You can choose one or more of these activities to use on the days when you are doing aerobic activity. While they are geared more for kindergarten and up, they can be scaled down and used for toddlers/Pre-k. My three year-old does the same activities as my older children, he just does it at his own pace and skill level. Remember that when doing an aerobic activity you want to have your children keep moving at a constant, steady pace, but not moving as fast as they can. Once they start moving at top speed the activity will become anaerobic and will tire them out quickly. Also, remember that if it is not on the list below, it does not mean that you cannot do it. If it is something that gets you out and moving then you are getting exercise!
Basic Aerobic Activities
Walking (briskly)
Jogging/running
Cycling
Swimming
Dancing
Rope jumping
Active Sports (make sure to keep moving the entire time)
Basketball
Football
Gymnastics
Handball
Racquetball
Tennis
Volleyball
Skiing
Skating
Martial arts
Soccer
Baseball
Aerobic Games
Truck driver: Someone stands behind you with her hands on your shoulders and “drives” you around the yard or house. The driver can say “speed up” or “slow down”, and can drive you in different gears: a run, a fast walk, a hop, a skip, etc… After 3 minutes, swap positions and you become the driver
Leapfrog: Set up a goal line about thirty yards away from where you and a partner are standing. Now you and your partner take turns leapfrogging each other out to the goal and back.
Frog jump: Everyone who is playing pretends to be a frog by squatting down and jumping. Take turns calling out different jumps--- side to side, forward and backward, jump and clap, jump toward goal line, jump and croak.
Back to back: Stand back to back with a partner and hook your arms together. One of you calls out a movement (running forward or backward together, leg kicks, side hops) and you do five of them. Then the other partner calls out a different movement and you do five of those. Keep taking turns calling out different movements and see how many movements you can come up with.
Balloon free-for-all: You can play this with one or more people. Blow you twice as many balloons as there are people and try to keep them all in the air by hitting them with your hands.
Tag: There are all kinds of tag games. Someone is “IT” until that person, chases down and tags another person, who then becomes “IT” until he tags someone else, and so on. You can also play by hopping, skipping, crawling, etc…instead of just running.
Foam ball tag: Same as basic tag, but instead of touching people, you must throw the foam ball and hit someone in order for them to become “IT”.
Tail tag: This is a two person version of tag. One partner puts a bandana or handkerchief in his back pocket so that it hangs down like a tail. The other partner has to chase the person with the tail until she can grab it and put it in her back pocket. Then partner A tries to take the tail back from B, and so on.
Steal the ball: same idea as tail tag, but here, one partner runs around throwing up a ball and catching it and tries to keep it away from the other partner. Whoever has the ball has to keep throwing it up and catching it, and should not just hold onto it and run.
Simon says: One person is “Simon” for 3 minutes and then someone else is for 3 minutes, until everyone gets a turn. Whoever is “Simon” tells everyone else what to do and does it with them: “Simon says, ‘jump up and down’ ”; “Simon says, ‘jog in place’ “---and other exercise that Simon can say are skip, do push-ups, do jumping jacks, run backward, etc… Each exercise should be done for 15 seconds and then Simon should say another exercise.
Animal Fun: Set up a course with cones. Have the kids travel around the course in follow-the-leader style. At each cone, change the type of animal walk. e.g. elephant, bear, crab, seal, gorilla, frog jump, cat, kangaroo jump. Talk about "heavy" and "light." Which animals would move in a heavy manner? Would they move fast or slow? Pick an animal movement that is heavy. Repeat the process for "light." Designate at least one leg of the course to a heavy-moving and to a lightly-moving animal. Have the kids complete the course one or more times.
Locomotor License: Let kids know the parent will be the police officer and they will each be in their own cars, driving around town. The parent will call out a prompt in which the kids will have to move accordingly. Examples: Bumpy road=skipping , Speed limit 30 mph= walking, Narrow Road= galloping, School Crossing= walk really slow, Flat Tire= hopping, Highway Driving= running, Emergency= freeze, Stuck in the Mud= jog in place, Its Raining= put on windshield wipers by doing jumping jacks .
Running Ragged: Have kids run around the playing area following the commands: Run to cone and back, Run and change direction on the signal, Run with your palms tapping your knees, Run with your knees high, Run around the marked off area (not bumping into anyone), Run and stop on the signal, Run around a maze of cones, Run and jump in air, Change speeds, Touch the ground, Make full turns, Go forward and then backward, Run with different steps, etc…
