Fitness Fanatics!!!!

Being fit and moving our bodies is always important, but even more so in the winter when it's harder to stay active. We try to come up with creative ways to get our kids moving and already this week we have had fun with yoga, relay racing, duck,duck, goose and dancing!

Here are some fun ways for you to stay active with your kids in the winter -

1. Stay warm.  This one should be obvious, but sometimes we make sure our kids are properly dressed, yet somehow we aren’t.  I spent too many winters freezing my tail off because I never had proper winter shoes.  My kids would want to stay outside, and I’d be begging them to come in because I was the one who was cold.  So, make sure everyone is dressed appropriately for the weather.
2. Get something accomplished!  Whether it’s picking up the yard, shoveling snow, taking the dog for a walk, or learning something about the environment; building a chore that needs to be accomplished into your outside time motivates me to get outside with the kids.  I also like this one, because there is a clear “coming inside time”.  Once the job is done, then you can go in for that warm cocoa.
3. Consider it therapy!  We know from extensive research that kids who get outside to be active; behave better, have a higher IQ, and have higher self-esteem!  When the kids are literally driving you to take too many visits to a locked bathroom, consider going outside the best solution to their behavior problems.  Ask your local elementary school teachers and they will affirm that kids who miss recess have the most behavior problems.
4. Schedule it in.  I love to plan!  If we add something to our calendar, such as sledding on the 24th, or hiking on Thursday and then tell the kids about it, we are completely bound to do that thing.  Erica has a memory like an elephant and will not let us forget we promised to take them somewhere on a specific day.  There is no getting out of the activity once you’ve let the kids in on the plan.
5. Invite friends!  I love socializing, so if we invite our neighbors to come outside, cousins, friends, etc., the kids can have fun playing with someone other than me, and I can have fun socializing.  It’s a win-win!