Its freezing out!

When the weather gets cold, children often spend their days watching TV or playing videogames.  Here are some simple ideas for active indoor games to keep everyone warm and busy:

• Make an obstacle course using items from around the house.  Jump over pillows, spin around a chair, perform 5 jumping jacks, crawl under the table, and race to the finish line!
• Use a book or a song with action words and act them out.
• Dance to music or play a game of Freeze (where when you turn the music off, everyone has to freeze in the position they were in).
• Masking tape on the floor can make an excellent balance beam and is easily removed.
• Masking tape can also be used for indoor hop-scotch.
• Make a treasure hunt.  Hide objects around the house and have the children hunt for them.  Use pictures of the objects for children who might need a little more guidance on what they are finding.  To make it more difficult, make them perform a skill on the way to find a particular item, such as jump, skip, hop, or crawl.
• Basketball using balled up socks and a laundry hamper.