Winter and colder weather lends itself to cozying up with a book but books can be versatile and included in physical activity as well! If you have a kid who enjoys reading books and listening to stories, here are a few ways to incorporate books and stories into physical activity with your kids.
- Create an obstacle course and turn one page at the start of each obstacle course round
- Read a book while your child is stretching or have your child read a book while you help them stretch
- Use a new book or a trip to the library as reward for completing a larger challenge or consistently completing smaller physical activity challenges throughout the week
- Have your child read or listen in a challenging position such as on their belly (yes, tummy time helps strengthen older kids too). You could also try a modified plank or standing with feet together
- Hide books throughout a room and see how long it takes them to find them
- Create an adventure out of their favorite book such as We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
- Create your own adventure story and then carry it out in an obstacle course or assign exercises to each action (for inspiration, check out our interactive PowerPoints on our website)
You can also use books to make obstacles to climb over, crawl around, carry on your head while walking or back while crawling, or so many other ideas!
Check out this post on some great books about diversity and inclusion.