Indoor Physical Activity???

[khatty]

Looking for suggestions on easy to do indoor physical activities for a 2 year old.

I would love to follow Doman's Physical Education - but it just isn't realistic.  The nearest pool is 2 hours away.  It is currently -40 here so any distant walking is impossible.   Again, the nearest indoor walking track or mall is 2 hours away.  I am trying to get a brachiation ladder made but that is at least a month or two away.  In the meantime......

I have been making some obstacle courses for us to go through during the day, but that idea is wearing out.  I need some more ideas.  I might go cabin crazy soon.

Simple easy ideas appreicated.  Thanks.

[carpe vestri vita]

When I was little I had a mini-trampoline (I actually still have it!). I'm sure they say not to let kids use them now, but if you supervise it's not very risky. It's also good exercise for mommy. Walmart (I think) has one that uses elastic bands instead of springs, so little fingers can't get pinched. It's only about $40.

Also hula hoops are fun and don't take up much space. Or just plain dancing.

Some random internet ideas:

It’s Never Too Late to Skate
On a carpeted area, clear some space to make a “rink”. Get two pieces of paper (8 ½” x 11”), and put one under each foot. With shoes on, stride forward and backward as if you were skating. Have skating races, create a path to follow or skate to music.

Time to Act
Act out a sport and have the child guess what sport you are “playing” (for example, basketball, hockey, soccer, baseball, volleyball, swimming). To make this activity more active, have the child mirror the activity while you act it out. Try again with another sport. Take turns acting.

Play Simon Says, and include little exercises in the game. (Simon Says, Do Jumping Jacks)

Indoor Hopscotch
Create an indoor hopscotch by sticking masking tape down on the floor. You can do this activity whether you have a carpet or a hard floor. Show your child how to go through the hopscotch. You can just take turns hopping straight through it. Or you can play a regular game of hopscotch, by tossing a small stuffed animal or toy onto one of the squares. The player has to hop through the hopscotch, hopping over the space with the stuffed animal on it; and then turn around and hop back, stopping to pick up the stuffed animal on the way. There are many variations of hopscotch games. Play your favorite way, or make up your own rules!

Bowling
Set up a few non-breakable items, and roll a soft ball towards them, just like real bowling.

Hide and Seek

Make a Fabric Wall
String a clothesline across a room. Pin old sheets, towels or pillowcases along the clothesline to make a fabric wall. Let your kids have a ball running under, between, and through the sheets.

"We also play 'animals' where we just go around the house, pretending to be different animals. It does wear them out crawling around like lions and cats and whatnot. Plus fast crawling when the lions chase each other"

"I play music... the best one is Polka music. As much as it annoys the hell out of me - the kids love it and will gladly dance around. I pull out my bin of stuffed animals and let them roll around in them too. Amazing how long kids will play in a pile of stuffed animals with polka music playing in the background " (That's a hilarious suggestion!)

Hope some of this helps!

[sofic]

Guest
Those ideas are great.  I will definitely be using a lot of your suggestions myself.  Thank you!

[laughingwater]

These are great suggestions!

Does anyone have suggestions for indoor physical activities for a 1 year old, preferably ones that won't be too strenous on me since I am pregnant and getting really big that crawling around the floor or hopping or jumping is no longer comfortable for me.

[kirthika]

Hi,
we can play pee-ka-boo,most of the babies love it,and small actions like twist,jump,turn around like that and my son enjoys the rhymes with actions like ring-ring a-roses,If u happy and know it clap ur hands and so on.Lot of indoor games like bat-ball,ball throwing,kick the ball and xylophone,they love to play with vessels I spread the big spoons and container and he loves to make sounds on them.

[Plarka1]

Can you get a 2x4 easily?  Here are some uses we have for it, and my daughter is almost 2.5:

1. Balance beam with 2x4 flat on floor, walk forward, backwards, sideways....

2.Tippy balance beam with a couple scraps of wood underneath in the middle, it tips as child walks to other side

3.  Raised balance beam with a couple blocks of scrap wood under each end.

4.  High balance beam- put each end up on a chair

5. Climbing thing.- my daughter likes to climb over it again and again when it is up on chairs

6. Road/bridge- play with cars on it while its up on chairs

7.  Car ramp- put one end up on a chair and cars can go down it.

8.  See Saw- Used in tippy balance beam mode, it can also be a see saw!

There might be more things we have figured out to do with this piece of wood but that isall I can think of now!

[Laralinn]

We have one of those big exercising balls and my almost 2 year old son loves to jump on it, puts his tummy or his back on it and tries to balance his whole body, roll it to me, he's very proud that he can pick it up- he plays with it twice a day!! Also jumping and rolling back and forth on the bed is another favorite activity of his. Outside he enjoys to push either his big truck or his umbrella stroller around, play football or basketball with mommy.

[happymomof5]

WOW! Tx, everyone, terrific ideas! I'll definitely use some!
I'd add rollie-pollies - kids love those, balloon volleyball (string something between two chairs (or anything else) & hit a balloon to each other over the string.
The Ladder is a dream! Get it, it's an investment that will last you for years (your kid will pass it on to his kids! A friend of mine had it made, actually her dad made it. One of those ladders against the wall, like at a gym & from it, built like a frame, with a pole to climb, a bar to hang & a ROPE WITH A KNOT - to swing on, Kids love it & never get tired of it, thier friends will love it. It takes little space, just make sure it's connected to the wall very well
Dear khaty, my heart goes out to you though, it sounds like quite a place you live in, is it an Eskimo village of sorts?
All the best & MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

[khatty]

Happymomof5, LOL, Eskimo village?  Not quite, just small town Saskatchewan, Canada.  That is the best laugh I have had today.

I really really admire those pioneers who settled the north - the isolation they must have felt.  At least I can get in a car and drive 2 hours.  Imagine having to dogsled in -40 for days and days even to speak with another adult?  Although I suspect those mothers were not concerned with early learning but instead they were concerned with early survival.  Tonight I shall be thankful of our progress and happy for all the posts.  The simple suggestions have been very useful and I still have a few more to try out.  Tomorrow I am going to set up a bowling alley!

Thanks for all the posts, keep them coming....

[Lisac]

-40!!! EEK! You make me feel like such a wimp - it was 17 degrees here with a foot of snow and I thought I had it bad -- but then I'm in California so what do you expect?

I take colored pieces of paper and write words on them, then I put them in different locations on the floor and have my son run, hop, jump, walk backwards, roll, fast, slow etc ect to the word or to the color. its a great way to practice colors, alphabet and words and numbers. You could also do this with pictures. He stays entertained with this for quite some time.

Enjoy your white Christmas!

[PY]

We play music and dancing time everyday, we do yoga everyday for 20 minutes(we watch yogakids...it is really good,kids love it) even my 22 months old.We also play hide and seek, we invented the game the leon caught( I am the leon and I try to catch her and take her to my leon house(which is under the table or in the sofa),we also make music with music instruments and sing alone. we also have indoor tent with tunnels for kids so they can go inside and burn some good portion of energy.
Good luck.

[octaviaorca]

maybe try yoga (in our house the word has kind a loose definition). 
it started with playing while mommy did stretches and grew into copying mommy and now she can do things on her own. 
i have two good books... baby yoga- it's more mommy yoga with baby around you and itsy bitsy yoga- which are kind of like circle time activities that encourage movement. 

i wouldn't say that we follow yoga to a T but i think it's the movement that counts. 

also, i second the balance beam from a previous poster.  it was surpising how many things my little girl came up with to play on it. 

oh... i do have another book- proud parents guide to raising athletic, balanced and coordinated kids.  a serious title for just a great collection of games. all pretty easy to modify for indoor use and starts off with young ages.

we've just moved to a cold climate and man, it is so different!  not only the amount of time indoors but also the amount of dedication you have to have to go outdoors.  i have to really make sure we REALLY want to go out before i start the epic process of snowsuits.  i have to keep reminding myself that we wanted to move here! LOL

[Plarka1]

We just got a little trampoline today and dd loves it and spent forever on it! It's not the toddler kind, just the small kind meant for adults.  I hope she continues to spend as much time on it every day as she did today!

[Tamsyn]

Great ideas everyone!  I second the idea of playing music.  One thing that makes music more fun, and encourages movement, is to give them a large silky scarf to twirl through the air while you dance to it.  I did this a lot with my toddler when I was very pregnant, and it was really fun for both of us.  I would demonstrate circles and high and low, and he would mimic me, and burn a lot more energy than me in the process.
You won't regret making a brachiation ladder, it has been a lot of fun for our family.

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