Movin' through the AGE's

On Your Own

Be a tourist—in your own hometown!

Walk around your neighborhood and explore places you’ve never been before. Take pictures of the cool things you see. Bring along a family member or friend for safety if needed.

Master a new skill!

Perfect a swan dive. Try a new trick on a skateboard, figure

out how to ride a unicycle, or learn a new gymnastic move

or a trick on the trampoline (use a spotter for safety),

or learn to twirl on the playground bars.

Learn a traditional dance from another country

There’s the Japanese bon odori dance, the Hawaiian hula, or

the Russian tropak. You can find a dance class at your local

community center or find instructional videos on the Internet.

Then teach your friends!

Build something!

Learn how to make a bird feeder, a bookshelf, or another simple project. Sanding, hammering, and painting can really work up a sweat—and at the end of it you have something amazing you made! If you’re not sure how to go about it by yourself, ask someone to teach you or look it up online.

Leave the car keys at home

Walk or ride your bike someplace you usually drive or take public transit to (make sure the route is safe and that your family knows where you’re going). Your city will look so different!

Use a pedometer

Set a goal for a certain amount of steps to take each day.

Hopscotch

Use chalk outside or tape pieces of paper to the floor inside

With a Group

Play broomball

It’s like hockey but with brooms and a ball instead of sticks and a puck.

Do a photo scavenger hunt

Get together with your friends or and make a list of things to get pictures of around your neighborhood—a drinking fountain, a dog, a green car, the number 9. Then race to see which team can get them the fastest.

Gather up friends for an evening of group games

Kick-the-can, red rover, hide-and-seek, sardines, capture the flag, etc. (Look them up online if you don’t know them.)

Tag something besides social media pics.

Play classic tag and then freeze tag, snake tag, reverse tag, friendship tag, and even make up your own version!

Join a recreational league

You can join through your local community center or city’s department of recreation. It’s a low-pressure way to learn or enjoy a sport—fewer games, low-key practices, and lots of beginners.

Have a ball playing kickball!

To cool off on a hot day, use kiddie pools as bases and a slip-n-slide to splash into home. Or instead of kicking the ball, bunt it with a bat or tennis racket.

Treasure hunts!

Divide into teams and make treasure hunts for each

other by writing clues on sticky notes and placing them

around your house, yard, or neighborhood. Then

exchange the first clue and see who can find the treasure

the fastest!

Do a scavenger hunt.

Make a list of things each team has to do, like singing a

specific song to a stranger, blowing a bubblegum bubble,

or finding a common last name at a cemetery. Then set a

time limit and see who can do the most.

30-minute dance party.

Break out your best beats and host a 30-minute dance party. Or 15-minute. Or 60-minute. Just get moving!

Play dodge ball indoors or out.

If your playing dodge ball indoors or with the littles you can use soft foam or fabric balls.

Don't lose your marbles.

Learn to play different marble games.

Play limbo

Use a bamboo or even a broom stick with a person holding each end.

With The Family

Turn your yard or nearby park into an obstacle course

Time each racer and see how fast you can: hula-hoop 10 times, run to the tree, do five cartwheels, go down the slide, crab-walk to the swings, etc.

Make up your own sport!

Anyone up for a little LaFoosketball? (That’s lacrosse, foosball, and basketball combined.)

Build a fort

You know you love forts. Build one for you and your siblings to enjoy. Grab some blankets and boxes for an indoor bunker, or take them outside for an outdoor hideaway!

Play charades backwards

One person guesses while the rest of your family acts out the clue.

Lend a hand with household projects.

Stain a fence or deck, paint a wall, re-caulk a shower, or help with another project. It’s surprisingly satisfying—and your parents will thank you. It may be more fun than you think, too.

Learn a game from another culture and teach it to your family.

You could start with Ampe, a game from Ghana, or Di Bi Di Bi Dip, a Korean game.

Be crabby.

Walk like a crab by placing your palms and feet to the floor while your stomach faces up. Try to balance something like a beanbag, have races or play crab soccer, it's like regular soccer in the crab position.

Wheelbarrow walking

One person walks on the palms of their hands while another person holds their ankles to lift their feet of the ground. Walk one way then switch positions walking back

Bag it.

Get some old coffee bean bags, potato sacks or pillowcases, put your feet in and bounce around, have a relay race or play bean bag tag.

Make me laugh!

One person tries to get the rest of the family to laugh, the last person to laugh gets to go next.

Parachute

Use a large sheet. Each person takes a side, raises the sheet together and take turns takes turns getting underneath.

Backyard campout

Pitch a tent in your backyard and play

some campfire games

Keep your balance

Lay a 6-8 foot long 2 by 4 board flat on the ground, try

to walk the length of the board while blindfolded.

Lay two boards side by side and have a relay race.

Seasonal Activities

Have a water fight, liquid or snow!

Fill up water balloons, make snowballs, play in the sprinklers, or pull out the water guns.

Go fruit picking!

A lot of places will let you pick berries or harvest your own fruit for free. Eat what you gather, or learn how to make a pie or to can the fruit.

Explore nature!

Find cool waterfalls, scenic views, hikes, or walks near your area. On some hikes you can even set up camp and stay the night!

Release your inner architect!

Build a sand castle or a snow fort.

Plant a garden and take care of it.

It can be especially fun to plant vegetables—you get to eat the results of your exercise.

Don’t like getting hot and sweaty? Go swimming!

Learn how to dive, try out different strokes, or play pool games like sharks and minnows.

Learn the ropes

You can learn to do new things with a jump rope, like jumping double Dutch, snake in the grass, helicopter, Chinese jump rope or challenge your friends to see who can learn the coolest jump-rope trick.

Get dirty

Play mud volleyball

Ice blocking

It's sledding on ice in the summer

Play yard games

Horse shoes, badminton, volleyball and frisbee, old favorites never die

Chalk it up

Create a masterpiece on the sidewalk using sidewalk chalk or create games like target fling, stone relay and hopscotch

Indoors

Take advantage of the Internet for exercise!

Find online videos for yoga, aerobic kickboxing, or other fitness activities that you like, and make your favorite exercise a regular part of your day. You could even create your own videos to help teach others your favorite exercise.

Go ahead and play electronic games

When you or your opponent loses, do a certain amount of jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups or whatever other fitness activity you decide.

Rearrange the furniture!

See your bedroom or another room in a new way, and you’ll get a workout at the same time! Just make sure your parents are OK with it and that you get help if you’re moving heavy objects.

Keep doing what you’re doing—just add some multitasking.

Stretch a little while you’re reading a book or playing video games, or lift weights while watching TV. You can make your own weights by filling up water jugs or finding something else heavy to use.

Make bread by hand.

You’ll be surprised by how much you’ll work your muscles while pounding the dough.

Go to a museum!

You can actually do a lot of walking as you look

around, and you can stretch your legs and your

mind at the same time!

Add your own theme music!

Put on your tunes while you get ready in the

morning or do your chores.

Race your friends up the stairs instead of taking the elevator!

Get out on the dance floor.

Take up ballroom, country swing, folk, or another style of dance. (One young man turned this into service by waltzing with the widows.)

Use your hands.

Learn some fun hand clapping games or learn to play cups.

Pillow fight!

It's war with pillows

Sock skating

If you have slippery floors slide around with your socks, twirl, spin, race but watch out for furniture!

Blow up a balloon

Toss it around the room, practice your drop kicks, volleyball hits, head buts, play monkey in the middle, balloon volleyball or throw it in the air and pick up an object, high five someone or try some other challenges before it comes down before catching it .

Service

Find simple service locally

Help someone elderly in your neighborhood, go pick up trash at a park (wear protective gloves), or paint over graffiti with the owner’s permission. If you’re with a group, try a service scavenger hunt. Visit justserve.org to to find service opportunities in your area.

Organize a mini Olympics for the kids in your neighborhood!

For instance, a decathlon could include events like a paper-plate discus throw and a relay race using a water balloon as the pass-off baton.

Walk the dog … doesn’t have to be your own!

Volunteer to take your neighbor’s dog for a walk, or visit your local animal shelter or humane society—they’re always looking for someone to play with the pets.

Help build stuff in your community!

Find service organizations, or find a way to help build new play areas in a park or school nearby.

Participate in a local fund-raising run.

You can challenge yourself and work up to run it, or even just walk it to help the cause. Visit active.com to find local events.

Young soldiers

Hot lava

Place paper, (you can also use towels or anything flat) randomly around the floor and leap across the room from paper to paper, make sure you dont touch the hot lava.

Freeze!

An observer turns off the lights while the kids either freeze or lay on the floor, each time the lights go on the kids act like a different animal, object, insect, etc

Play some oldies but goodies

Like red rover, red light green light,

mother may I or Simon says.

Play with bubbles

Blow bubbles and chase them

around, try to pop them.

Row row row your boat

Sit facing each other and hold hands. Rock back and forth and sing "Row row row your boat".

Freeze dance

Dance until the music stops then freeze until the music starts again.

Practice your letters

Write letters of the alphabet or your name in the air using your arms