27 Easy Indoor Activities for Kids to Get Them Moving!

These are fun and easy indoor activities for kids to get them moving! Our schools in Ohio are closed as of last week as a precaution to stop the spread of the coronavirus. So, I need a lot of ideas to keep my daughter busy and active. These are all easy to set up and don’t require many materials. And they are great ways to have fun with your kids!

You could use these anytime your kids need to burn off some energy or when you want to get them moving. They are great for rainy days or snowy days too!

As a guideline, children should get 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. My hopes are that these activities will help kids get moving in a fun way!

Activities for Kids on the TV or Computer

GoNoodle – GoNoodle engages 14 million kids every month with movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. Available for free at school, home, and everywhere kids are! My daughter and I both love dancing along to these fun videos!

Cosmic Kids Yoga – Yoga, mindfulness, and relaxation designed especially for kids aged 3+, used in schools and homes all over the world. I love these because each video is based on a theme that keeps my daughter interested. For example, this week we did yoga along with Frozen and Sleeping Beauty!

LesMills Born to Move – Focusing on fun rather than formal exercise routines, these classes introduce fundamental movement skills. During the 30, 45 or 55-minute classes children move and sing their way through simple choreography. The moves train body awareness, as well as improve balance, coordination, and control. The classes are set to music children love and, as children of this age are primarily visual learners, the highly-trained teacher demonstrates moves that they can easily copy. These are a lot of fun for adults too!

Koo Koo Kanga Roo – Koo Koo Kanga Roo is the dance-a-long show that is entertaining and fun to dance to.

Screen-Free Indoor Activities for Kids

While the activities above are lots of fun, it’s also great to incorporate activities that don’t require a screen (i.e. TV or computer). Active play can boost creativity, imagination, problem-solving skills, social skills, and more!

Balloon Activities

1. Blow up a balloon and play volleyball. It’s fun to hit the ball with both hands together as you would hit a volleyball. You could also tie a string or rope between two chairs as the net!
2. Keep as many balloons as you can off the ground.
3. Use a funnel to catch and toss balloons.
4. Balloon tennis – Use badminton rackets or make rackets with paper plates to play balloon tennis. This indoor game allows your children to burn off extra energy and works on coordination skills as well.
5. Balloon Races – Hit the balloon across the room with a pool noodle or other soft object, race across the room holding the balloon between your knees, balance a balloon on a spoon while racing across the room.

Tape Activities

For these activities all you need is a roll of masking tape or painters tape!

1. Make a hopscotch board using tape play together. Masking tape or painters tape works best.
2. Tape lines – Make 5 to 10 separate lines of tape, each about a foot apart, on your floor or carpet. Label the first one the “start” line and then give your kids simple instructions like long jump (see how many they can jump over), hop (how far can they jump on one leg), and backward.
3. Practice balancing while walking along lines of tape. Make it a challenge by placing toys near the line of tape that your kids have to pick up along their path without leaving the line of tape.

Activities For Core Strength

The following indoor activities for kids are fun ways to incorporate exercise to encourage improving core strength:

1. Have your child lie on their back on the floor, with their knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Then have your child lift up their hips and hold it to make a bridge. Drive cars or have fish toys swim under the bridge to encourage them to participate. For an easier version, have them rest in between each fish or car. For a more challenging version, have them maintain the bridge until all the fish or cars have gone under the bridge.
2. Play board games or do puzzles while your child is lying on the floor on their stomach. They can use their elbows/forearms to support them. Your child may not even realize they are “exercising” since they will be distracted by the game.
3. Challenge your child to travel to and from places in the house using only a crab walk, bear walk, or wheel barrel walk. This will incorporate strengthening the core muscles at different times during the day and allows the child a choice of what they would like to do.
4. Sing “Row row row your boat” while two people are sitting in long sitting and holding hands, one person sits up while the other goes down to the floor on their back.

Even More Easy Activities for Kids…

1. Have a dance party.
2. Have running races or relays.
3. Jump rope.
4. Take turns throwing a ball into an empty wastebasket or box.
5. Use boxes, chairs, and other items to make an obstacle course for your child to navigate.
6. Jumping activities are always fun! Practice jumping off of boxes or steps. Encourage your child to land on two feet. Pretend to hop like a frog and jump from a crouched position with hands touching the floor when taking off and landing.
7. Pillowcase race – grab a pillowcase for each child. Have them hop or slide themselves from one side of the room to the other. This one can get pretty silly!
8. Animal walks – kids love pretending to be animals! Try a bear, sloth, kangaroo, snake, etc.
9. Action dice – You can make your own dice out of cardboard (or find styrofoam cubes). On each side write a different activity (ex. jump 10 times, pushups, jumping jacks, sit-ups, etc.). Or you could try this cute animal version from Playdough to Plato.
10. Yoga – I love yoga because it helps kids develop balance, strength, and coordination. It’s also calming and helps them to focus. Check out these Yoga cards from Teachers Pay Teachers or this article with the 15 Best Yoga Poses for Kids.
11. Give your child an exercise ball – Your child will love bouncing it, dribbling it, rolling over it, etc.

Printable Activity Choice Board

Print out this Activity Choice Board and let your kids choose their activities! Just click here or click the image to download!

I hope your kids love these indoor activities! What is your favorite indoor activity? Let me know in the comments!

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