What do you do on a day where there isn’t really anything you can think to do. Maybe taking a walk in the woods or driving downtown to play on the basketball courts isn’t an option. So what is it that you do with the kids to keep active?
Well I know what my kids and I prefer to do, we head outside in our own backyard to enjoy some random fun. Whether they take out the bikes, scooter or just do races up and down the driveway on feet, we get active.
At first my oldest, and only daughter, wasn’t all into riding a bike but I knew if she had one hanging around that she would eventually pick it up on her own and ride it. What I didn’t realize is how soon it would be before she took to riding a bike so often. Now, I can barely get that girl off of her bicycle. Often, when I am cooking dinner she will be outside riding her mountain bike, all alone, just enjoying the ride up and down the long driveway.
Occasionally I will get on the bike and ride with the kids, but if they are all riding bikes, I enjoy speed walking up and down the driveway acting as if I am the fastest person alive and can beat them all on my own two feet vs their wheels! My only thing with going outside and riding bikes or enjoying the backyard is that Winter in NH is coming and it’s suppose to be a brutal snow season.
I am not one for the cold nor the snow so while enjoying the backyard has been and will continue to be a blast during warm seasons in NH, I try to avoid it at all costs during the Winter months. The only issue I have with trying to ignore the cold backyard is that my children love getting outside and doing active snow fun each Winter. Here are some ways my family and yours can enjoy the Winter months while keeping your activity level up:
- Snow Fights – Get some snow balls made beforehand, each family member can help the other make a huge pile of snowballs in their own designated area. Take turns tossing snowballs at each other while running around in a huge “snow war” battle.
- Make a Snow Fort – Get the shovels out, they make smalls one for the little kids, and start shoveling up snow into huge buckets or just into piles to create a cute little snow fort where you all can enjoy playing and running around.
- Help with Snow Removal – This may be more fun for the little ones than you, every family member does their part to help clean up the snow off of walk ways and driveway to help make for a path to and from the home.
Of course, after you are outside enjoying all of that cold fun running around, come back inside to warm up to a nice game on your active game console such as the Wii, which we enjoy using while inside during the cold Winter months. There are many ways to be active in the snow, just put your imagination to use and have fun with it!
I’ve partnered with Harvard Pilgrim on this sponsored post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. You can find more ways to be well at HarvardPilgrim.org/CountUsIn.
I’m not big on playing out in the snow, not because it isn’t fun, but because I get cold so easily and it takes me HOURS to thaw out (no joke). I do send the kids outside to play in the yard all the time though. The schools send the kids outside for recess if it’s 32 degrees and above, so I stick to that rule, too. The fresh air is good for them and it tires them out 🙂
Our side yard slopes quite a way to the bottom of our yard, making the PERFECT sledding hill, so we go out and do that… it’s WAY better than driving into town because to get warm we just run inside and a few seconds later, heat! 🙂