Active Southern West Virginia, a nonprofit organization that works to strengthen southern West Virginia’s efforts to build a healthier and more active community through increasing opportunities and access to physical activities, shares several ways to stay active while stuck inside this winter.
“If you don’t want to go out in the cold, you can still get yourself and your kids active indoors. Check out the resources for fun active games and activities we’ve compiled below that will help kids get in their 60 minutes of daily activity,” Southern West Virginia posted on Facebook.
The activities include themed indoor scavenger hunts, an alphabetical fitness challenge and active bingo.
Kids (and adults) can play these games to stay active while still having fun all winter long!
Scavenger Hunt: Inside Theme
Find something red and square = 7 squats
Find the word ‘apple’ written on/in something = 10 jumping jacks
Find something that is out of place = bear crawl over to where it should go, put it back, and then crab walk back to your original location
Find something circular = do 10 arm circles one way, and then reverse and do 10 the other way
Find three objects that start with the letter ‘R’ = do three sets of 10 Russian twists
Open any book to page 7. Find the 10th word on the page. Count how many letters are in the word, and do that number of burpees
Find something with a picture of a bird on it = mountain climber for 15 seconds
Find something that’s sticky – wall sit for 15 seconds
Find something shiny – 5 star jumps
Find something that makes you happy = Dance for 15 seconds
Find something with more than 5 colors on it = 7 frog leaps
Find something with words on it that’s NOT a book = high kicks – 7 on each leg
Find something that starts with the letter of your first name = count the number of letters in the object, hop on each foot for that many seconds
Find something that’s not a rectangle, triangle, or square = balance on each leg for without holding onto anything for 15 seconds
Find something with wheels = sit down on the ground and stand back up 5 times
Find something that floats = do 3 sets of 10 crunches
Find 6 different pairs of shoes = do 10 bicep curls holding a shoe in each hand
Find something that is cold when you touch it (without being in the fridge) = 7 inch-worms
Find something with sparkles on it = 15 sit-ups
Find two different things you can fold = 15 curtsy lunges
Find something that makes noise = bunny hop 10 seconds
Find something with zigzags on it = 15 skater hops
Scavenger Hunt: Colors and Shapes Theme
Look for a red car = 10 jumping jacks each time you see one
Find something that lights up (any color) = do a 20 second plank
Find something painted orange = bear crawl for 10 seconds
Find a yellow leaf = jog 30 seconds, sprint 20 seconds
Find a green article of clothing = running high knees 15 seconds
Find four different blue things, each one a different shade of blue = crab walk for 15 seconds
Find 5 purple items = each time you find one, do 5 push-ups
Find something Silver = do a hamstring stretch for 15 seconds on each side
Find something tan that’s man-made = wall sit for 15 seconds
Find 6 black things = do two burpees each time you find one
Find a plant with striped leaves = do walking knee-pulls for 10 seconds
Find a picture of a brown animal = do 15 leg raises on each leg
Find something with 4 or more colors on it = do reeeeally big arm circles, 7 forward and 7 backward
Find something red and circular = do 30 crunches
Find something flat and orange = do a 15 second plank
Find three triangular things = do three sets of 5 ‘v’ ups
Stop for 20 seconds and count how many brown things you see around you = do that number of jumping jacks
Find something diamond shaped = 15 donkey kicks each leg
Find a blue mailbox – hop on each leg 20 hops
Find three red things that are three different sizes = 5 jump squats each for each item you find
Set a 1 minute timer. Count everything yellow or orange = do that number of forward lunges
Find something in nature that’s a rectangle – run in place 20 seconds
Find something completely white – do 25 sit ups
Alphabetical Fitness Challenge
Foreach letter of the alphabet, you’ll see an activity assigned. See if you can get through the whole list in the week. Make a schedule to keep yourself on track, or start off by spelling different words like your name, favorite color, favorite food, etc until you have gone through all the letters. Log your daily progress as you go through the week. Which was your favorite letter/activity to do?
A – Activity bingo (see ‘physical activity bingo’ resource in the Week 7 Google Drive Folder)
B – Bone strengthening exercises – bones need pressure to get stronger – do activities like jump rope, hopscotch, playing on the playground, monkey bars, lifting something heave – any activity that is weight bearing. Do activities like these for at least 15 minutes, two or three days this week.
C – Carry something heavy around for 15 minutes ( take breaks if you need to!)
D – Drink at least three big glasses of water for at least the next three days
E – Eat a new fruit or vegetable you’ve never tried before. Try to do this three times this week.
F – Friend fitness – ask a parent, sibling, grandparent, neighbor, aunt, uncle, cousin, caregiver, or anyone else to be active with you! Pick some things off this alphabet list and do it for at least 30 minutes.
G – Gardening and yard-work is exercise too! Weed the garden, rake the leaves, or do another outdoor maintenance activity for 20-30 minutes
H – Heart Health challenge. Being physically active makes your heart strong and happy. Keep track of all the physical activity you do this week for the challenge and try to get 60 minutes a day of activity that makes your heard beat fast. This would include running, biking, brisk walking, swimming, dancing, and any of the other activities you do throughout this 7 week challenge.
I – Interval training! Do the following run alternating between a faster and a slower pace. Slow jog or brisk walk for 1 minute to warm-up. Run easy for 30 seconds, run fast for 20 seconds, run easy for 30 seconds, run fast for 20 seconds, run easy for 30 seconds, run fast for 20 seconds, run easy for 30 seconds, run fast for 20 seconds, run easy for 30 seconds, run fast for 20 seconds. See if you can do this three times, taking as much break as you need in between, then do 1 minute of brisk walk or slow jog to cool down.
J – Jumping challenge – pick four of the following exercises (or any other jumping activities you can think of) and spend at least 30 minutes throughout the day doing them…..jumping jacks, frog leaps, bunny hops, jump squats, jump rope, hop-scotch, jumping on the trampoline, single leg hops, star jumps.
K – Keep a fitness log for at least one day this week. Record all the activities you do, what you eat to fuel your activity, and what you drink to keep yourself hydrated
L – Leg day! Do the following exercises throughout the day: sumo squats (three sets of 7), star jumps (three sets of 5), walking lunges (three sets of 10 steps), wall sits (three sets of 15 seconds), calf raises (three sets of 25)
M – Music dance party! Put on your favorite music and dance around
N – No sugary drinks challenge! You don’t have to eliminate them completely, but try to only drink beverages with no added sugar at least three days this week
O – Obstacle course – build one in your backyard. Share a photo or video on the Facebook group page
P – Play a game outside like tag, sharks and minnows, stoplight, messy-cleany, would you rather, etc. (see the Kids Run Club Manual for other ideas)
Q – Quick activities throughout the day – do leg raises while you brush your teeth, do crunches or run in place every time the commercials come on when you watch tv, do calf-raises at the sink while you wash the dishes, every time you go on social media, do 5 squats, do wall sits while you wait for the time on the microwave when you heat up food, do table push-ups every time you go past the counter, etc.
R – Race day! Race someone or yourself. Pick a decent distance to run and race someone at least three times to find the winner. To race yourself, time yourself each time and try to beat your last time every run.
S – Stretches are great for your muscles and body! Spend at least 15 minutes stretching out all the muscles in your body. Try for 30 seconds per stretch – triceps, shoulder, neck rolls, side stretch, hamstring, quad, hip flexor, calves, forearms, ankles, back, abs, groin…
T – Try a trail run, walk, bike ride, or hike
U – Up challenge: sit on the ground cross legged and stand up WITHOUT using your hands to help at all (cross them over your chest or hold onto your knees to remind yourself!). Do this at least 10 times today
V – V-sit-ups. Do four sets of 10 total (or more!)
W – Walk for 30 minutes
X – X-treme challenge fitness workout! – 15 pushups, 15 squats (jump squats for an added challenge), 15 crunches, 15 jumping jacks, sprint 15 seconds. Do this three times or more
Y – YouTube activity video challenge there are some great options from PE teacher Jason Runk (Runk PE), SportsBackers, Coal City Elementary, Cosmic Kids Yoga, GoNoodle, and more!
Z – Zig-zag run forward for 15 seconds, then follow the same path and zig-zag run backwards. Do this at least 5 times each way
Active Bingo
Active Southern West Virginia’s Active Bingo cards can be downloaded or printed at https://wnf.4aa.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Active-SWV-exercise-bingo-cards-1-3.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0B2Bm1QTv3udUUw22z1Tn2ApZC9Ml6o774SEaw-1-YkJjbqe5BV-lDBrE
Complete five exercise squares in a row (left to right, top to bottom, or diagonally) to finish the challenge.
Visit Active Southern West Virginia on Facebook or http://www.ActiveSWV.org/ for more ideas on how to stay active.
