Fun Fitness Activities

Physical Activities for Children

General

We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition)
We Can! is a national program designed as a one-stop resource for parents and caregivers interested in practical tools to help children 8-13 years old stay at a healthy weight. Tips and fun activities focus on three critical behaviors: improved food choices, increased physical activity and reduced screen time.

Early Childhood and Preschool

Children on the Move--Physical Activity for Early Childhood
Activities and information from the SPARK physical education curriculum, developed at San Diego State University. Includes information on books, and music to encourage movement in children as well as games and much more.

Growing Up Fit, Preschool Fitness Activities
Iowa State University Extension

Kids in Action: Fitness for Children Birth to Age Five
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, National Association for Sport and Physical Education, Kellogg Company

Kids in Action: Fitness for Children 2-6
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

MOVING and GROWING: Exercises and Activities for the First Two Years
Child & Family Canada, Canadian Institute of Child Health. Child & Family Canada is a unique Canadian public education website providing quality, credible resources on children and families.

MOVING and GROWING: Exercises and Activities for Two, Three, and Four Year Olds
Child & Family Canada

Physical Activity and Healthy Snacks for Young Children
Team Nutrition Iowa

Take a Trip to the Market with Kip – Farmer's Market Activity Book
USDA WIC Sharing Center. Lesson plan and activity/movement for 3-4 year-old children.

Elementary School-Aged Children and Teacher activities

BAM! – Body and Mind Teacher’s Corner Classroom Activities
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Resource for interactive, educational, and fun classroom activities that are linked to national education standards for science and health.

Brain Breaks – A Physical Activity Idea Book for Elementary Classroom Teachers
Michigan Department of Education

Energizers – The way teachers integrate physical activity with academic concepts
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Classroom based physical activities that integrate physical activity with academic concepts. These are short (about 10 minute) activities that classroom teachers can use to provide activity to children.

MOVING and GROWING: Exercises and Activities for Five and Six Year Olds
Child & Family Canada

Older Kids & “Tweens:”

Girl Power! BodyWise – Feeling Fit
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Girl Power! is a national public education campaign to help encourage and motivate 9- to 13- year-old girls to make healthy choices.

Kidnetic.com
International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation. Kidnetic.com is a healthy eating and active living web site designed for kids aged 9-12 and their families. The site is a resource for kids and their families to inspire them to move toward healthier lifestyles.

KidsHealth for Kids – Staying Healthy
Nemours Foundation. See the Keeping Fit and Having Fun section for physical activity information geared to kids.

KidsHealth For Kids – Why Exercise is Cool
Nemours Foundation. Physical activity information for kids.

Powerful Girls Have Powerful Bones
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Website of the National Bone Health Campaign.

Sports: Get in the Game!
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). “Sports: Get in the Game!” is a half-hour special from In the Mix, the award-winning PBS series. This program explores a variety of team and individual sports, shows how sports can be a positive role in teens lives, and shows how and where teens can get involved. A discussion guide accompanies the program. To order a videotape of the program, email InTheMix@pbs.org or phone 1-800-597-9448.

VERB – It's What You Do
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). VERB is a national, multicultural, social marketing campaign that encourages young people ages 9–13 (tweens) years to be physically active every day.

Resources for Parents and Care providers:

A Parent's Guide to Fitness for Kids Who Hate Sports
Nemours Foundation

Bright Futures in Practice: Physical Activity
National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health. This guide provides developmentally appropriate physical activity supervision guidelines for infancy through adolescence.

Children's Activity Pyramid
University of Missouri-Columbia Cooperative Extension

Exercise (Physical Activity) and Children
American Heart Association

Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Across Your Lifespan: Helping Your Child – Tips for Parents
Weight-control Information Network (WIN), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Keeping Kids Active: Ideas for Parents
Mayo Clinic Children’s Health Center

KidsHealth for Parents – Fitness and Your 2- to 3-Year-Old
Nemours Foundation

KidsHealth for Parents – Fitness and Your 4- to 5-Year-Old
Nemours Foundation

Kidnetic.com – Parents' Place
International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation. Kidnetic.com Parents’ Place is a resource for parents, health professionals, and educators to use when working with children. Click on Bright Papers and Ask An Expert for information about children and physical activity, healthy eating, and self-esteem.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE)
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). Physical education and physical activity tips for parents, teachers, coaches, and organizations. See especially the NASPE Bill of Rights for Young Athletes (.pdf)

Physical Activity Guidelines for Infants & Toddlers
National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE)

Preschoolers and Physical Fitness
Nibbles... Ideas for Families, University of Illinois Extension

Tips for Raising Heart-Healthy, Active Children
American Heart Association