Is the weather affecting your child’s outdoor playtime? Whether it is too cold, too warm, or rainy outside, it is good to have some easy indoor activities prepared in case your child needs to burn off some energy.

The teachers at New Horizon Academy have prepared a list of indoor activities that will get your children moving and require little to no supplies. These activities are simple, easy, and fun for everyone in the family!

1. Hide and Seek

Hide and seek is a classic children’s game that can be enjoyed indoors or outdoors. To play hide and seek, one person will close their eyes and count to 20. While they are counting, everyone else will find a different hiding spot within the house and stay as quiet as can be. When the 20 seconds are up, the counter will begin seeking to try to find each person that is hiding. The first person found will be the seeker for the next game, and so on.

2. Obstacle Course

One of our favorite games for a rainy day is creating an indoor obstacle course! This activity is perfect for when you are unable to take your children to an outdoor playground. Instead, you can make an indoor playground by getting creative and using items around the house to create a kid-friendly obstacle course. Use items such as chairs, pillows, boxes, string, pool noodles, etc. to create a path for your child to navigate with different movements. Determine how your child should get from obstacle to obstacle by suggesting movements such as crawling, hopping, dancing, or backwards walking. Before your child begins the obstacle course, ensure there are no dangerous objects that could get in the way of the activity.

3. Charades

Charades is a great activity for children to burn off some steam and get some sillies out. To play charades, each person will take turns acting out words, objects, or characters by using hand gestures. There is no talking allowed. Everyone else will then try guessing what the performer is acting out. The person who guesses correctly will be the next person to act out a new word or object, and so on.

4. Freeze Dance

What better way to burn off some energy than by dancing? Crank up your favorite kid’s tunes and have everyone dance as hard as they can. Every once in a while, randomly pause the music. When the music stops, everyone must stop dancing immediately and FREEZE! Everyone should hold their current pose for as long as possible without moving. Then, when the music resumes, the dancing can start again until the next time the music is paused.

5. Indoor Hopscotch

Although hopscotch is commonly an outdoor game, hopscotch can also be enjoyed indoors. Bring this classic kid’s activity inside by using painter’s tape, as opposed to chalk, to create your hopscotch board. Then, find a soft but solid object, such as a bean bag, to be tossed onto the hopscotch board. Begin hopping onto the hopscotch board with one foot on the single squares and two feet on the double squares. As you pass by your object, try to pick it up without losing your balance.

6. Balloon Lava

Similar to the famous “Floor is Lava” activity, Balloon Lava is the same idea, but played with a balloon. To play Balloon Lava, scatter your family members amongst a room so you are spread out. Blow up a balloon that you can lightly hit around the room. Take turns hitting the balloon up in the air, to keep it off the ground. See how long you can go without the balloon touching the floor.

7. Follow the Leader

Get your whole family moving with a friendly game of follow-the-leader. Form a single file line and designate a line leader to guide everyone around the room in silly ways. Everyone must copy all the leader’s actions and movements. For example, if the leader hops, everyone else hops. If the leader does jumping jacks, everyone else must do jumping jacks, and so on. Take turns being the leader so everyone gets a chance to come up with their own actions.

8. Cleanup Race

Cleaning up and putting away toys can be a dreaded activity for children. To make cleaning up more fun, create a friendly game around it! For each person participating, designate a certain area for them to work in. Then, set a timer and race to see how many toys you can clean up before the timer goes off. The person who puts away the most objects wins!

For more fun indoor activity ideas, check out some of our family-friendly fitness games that will help burn off some energy!

• Movin’ and Groovin’ Game
• Spin-A-Move Game
• Kid-Friendly Stretching Exercises

New Horizon Academy is a nationally recognized early learning provider with over 90 schools in Minnesota, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, and Kansas. Through play-based curriculum and high-quality daycare, New Horizon Academy schools nurture and prepare children to succeed in school and life.

Schedule a tour to learn more about our highly trained teachers, safe and secure facilities, and commitment to providing the highest quality care. Contact a New Horizon Academy childcare center near you today.