Fun Exercise Activities for Kids
Sep 8, 2010 | By Trinity Perkins 
Trinity Perkins is a graduate of Old Dominion University with a bachelor's degree in communications. She is a certified nutrition and wellness counselor, amateur figure competitor, and copy editor for two consulting firms. She is impassioned with health and wellness and is determined to make a difference in the lives of everyone she encounters.
Obese and overweight children are at risk for health problems during their youth and as adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fortunately, parents and teachers can aid in the prevention of excessive weight gain by encouraging children to engage in fun exercise activities. When children can play and use their imagination, they are likely to enjoy exercise and contribute positively to their health by managing their weight.
Hopscotch
All you need is outdoor blacktop gravel and sidewalk chalk to create a hopscotch board. Hopscotch involves a series of jumps between square boxes that either requires both feet to land in two boxes or one foot to land in one box--the sequence alternates. This activity can be simple or more elaborate with more boxes and varying jumping paces. Encourage children to jump forward and backward, count the boxes as they jump and for an added challenge, use a jump rope to move between the boxes.
Obstacle Course
An obstacle course is both an indoor and an outdoor game that combines physical and intellectual skills for children of all ages. Use simple items such as yarn, stepping stools, hula-hoops and balls to make the obstacle course easy or challenging. Children can be given written or verbal instructions on how to complete the course and each station should involve some exercise activity. For example, after hula-hooping 10 times fast, instruct them to run to the next station where they have to shoot a ball into a basket. Obstacle courses are an easy way to disguise exercise for children who lack motivation or are less interested in more conventional styles of exercise.
Kick Ball
Kickball is an outdoor game that is best played with a large group of children divided into two teams. Similar to baseball, a soft and bouncy ball is rolled to one player who kicks the ball into the outfield and runs to bases. The ball must be rolled, never thrown to avoid injury, to tag a player out. The runner's goal is to make it to all three bases and then home plate to score points for his or her team. Kickball is a fast-paced game that involves strength training and cardiovascular endurance.
Swimming
Swimming is a low-impact exercise activity that can be enjoyed by children of any age and skill level while under adult supervision. The benefits of swimming are cardiovascular fitness, flexibility and muscular endurance that all aid in weight loss and improved health. Games like tag, marco polo and basketball can be played in the pool as well as swimming speed races to help burn additional calories.
References
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/236936-fun-exercise-activities-for-kids/#ixzz1rMoCiCwj
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