is a great exercise to work out your side abs through working out while having some fun!
6. Balloon Games
Never underestimate the practicality of a single balloon (or multiple!). Balloons are a great way to keep the kids engaged. Balloon volleyball is where you can use a blanket, jump rope, or string as a net. You can play this with two family members or more! Another game would be to utilize balloon skills. You can work on gross motor skills by setting different challenges for your children. Some examples are counting how many times you can keep the balloon up using only one hand, keeping the balloon up using a specific body part, or keeping multiple balloons in the air at a time.
7. Laundry Basket Basketball
Have trouble getting your kids to help fold laundry? How about rolling up some clothes and playing some laundry basket basketball. You can do this by setting up a laundry basket at the end of a hallway and throwing the clothes into it. Another way to play is by using an empty basket with an actual ball or plush ball and having them kick them down the hallway into the basket.
8. Chase
My kids will just chase each other in a circle around the house. As long as they can keep their balance and not knock each other over, you can totally just let them run loose in the house. Of course, let them know which rooms and areas are off-limits. You can also add some extra motivation by timing them to see if they are getting faster.
9. Peloton Family Workouts
You don’t need to purchase the actual Peloton bike to get the great benefits of the programs they offer. If you are interested in paying less than $15 a month for workouts, this is a great way to include your family! On the app, look under the Cardio classes and filter “class type” to family. There you will find 30 family workouts ranging from 5 to 30 minutes.
10. Indoor Activity Stations
If you think back to gym class, you may remember activity stations. You can set these up in your home for your kids. Make one station for jumping jacks, another for hula hooping, another for squats, and another for running in place. Depending on what your kids enjoy doing, you can add other stations. Each station can be between 30 seconds and one minute.
11. Spell Your Name (Or a Word) Fitness
This is one of my favorite indoor fitness activities for kids. Looking at the fitness alphabet above, do the exercises that correspond with each letter of the word you choose to spell (think first/middle/last name or vocabulary or spelling word of the week) to allow a quick, fun workout.
12. Dance
Dancing is the easiest way to get your family moving! There are so many ways to incorporate dancing inside. YouTube has some great options for at-home dance workouts. My favorite ones are on Popsugar Fitness. They have specific family/kid dance + cardio workouts on their channel. Or you can just pick a great record and start dancing together freestyle!
13. Cup Stacking
Cup stacking is a fun way to be active while having fun! The only equipment you need is plastic cups. You can use just 3 cups or add as many groups of 3 as you feel comfortable with. This is an excellent video for the basics of cup stacking.
14. Scavenger Hunt at Home
While teaching Physical Education virtually, we had to think outside the box to get kids moving. One of the things our students loved to do was an at-home scavenger hunt. To play this game, set a home base such as a couch or chair. Have each child in charge of finding three household items (examples can be a spoon, spatula, or specific pillow). The first person to find all of the items wins! If you only have one child interested in playing, you can play for time.
15. Charades
Ever since seeing Elsa and Anna play the game in Frozen 2, little ones love the idea of charades. Acting out different things will get everyone up and moving. Whether you have a game already made or make your own cards, charades can be a great game for the whole family to enjoy.
16. Plush Ball Soccer
Having the kids kick around actual balls in the house might get a little crazy, but you could get a plush ball and have them use that. The soft balls won’t knock over as much stuff, and they can still chase them around.
17. Kid-Friendly Workout Videos
There are some fun workout videos that you can find on YouTube. GoNoodle is a great channel for kid-friendly workouts. There are plenty of dance-themed ones and more to enjoy with your kids.
I hope you enjoyed reading about some of these great indoor fitness activities for kids. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to roll these activities out. Feel free to adjust them to your family’s needs and interests. Here’s to enjoyment, laughter, and memories made!
