Are you finding ways to keep your energetic kids entertained throughout the year? Sure, it can feel like a full-time job but if done right, you can have an engaging and memorable time with your kids.
So, if your little one never seems to run out of battery power, here are a few fun ideas divided by seasons that you can enjoy as a family.
Spring energy burners
When the ground thaws, kids are usually bursting to get out. Here are some ways to use up that spring fever:
- DIY Nature Bowling: Find 10-12 plastic bottles, fill them with a little bit of water, and line them up on the driveway. Use a heavy ball to knock them down.
- Puddle Jumping Long Jump: After a rainstorm, find a big puddle. Use a stick to mark a starting line and see who can jump the furthest across the water.
- The Mud Kitchen: Give them old pots, pans, and spoons. Let them mix dirt and rainwater to make mud pies. It is messy, but it keeps them squatting, lifting, and moving for hours.
- The Great Seed Hunt: Give them a magnifying glass and tell them to find five different types of seeds or sprouts in the yard. This keeps them crawling and exploring every corner of the garden.
If you are looking for gifts for kids during this time of year, consider a sturdy set of binoculars or a bug-catching kit. These tools turn a simple walk into a high-speed chase after a butterfly, which is great for burning calories.
Summer heat highs
Summer is about staying cool while staying active. These ideas are perfect for those long, sunny afternoons:
- Sponge Water Tag: Instead of the plastic balloons, which leave small rubber pieces everywhere, the kids will have more fun playing tag if they throw large sponges soaked in a bucket of ice water. Nothing beats the coolness you will feel when hit by a wet and cool sponge while you are sprinting during the game.
- Frozen Treasure Hunt: Freeze small plastic toys inside a large ice block. Provide the kids with small hammers or a spray bottle filled with warm water and have them work hard to rescue the toys.
- Flashlight Tag: When it gets dark outside, go into the backyard. Someone is chosen to be tagged and must use a flashlight to locate the rest of the players. It is a good game for running off all of the energy in the legs; however, before bedtime.
- Beach Ball Volleyball: The net will be a pool noodle, and a light beach ball is required. Because the ball floats, kids have to jump and dive to keep it from falling on the ground.
Fall harvest hustle
The air is cooler, which means kids can run even longer without getting overheated. Try these autumn ideas:
- Leaf Pile Mountain: Don’t make just one pile; make five! See how fast they can jump through all five piles. Then, have them use their rakes to build them up and do it again!
- The Pumpkin Workout: Buy a number of large pumpkins. Challenge the kids to see how far they can carry the pumpkins, or organize a Pumpkin Rolling Race where the child must roll the pumpkin to a finish line using only their feet.
- Apple Orchard Hide and Seek: If you go to an orchard, you can have a giant game of hide and seek among the rows of trees. The running back and forth will surely ensure an early afternoon nap.
- Pinecone Toss: Get a log or a bucket and measure how many pinecones the kids can toss into the bucket from ten feet away. Challenge kids by placing the log farther away.
Winter indoor and outdoor action
Don't let the cold stop the movement. These ideas work for snow or for living rooms:
- Snow Fort Architecture: Why not challenge the children to design a structure, such as a snow fort with a roof and rooms? Lifting blocks of snow is a great way for kids to get a full-body workout.
- Indoor Hallway Chute: In the longest hallway, create a tunnel using old cardboard boxes. Have the kids crawl through the tunnel with the supplies (like stuffed animals) from one end of the hallway to the other.
- The Floor is Lava: For this classic, you need to set up cushions and pillows on the floor. The kids must jump from one cushion or pillow to the next without their feet touching the carpet. It's excellent for balance and utilizes a tremendous amount of leg strength.
- Ice Block Painting: If it's freezing outside, you can make some ice blocks and put some food coloring in them. When you put them outside overnight, you can use them the next day for building, making an ice tower, or even painting.
Final thoughts
The secret to keeping high-energy kids content is to provide variety. A complicated strategy isn't necessary; all you need is a simple objective and some room to move around. Whether your kids are throwing pinecones or avoiding cold sponges, the objective is simply to keep them moving and thinking.
Each season has something unique to offer, so utilize the change in weather to bring different ideas of play.
