Spooky season is upon us again, and it is sure to be a time filled with sweets and treats. Of course, there is nothing wrong with sweet food in moderation, but if you can, keeping your kids active during this time will be important for them, so their diet is balanced.
A common question asked is how do kids get fit? Kids naturally have a certain fitness level, and by a large standard, they are active when out playing with friends and in school. In recent years there has been a decline in this fitness, though, as the pandemic has kept kids inside and set up new habits rather than going outside and playing.
With Halloween fast approaching, children will be gearing up for Halloween night, where they can trick or treat with their friends, play games, and attend bonfires. To get them hyped in the lead-up to Halloween, we’ve put together some games and exercises to help them get excited.
Getting Kids interested in working out
The first hurdle to overcome is getting kids interested in exercising. An easy way around this is by using play as a way to get them motivated and moving. Many games can be played with a spooky twist to them.
Traditional Games
Bobbing for Apples- with a twist!
Everyone knows the traditional game of bobbing for apples. All you have to do is put some apples in a large water-filled basin. The main objective is to get one of the apples out of the water using only your mouth.
A way to add fitness to this is to make it into a race between two teams. Have them stand 50-metres from the basin, and a player on each team races to the basin, gets the apple out and then runs another 50-metres and places the apple in a basket before running back to join their team. The first team to ten apples wins.
Puca In the Graveyard
Depending on how many children there are, up to 5 need to be nominated as the Puca and must hide. All the other kids must stay in ‘base’ and count loudly to midnight together (one o’clock, two o’clock etc). Once they reach midnight, they have to begin the search for the Puca. When someone finds one, they yell, ‘Puca in the graveyard’, and try to make it back to base. The Puca’s all come out of hiding and chase the seekers, trying to tag as many others as possible before they make it back. Once tagged, the kids have to stop where they are and try and get their teammates to unstick them without getting tagged themselves.
Pumpkin Workout
The Pumpkin workout is an exercise for each letter of the word “Pumpkin”. Remember, this needs to be fun for kids and not just a workout. This requires kids to be in teams of two.
P is for press-ups. Divide the kids into teams of two and have them do a press-up, then leapfrog over their teammate, and then the teammate does the same. Repeat until they get to the other side of the room. The first to get there wins round 1.
U is for Up and Down. Have the children do a wheelbarrow race with a twist. Once they get to the finish, they have to do 5-jumping jacks, swap over and make their way back to the start line. The first team back wins round 2.
M is for Marching. With a piece of fabric, put a 20-metre line on the ground. The teams have to try to march on the fabric without losing balance and touching the outside of it. The first to make it to the finish line wins round 3.
P is for Plank. This is a 3-legged race with a twist. Once the kids reach the other end, they must hold a plank for 10-seconds. If one leg collapses, they have to start again until they get to 10, then race back to the finish line. The first team back wins round 4.
K is for Knee-Ups. Teams have their ankles tied together and do knee-ups to the finish line. Take this one slowly so that they remain safe. The first team back wins round 5.
I is for Increased speed marching. Like marching the first team back without losing balance wins, but this time they need to increase their speed.
N is for nine leapfrogs. The teams have to try and make it back to the finish line in only 9 leapfrogs. The first team back wins the final round!
Conclusion
Make sure with these games, you have some spooky treats as prizes that the kids can bring home with them. Remember, the key to getting kids to workout is to add some fun to it! Once they are engaged with the activity, it won’t be difficult to get them moving!
