health + fitness
Spring Activities
By the time April comes around, your children will have become pros at the video games they got for Christmas and will be
starting to get bored with them. The weather is finally warming up and it is time for everyone to get out of the house for some
much needed exercise without snow boots and a heavy coat. So get creative and come up with some fun and safe games that
the whole family can enjoy. Here are a few ideas that will get your children off the couch and into the backyard.
Spring Scavenger Hunt
Send your kids on a hunt for clues of the new season's arrival. There are several new creatures and plants that arrive in the
spring and this activity can be a learning experience for the little ones. Here are a few ideas to get your spring scavenger hunt
started:
Early Spring Scavenger Hunt
• 3 different types of birds - can you tell what kind they are?
• Flowers starting to grow (hint: look for small green leaves coming out of the ground)
• A squirrel eating something
• Buds growing on a tree or bush
• A rabbit (this may be a challenge, but with the warm temperatures, who knows!)
• Something rough and something smooth
• Look for one yellow item, two red items and one white item
• Listen for a bird - then copy the bird's sound
• Animal tracks - you'll have to look carefully for these
• Tree seeds - like pine cones, helicopters, etc.
• 5 different types of trees - since most won't have leaves, you can tell they are different in early spring by the bark on the tree
• An animal that's not a squirrel, rabbit or bird - what are they doing when you see them?
On Target
As a kid, I loved lawn darts but unfortunately everyone around me was in a lot of danger (especially the dog). So here is a
safe version of lawn darts that will get your kids running around outside and having a great time.
What you'll need:
• Rubber Bands
• Small Plastic Bags
• Sand
• Hula-hoop
Each sand bag should be made with a few plastic bags so the sand bags will last longer and not burst as quickly. Fill
the plastic bag half way with sand and then tie the top tight with a rubber band. Once you have around six made,
you are ready to start playing. Grab a hula-hoop and have your kids stand a certain distance away for it. Whoever
gets their sand bag closest or inside the hula-hoop will get to choose where everyone has to stand the next round. The
game is lots of fun and it's completely safe, which is the best part!
Hula Hoop Game
This is a goofy but challenging game that is sure to get your children and friends to work together with
lots of giggling. Get a group of children to hold hands in a circle and put a few hula hoops around
their arms before they connect hands. The game is to move the hula hoops all the way around the
circle without separating hands. If you have lots of children, it is fun to make a few circles and have
the groups race against each other.
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