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Type: Exercise
Skills: Physical & Motor Skills
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Over the past three decades, the rate of obesity in preschool children has more than doubled. Childhood obesity is now considered an epidemic in this country. The good news is that childhood obesity can be prevented. In this activity, you’ll learn how to help encourage your child to engage in more physical activity by creating an activity menu.
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What We Learn |
Exercise can be fun.
Engage the entire family in physical activity.
Outdoor play is a great way for children to explore and learn more about the world. |
Supply List |
Index cards
Small box for index cards
Marker
Magazines
Scissors
Glue
Construction paper
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How-To |
Creating an activity menu is a simple but effective way to encourage your children to become more physically active.
Take a bunch of index cards and sit down with your children and discuss various ideas various ideas for physical activities. Write down activities you all agree on you can do together. Examples might include:
- Run around the block
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Hike up the hill
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Bike around the neighborhood
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Walk around the flea market
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Kick the ball in the park
Have your kids go through old magazines and cut out pictures of that activity. Glue the image to the index card. If your kids can’t find a picture, they can make a drawing of the activity on the index card.
Collect all the index cards in a small box or container. Your kids can even use construction paper to decorate the box. Every day, have your child select a card from the box. That becomes your physical activity for the day.
Nothing encourages physical activity like excitement, so remember to have fun with your daily activity. As you and your child get used to this level of physical activity, increase the range and time of the activity.
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