My name is Rachael. I am a mom of two young boys, a physical education and driver education teacher, and I coach middle school track. This is my 6th and by far oddest year of teaching. I never imagined that I’d be teaching PE online to elementary kids; that is one class that wasn’t offered in college. I have been posting a PE idea of the day on Facebook for kids, and even adults, to burn some energy!

Today I am going to highlight a couple of different fun activities and games to play at home with your kids that require little to no equipment. One of my favorite things to have on hand for hours of entertainment is sidewalk chalk. Not only is it a great art outlet, but there are so many PE activities that can easily be done at home with just sidewalk chalk. I don’t know about any of you, but the floor is lava seems to be a hit from my 3 year old up to my 5th graders. To play this outside, find a spot where you have about 20 ft of space, either on a sidewalk, driveway, etc. In this space you will draw “stepping stones” spread out across the area. On “go” have your kids move across the space by only stepping on the stones. If they miss or step off, have them go back to the start, do ten jumping jacks, and start again. This can be a timed activity if your kids like the challenge. To make our lesson cross curricular for younger kids, you can make your stepping stones different colors and shapes. Each time through have them step only on certain colors or shapes. You can also change how they move through the lava stones, running, jumping off two feet/landing on two feet, lunges, hopping on one foot, etc.

The next activity that I’d like to highlight as an indoor or outdoor activity can be modified multiple ways to fit your family’s needs, and works on throwing and accuracy. You will be working on throwing an object at a target. You can earn points by landing the object thrown in the target, or just by hitting the target, depending on how you play. The first thing you need to do is gather the equipment you chose to use. If you are playing outside, you could use sidewalk chalk circles, buckets, a tree, a lawn chair, etc for your target(s). If you are playing inside, paper plates, a laundry basket, a box, etc. For the object thrown you can use paper airplanes, a ball, a pair of socks rolled up, a frisbee, etc. See how many times the target can be hit. You can again make it a timed activity or throw until you hit the target a certain number of times or number of attempts. To modify, have your kid throw overhanded, underhanded, or with their right or left hand.

The final activity I’d like to highlight is cosmic kids yoga on YouTube. The narrator guides you through yoga poses as she tells a story. Frozen yoga is a current hit in our house. There are hundreds of different videos that you can chose from. Along with yoga, they have some youth centered mediation videos available. This is a scary time for our kids. Their schedules, routines, friends, and in some cases families are no longer present for them and they may not fully understand. We need to make sure that we are checking in on their mental health, as well as our own. I hope these ideas have been helpful and can help you connect with your kids as they are being physically active.