Summer is a time when kids are naturally more active; Max can often be found biking up and down our block, working off the little pot belly he put on thanks to one very long, cold winter and his codependency on mac ‘n cheese.
The American Physical Therapy Association has organized a Summer Fit Family Challenge; families who take photos of themselves doing activities and share their photos on Facebook, Instgram and Twitter using the hastag #FitFam14 will be entered in bimonthly drawings to win a FitBit Flex (the contest ends September 1, 2014).
A list of suggested activities, for inspiration:
1. Learn a sport—switch it up by trying something different like tennis, badminton or volleyball.
2. Visit a lake or beach you’ve never been to and take a swim, or go on a walk or jog in the sand.
3. Take a weekly after dinner or nature walk and make a collage from objects you find or pictures you take along the way.
4. Organize a game of tag or an outdoor neighborhood scavenger hunt and invite other families to join in for some fun physical activity.
5. Plant a vegetable garden and plant two new vegetables you’ve never grown.
6. Plan an adventurous and active vacation outdoors (camping, hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding).
7. Organize a fun sandcastle building contest.
8. Participate in community fun runs or walks as a family to get exercise while raising money for a good cause.
9. Spend a day picking fruits at a nearby orchard or veggies at a farm.
10. Explore the sights of your city on foot or bike.
11. Visit a park or playground in your neighborhood or city that you have never been to.
12. Seek out physical activity options available in your community (YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, swimming pools) and invite friends along to participate in an activity such as, playing water games at a local pool.
13. Teach your kids old favorites like “Red-Light-Green-Light,” “Mother-May-I,” hopscotch, SPUD or “kick the can.”
14. Have a hula-hoop contest to see who can keep it going the longest.
15. Take your dog or a neighbor’s dog on a long walk.
Image of family hula hooping in park via Shutterstock