Trying to keep kids entertained can be challenging any day of the year but during these strange times it turns into a real struggle. Due to social distancing, families are stuck inside and avoid close contact with others.
We’re lucky this March is uncommonly warm for Minnesota. We can break the inside isolation and go outside for a walk or to play basketball with the boys. This past Saturday it was for the first time since all this started that we got in the car and drove to the closest park for a walk. We usually only take walks in our neighborhood. And after seeing how some people don’t make an effort to keep the distance from one another when in public, even if outside, we will go back to our regular neighborhood walks.
As a mom, I try to think of fun things to do with my kids inside as well as outside. So I came up with the idea of a fun family walk. An idea not only for my own family but for all the families in our neighborhood. A way to stay connected with our community even if we can’t actually spend time together.
There is a trail that starts right next to our house and this is where I did it.
I looked for some easy outdoor kid activities, some riddles and I had to include a craft too, because we love crafts (check out our collection of 200+ easy crafts for kids). The next day, my oldest and I grabbed a lot of chalk and went outside to do our fun family walk.
Here is what our family walk includes:
- Jump on footprints
- Race to the top of the hill
- Look for the best stick you can find (our trail goes through a little wooded area and this was at the beginning of that area)
- Jump like a bunny 5 times
- Do 5 Jumping Jacks
- Make a stick man with your stick and bring it back here for everyone to admire (I already had a stick man made by me the day before and I stuck it on the side of the path for everyone to see as an example) – this was at the end of the wooded area
- Parents: Make a compliment to your kid(s)
- Kids: Make a compliment to your parent(s)
- Lava game (jump of marked areas to stay safe from the lava)
- Jump on squares and then go back and jump on circles
- Riddles
- Pick a rock
- Toss a rock game with points (three circles with 5,10 and 20 points)
- What rhymes with : duck, hat, big?
Once we were done, I let the other moms know about the walk (we have a neighborhood group on WhatsApp).
As I mentioned the trail where I organized the fun family walk starts next to our home so we could notice some of the families that we know as well as other families, take the walk and do the activities. Kids and parents would jump on the footprints and run to the top of the hill.
But the thing that warmed my heart the most is to see the stick men. When I organized the walk, I did the first stick man and left it as an example and encouragement for others. This is how it looked like on the first day, with just my stick man.
And this is three days later.
So I encourage you to organize a fun family walk in your neighborhood. It’s a way to put a smile on kids’ faces and their parents too and to bring excitement to their day.