Activities for Active Boys!

Now I hope my title is not offensive to those who have active little girls, but in my experience, boys "take the cake" when it comes to extra energy. This quality in boys makes winter a difficult time, because my boys are not satisfied with sitting down and using play-do, or sitting down to do a craft, or sitting down to play a game, or even sitting down to watch a movie! They will DO all those things, but not for any length of time. :)

I must admit, I really do miss warm weather. In the summer, my boys play outside at least 3 hrs per day (whether we go to the park, take a walk, or ride bikes), but in the winter - brrrrrr, it's just too cold. A 10 min walk with the dog is about all I can handle! So, due to winter energy build up, I have come up with a few ideas to help "tire out" my little guys.

1) Wrestle. Now this usually involves my husband, but I have been known to toss my boys around for a bit. And I always make sure to tire them out more than tire out myself, or else it would not be worth the trouble! ;)

2) Pillow jumping. This is a favorite of the boys. We have a large, square coffee table, so I lay the mattress from our toddler bed and every pillow in the house around the table. The boys climb up on the table and jump in the pillows - over and over and over again!

3) Exercise. Thanks to my husband, my boys all know how to do push ups and sit ups, so I challenge them to each do 10. Then I lead them in some jumping jacks, hoping on one foot, and marching. Takes a little time for me, but well worth it!

4) Bed jumping. Since my boys have bunk beds, they cannot jump on their bed, and since my husband and I have a sleep number bed, they are not allowed to jump on our investment, so we use the pull out couch! It takes up most of our living room, but the boys enjoy it!

5) Do chores. Now this may not seem fun, but my boys do not yet know that what they are doing is work! LOL! I have them try to carry laundry baskets, vacuum, carry boxes of packed up clothes, put the sheets on the beds (and believe me, putting them on the top bunk is a work out!), or wipe down mirrors and windows.

6) Tickle fights. Now this is pretty self-explanatory. I tickle, they laugh. . . and burn up energy! Fun for mom and boys :)

Now this is not an exhaustive list, but it does give some ideas. I also try to play some active games with them (like "Ring Around the Rosy") and take time to teach them some cooking/baking skills. I know there may come a day when all they want to do is sit on the couch and be lazy, so I'm enjoying there energy while I can