Being inside for many hours a day can be tough, but fortunately, it's easy to make indoor jungle gyms with household items and get moving! Here are some fun ideas to make any indoor space into an engaging and playful obstacle course.
1. Floor is lava!
Step one: Find a space in your house that is relatively open and free of furniture. If one does not exist move furniture to the edges of the room, leaving an empty space in the middle. If this is not an option -- hey, more obstacles = more engagement!
Step two: Find some tape (colorful is best, but clear works just fine! Tip: once it has been placed on the ground, color it with a washable marker to ensure that it is visible). Create different geometric shapes like diamonds, stars, and other polygons on the floor. These are the safe spaces. They can be arranged haphazardly, or in a clear course with a start and finish. Everywhere else is lava, which you can't stand on. Ouch!
Step three: Uh oh! The floor is lava! Try and jump, crawl, bend, and stretch between your tape shapes. Let the fun ensue!
Tip: If children are having trouble deciding where to go, and get stuck on certain safe spaces, make up challenges based on getting to new spaces (i.e. you must put your hands on the new space first; try to get to as many diamond spaces as possible in a minute).
This parent went for multiple colors instead of shapes as the design by using clear tape to attach colored paper to the floor.
A video for inspiration and how-to!
Idea #2!!
Idea #3: Exercise Challenge Edition