PBS SHARES: Staying home and inside can be a challenge with children. For those who are seeking ways to help the youth in your home use up some energy, PBS has shared the following tips:
Turn on music and dance.
Play your favorite songs and move to the beat together. Moving to music is a great way to get energy out and to practice important skills, like self-regulation (find additional music games at www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/7-music-games-for-practicing-self-regulation). Try “mirror dancing” with your child. Stand face-to-face several feet apart and take turns being the dancer and their reflection (try to copy what the dancer does like a reflection in a mirror).
Set up obstacle courses.
Give your child physical activity challenges to complete: “Can you hop down the hallway on one foot and then tiptoe all the way back?” Use laundry baskets, pillows or other items around your home to create more complex obstacle courses.
Toddlers might be more interested in following you through an obstacle course than following instructions, but older children might enjoy the challenge of trying to remember multiple directions. Let your child create obstacle courses for you, too!
Create a scavenger hunt.
Make a checklist using simple pictures or words with items your child can find around the house, such as: two red books, four chairs, two tables, one black shoe, one white shoe. Help your child cross off each item as they are found. For older children, create scavenger hunts focused on finding items that are specific shapes or colors, such as two triangles, four circles, three things that are purple.
Play stuffed animal hide and seek.
Take turns hiding a stuffed animal or an object (like a wooden spoon). As your child looks for the hidden item, offer clues that help her practice directions: “Turn left. Walk two big steps forward. Now look under the blanket.” Give it a Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That! spin with this activity sheet: www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/play-thinga-ma-jigger-hide-and-seek
PBS Kids is offering a daily newsletter to help parents entertain and engage children who are home because of school closures. Visit https://www.pbs.org/parents/pbskidsdaily?source=fb to sign up.
