Keeping our children fit and healthy at home right now probably falls somewhere amidst a very long to-do list. We are all currently cooped up and trying to juggle our normal workload as well as being a home school teacher to our kids. These are trying times and getting through each day is a job well done. That’s why we want to help make things easier for you when it comes to keeping your kids fit.
Sadly statistics show that today’s children are less active and unfit due to less emphasis being made on physical development and more emphasis on computers and television. Movement is as fundamental a need for every child as eating and sleeping. We love movement at Monkeynastix.
Why Move?
Good movement education helps develop foundations for:
- Neater handwriting
- The ability to sit comfortably in a chair and focus on desk work.
- Improved concentration
- Eye strength for reading and copying from books, worksheets or the blackboard.
- The ability to follow movement demonstrations and auditory instructions.
- Sequencing, memory and rhythm- for reading and writing.
- The acquisition of vocabulary that relates to movement e.g. numbers, up and down, body parts, actions and words and direction.
Basically movement activities make up an indispensable contribution to the development of children as a whole. We at Monkeynastix, want to share more fun and exciting ideas with you whilst we can’t see your kids in person.
Ideas To Get Your Kids Moving
DIY Obstacle Course
We created a fun obstacle course and have attached a video for you to watch. This can be done in whatever space you have available at home whether it be indoors or out. Use everyday items that we all have in our homes to create a fun obstacle course. Then encourage your children to complete the obstacle course as fast as they can.
For some added fun, time each child or Parent to see who can do it the fastest. Once everyone has done the course a few times, change things up and get them to go backwards through the course, i.e.- starting from the activity that they would have ended on.
Here are a couple of ideas on what can be used to create a fun obstacle course:
- Put some chairs together and cover with a sheet to create a tunnel
- Balls and an empty bin or bucket throw the balls into the bucket. Make your own balls using newspaper if you don’t have or even use pairs of durable shoes and try to throw them into the bucket
- Use a towel to hop over from side to side or to balance on top of
- A broom can also be used for jumping over from side to side. It also makes for a fun activity getting your children to thread whole toilet rolls over the broom (as shown in the video)
- Toilet paper crunchers. Do crunches or leg raises and lift your legs over a stack of toilet paper. Make it more challenging by getting your children to lift a stack of toilet rolls from one pile to another one by one whilst in the sit-up position and doing leg raises.
- Use old jugs, bottles or anything that can be used as cones and run between the cones or dribble a ball between them.
- Put some plastic cups on a tray and balance them from one point to another.
- Use a table and do leopard crawling under the table
- Turn an old pillowcase into a hopping sack and hop between points inside the sack
- Toy tidy station. Have a bucket or container with a bunch of toys around it and the children need to tidy up all the toys by packing them into the bucket.
- Using two strong and stable couches or chairs, hang in between them and do an egg hang.
One of the Parents from Dipeo recently shared an awesome idea with me, where she created an obstacle course outside on the pavement area of her yard. Using chalk, you can draw a variety of different activities for your children to do including hopscotch, balancing bricks, mazes, ladders, spirals and squat/lunge/jumping jack stations. Use whatever space you have and mark a fun course out with some chalk. It washes off easily and makes for loads of fitness fun.
These are just some of the fun things you can incorporate into an obstacle course, but if you walk around your house or garden, I am so sure that you will find so many other wonderful ideas.
Music and Movement Fun
Open the pots and pans drawers and bring out the wooden spoons. Let each member of the family create their own instrument. You can even use sieves, metal canisters or plastic containers with beans/pasta/stones/rice inside to make shakers. Put on your favourite playlist, clear the lounge, dance and make some noise.
This is such a brilliant and noisy activity to do with the whole family. Even if your neighbours might not think it’s as much fun.
Monkeynastix Keep Kids Fit Online
It is with excitement that I share with you the launch of CYBERNASTIX. This has been set up by the CEO of Monkeynastix International, Dirk Cilliers and he will be doing a live Cybernastix lesson on Monday mornings at 9 am. This means your kids can be doing Monkeynastix at home.
They will be using exciting things from around the house to get those bodies moving and staying fit & healthy during the #Lockdown.
To subscribe to the YouTube channel click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA0DEeq76wSFZtGZ5l-l_Aw/videos?disable_polymer=true
Bonus- Colouring Page
You know at Monkeynastix we love colouring too. Download your free Cybernastix colouring-in page below.
Please share this article, I’d love more people to know that you can keep having at Monkeynastix fitness fun at home.
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