the quickest, easiest way to get kids exercising in the winter.

I had a friend in my elementary and middle school years whose dad would pay her to work out - a penny per sit up.  Needless to say, by high school, she had a pretty shredded six pack and a bunch of extra spending money.  Their family cared a lot about fitness, if that's not clear.

I, on the other hand, am not really gung-ho about formal exercising.  (Are you shocked, considering my ripped physique?)  I figure the kids, if given enough screen-free and/or outdoor time, will naturally find themselves moving a healthy amount.

But I've noticed over the last year or so that some of my kids really do need more physical outlets than just this.  One of the kids starts literally climbing up the walls, another one of the kids starts playing really roughly and fighting more.  So I started looking for ways to encourage more physical play, even when we're stuck indoors.

I bought the kids a balance board, and we received a spooner board as a gift.  Both of these are still big hits.  I'm currently considering putting a climbing wall or a peg climber in the basement.  We also received an indoor trampoline as a gift from my mom, which was a huge blessing while it lasted.  When the kids were getting wound up, I'd set a timer tell them to go jump on the trampoline until it beeped.  If they weren't breathing hard when they came upstairs, I'd send them back down to keep jumping.

But, since it was not made of welded steel beams and diamond dust, it eventually succumbed to its determined fate.  So we've been looking for other creative ways to get the kids moving.

At the beginning of the school year, I decided to add daily exercises to the kids' chore charts.  Each day, they have a couple of After Breakfast jobs and a couple of After Lunch jobs, and when they're done with these, it's time to EXERCISE!

A friend of ours sent us PDFs of Neila Ray workouts, many of which are superhero-themed, and all of which sport very simple illustrations of each exercise.  SO perfect for kids.

via

I cut out individual exercises into small cards, and laminated each one.  I put them in this perfect little box I found in the office supply section at Walmart.

When it's exercise time, the kids are to draw three cards, do the exercises on them, then put the cards back on the bottom of the pile.

This has been a TOTAL blessing to our family.  First of all, the kids can do this independently.  They can get their cards, find a spot on the rug, and move their bodies, all without me needing to be at a stopping point in my schedule.  Further, it doesn't require us to leave the house, put on special clothes or footwear, spend any money, or find tons of open space.  I have noticed a significant decrease in the pent-up energy (which then turns into unsanctioned activity); plus, the kids are getting crazy strong.  It's been fun to watch them go from being unable to do a single push-up, to doing triangle push-ups, and inverted push-ups, and one-legged push-ups.  It's really impressive, actually.

It's also hilarious to watch Callista try to copy the big kids.  Any time she finds the exercise box within reach, she grabs it, walks over to the rug, and starts doing some REALLY ambitious squats.  She also attempts push-ups, which essentially just involve her lying prostrate on the floor and lifting her head up and down.  Oh my gosh, it kills me.  (I keep trying to get video of it, but when she sees me get my phone out, she stops doing it.  Ugh.  One of these days!)

It has been a really easy, accessible way to get our kids moving, and it has made some very noticeable changes in the kids' bodies, physical strength, and behaviors.  Now, if I could just discipline myself to join them...