Indoor Gross Motor Activity Ideas?

[ammama]

We have been stuck inside for 2 weeks!! The cutoff for going outside is -23C, including the windchill, and it has been colder than that everyday.

I am almost 6 months pregnant now, and just don't have the energy to actually DO the active game with the kids, but for many of them, they really need to follow my lead, or they lose interest in it fast, and just don't burn off the necessary energy.

I have run out of ideas for things to burn energy while stuck in the house.
Here is my list of go-to's with my group (2.5-4 years old):

Dancing
playing dance-freeze
musical chairs/mats (without taking chairs away usually, as that sometimes
ends in tears)
Making a track for the ride on's and playing red light/green light
Active songs, like Old Macdonalds Farm, with animal sounds AND animal
movement
Gymnastics on our nap mats, but again, some still need my help doing
somersaults, and this activity also requires A LOT of supervision to keep
feet from hitting others in the head.


Any ideas?

[Unregistered]

Indoor activities

I do yoga with my daycare kids. It's a good way to keep them moving and interested, and it's not hard on the body.

[DCMomOf3]

obstacle course: tunnel under table, weave through cones, hop over small things, etc.
Simon says
we sometimes bring a small slide into the playroom
exercises: jumping jacks, sit-ups (paired up), standing on one foot, switch, pushups. I realize they aren't going to do all of them well at first but it's fun trying.

[lil angels]

I have a dvd called get fit kids it is a kids exersize dvd with jo jo bear and the kids love it. The one yr olds even try to do it.

[daycare]

we get big boxes to stack on top of each other, sometimes fill them with blocks and then push them from one side of the room to the next.. we will make a race out of it some times..

one box at one end of the room, fill your box with blocks, as much as you can carry and then carry it across the room to the other box and dump the blocks into the other box...repeat...

red light green light
freeze dance
choo choo train
mother may I

stack the pillows
who can walk with a book on their head?

[nannyde]

FLOOR BASED PLAY

Gravity is free and it will give them a better workout then I ever could

[MommyMuffin]

My 2 yos are playing with bubbles inside right now...jumping, chasing and laughing so hard.

[Jenjo]

Put different actions ex: hop on one foot, jumping jacks, crawl etc. Or pictures of different animals, into a bag or container. Let them choose one out (kids love doing this) then they each have to do the action or be that animal. All you have to do is sit on the couch while they do this. This is one of my go to games on inside days. Make hopscotch on your floor with tape, they won't be able to play right but they love hoping from square to square. We do a stop and go game where they have to be different animals and go from one side of the room to the other. You can just sit and say "stop" "go". Hope these ideas help.

[ammama]

Thanks for the ideas everyone It's supposed to be another freezing week of
-30C all next week, so I need all the ideas I can get.

[daymommy]

Laundry basket races! The kids love those here. One person sits in the laundry basket (we pretend it is different things...boat, train, racecar, etc) and others work together to push or pull it from one point to another. Depending on how many kids I have sometimes we race with 2 baskets, but a lot of times it takes them all to push/pull one person so they race against a timer.

We also use a sheet as a parachute play popcorn with soft balls...things like that.

Turn on some music and let them dance like crazy. They use ribbons to twirl around.

Shut the lights off, pull the shades and give one person a flashlight. The others have to try to catch the light.

We do obstacle courses a lot too...they usually have more fun setting it up than actually going through it.