Three games to PowerUp the fun!
As summer camps, fitness centers, and childcare navigate reopening and families continue to look for fun physical activity options, regulating social distancing with kids is no easy task! Gone are the days of tag and team relay races - hopefully not for too long - but until we can get back to normal, we'll continue to share kids' fitness resources, fun family physical activities, and tips for camp staff, childcare providers and teachers. We're sharing three more kids' fitness games that can be played with safe participant distancing or even virtually!
Did you know that neither PowerUp Your School nor PowerUp Peanuts require any equipment? No equipment = reduced germ transmission. This also means that all of the activities and exercises can easily be taught with safe physical distancing between participants or even through Zoom! We often say, they're great for any space any place!
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1. Food Frenzy - Preschool to Early Elementary
Virtual Version: Make sure participants have enough empty space around them so they can stand up, jump, lay down safely.
In-person: Make sure participants are properly distanced and stay in their “bubble”. Use painters tape or hula hoops for spatial awareness if needed.
Call out different actions associated with foods and act them out with our bodies.
Game Queues: Sizzle like Bacon, Scramble like eggs, Twist like a pretzel, Pop like popcorn, String like cheese, Crunch like a carrot, Peel like a banana, etc.
Twists - let participants come up with the food/action, try fruits or just veggies!
2. Bop-It - Elementary to Early Middle
Virtual Version: Make sure participants have enough empty space around them so they can stand up, jump, lay down safely.
In-person: Make sure participants are properly distanced and stay in their space. With younger kids, use painters tape or hula hoops for spatial awareness if needed.
This game is a blast from the past! The instructor calls out different actions and participants perform the command as fast as possible. The instructor increasingly get’s faster between commands. Provide an overview: “If I say kick it, kick your foot in front of you. If I say Twist it, jump and twist toward the back the twist back to the front. If I say spin it, spin all the way around. If you hear pull-it, reach up in the air and pull all the way down to the ground. And finally, if I say bop-it, jump up in the air!”
3. Cardio Freeze Tag - All Ages
Similar to traditional freeze tag, simply instead of being “frozen”, when you’re tagged, you perform an exercise. Choose taggers. Everyone else tries to avoid getting tagged (virtual adaptation below). But if/when you do get tagged, you’ll perform squat jumps until you’re ”unfrozen” by someone or a previously designated quantity. Add math or other problem solving into the mix. For example, when you’re tagged, you solve the problem 100 divided by 10 and do that many jumping jacks to unfreeze!
Virtual Version: Taggers call out the names of other players to “tag” them. Once tagged, the tagger and the player do the exercise together. Then the player becomes a new tagger and calls on someone else.
In-person: Play this game outside to make this touch-free with shadow tag – where taggers step on players’ shadows and call “tag!” to tag a player.
You can also slow this game down a bit, for safety with large groups and to reinforce safe distancing – instead of running, only skipping or galloping is allowed. Or to really slow it down, hopping or lunging around the space.
For 100’s of activities, games, and exercises that can be implemented virtually or with safe distancing, check out our PowerUp programs!
Want to see sample lesson plans or learn more? Request sample lessons here.
PowerUp Goes Virtual!
Need 100% virtual resources? Turn on, Tune In, and PowerUp! Check out our PowerUp Premium Virtual Classes! Only $12.99/mo for an unlimited subscription or check out our System Access Bundles for Summer Programs, Before & After School, PE and more!