Today, I've a selection of activities that would cater to the mind and body. Not only is physical health important, research has shown how mental wellness contributes to a healthy and happy individual. Staying indoors for most of the day, missing friends and P.E. is really not fantastic when you have active children. Not all of us are lucky enough to live near parks or wide open spaces for our children to run wild and free.
Healthy tikes
- Some stretching and yoga can go a long way if your child has to sit in front of the computer working on their school-assigned tasks. Don't worry, you don't have to be a qualified yoga instructor. I'll like to share this lovely site (no affiliations whatsoever!) that has free posters and some simple enough stretches to do at home. For those of you who attend yoga classes, you'll recognise the familiar poses. So roll out that yoga mat, or rug, turn on some gentle music and get the blood flowing and pumping.
- Challenge cards If you've little post-its or recycled paper lying around. (We have tonnes of these in my home office!) Have each child, you included, to write down a physical challenge. E.g. star jump for 10 secs; run on the spot for 20 secs; move around the room like an orangutan; march like a soldier until everyone has finished singing, "Happy Birthday". Keep each short and sweet. Nothing beyond 20 secs. Roll the dice or flip a coin to decide whose turn it is. After just 5 minutes of play, you will definitely feel the ticky-ticker drumming in your chest.
- Hot & Cold This has been a long-time favourite of ours. The 'hider' hides a tiny soft toy or a keychain or anything of your choice in a place in the (bed/living/bath)room. The 'seeker' will have to close their eyes whilst this is going one. Once ready, the seeker moves about in the room whilst the hider says 'Cold' if the seeker is too far from the hidden object, 'Warm', 'Warmer', etc if the seeker is getting close. And my absolute favourite is, 'Burning hot!', 'Melting', 'Supersonic heat'. Sometimes the most obvious places are the best ones! And it gets them to think of amazing temperature-related adjectives. Hope this is blazing fun.
-Self-affirmations A healthy body needs a healthy mind. Research has shown that our beliefs of ourselves stem from an early age. We tend to believe in these thoughts as we grow older. So a positive mindset and believe can help put children on the right path of good mental health.
Why not create word clouds with positive affirmations? Each child will have to write down what they are good at (E.g. good at the piano, quick at doing Maths) and their positive characteristics (E.g. a patient friend, kind sister). This encourages each child to reflect on themselves without any grades, marks nor scores shadowing the process. Of course, mum and dad, you need to get in there to encourage and find all those good, strong positive adjectives for your child.
These are some easy-to-use word cloud generators.
I love canva.com for the free templates. Get creative and start working on some posters.
I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or have any questions. And remember to stay safe and healthy.
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