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15 Outdoor P.E. Activities for Grades K-12

By: Dan Reiner

Good weather draws everyone outdoors, regardless of the season. Younger children naturally adventure outside for playtime, while older children usually gravitate toward more focused activities including team and individual sports.

No matter their age, it’s important for children to use their imaginations and explore their interests when they spend time outside. It’s also a good idea for them to make the most of their time outside by getting valuable exercise.

As a virtual school family, you may have already developed your own physical education program. Below are some ideas geared toward summer that you might not have thought of and may want to add to your list! Or, if you’re a parent who is just starting to develop ideas for your child’s P.E. program, then you may use this list of outdoor physical activities to encourage him or her to stay active. Whatever your situation, the activities on this list will remind you of favorite pastimes and give you new ideas.

Outdoor Races

Children can get cardiovascular exercise by walking, jogging, or running, but races add excitement and help children increase their speed and agility. Here are some ideas for races.

• 1. Timed scavenger hunt. Set a time limit for kids to find all of the objects on a list of items found in nature. Whoever has the most items when the clock runs out wins. Older children can even coordinate the scavenger hunt.

1. Lightning bug hunt. Encourage children to catch as many lightning bugs in a jar as they can, and see who can capture the most. Make sure you set the bugs free again!

2. Sponge race. Each participant in this race needs a sponge and two buckets, one filled with water, and the other empty. Participants run from the empty bucket to the full bucket across the yard, filling the sponge and returning to the empty bucket to squeeze the water into it. The first person to fill the empty bucket to the designated line wins.

3. Shoebox shoe relays. Take two shoeboxes and tape the lids to them. Cut an opening in each lid that’s big enough for a child’s foot to slip into. The first participant will put on the shoebox shoes and walk as fast as he or she can to the next player, who will then put on the shoes and continue the race. Repeat until all the participants have gotten a turn. Time the group and then tell them to try again to see if they can beat their original time.

4. Wash the car. Ask younger kids to guess how long they think it will take to wash the family car. Set a goal and race together to the deadline, giving your arm muscles some good exercise. Teens who are becoming new drivers can try speed-washing on their own to earn privileges for taking out the family car.

Outdoor Yard Sports and Games

These activities require equipment, but you can easily set up and play them in your own yard.

• 1. Field sports. Activities such as handball, kickball, baseball, and flag football require a larger outdoor space and group of players. You’ll need the right athletic balls and materials to mark bases or lines on the grass.

1. Net sports. Tennis requires a flat court, but you can set up outdoor volleyball or badminton in the grass. Each sport requires a net, and you’ll also need racquets and birdies or a volleyball. Badminton nets are hung right above the ground, while standard volleyball nets are about seven feet high. Two to four people can play each sport, although larger teams are usually more fun for volleyball. Volleyball is always more fun at the beach, but you might find volleyball courts at a public swimming pool in your area.

   1. Frisbee games. Ultimate Frisbee is fun for all ages and is more active and competitive than simple catch. You can also try a simple form of Frisbee or disc golf by placing baskets in different parts of the yard and trying to land the Frisbee inside.

2. Solitary exercise. Practice jumping rope or Hula-Hooping, both of which are excellent forms of exercise if done regularly.

3. Group games. Try some variations on classics: freeze or flashlight tag, Simon Says with balls or other items, and water bottle bowling in the yard.

Outdoor Pool Activities

1. Endurance training. Swimming or jogging laps is great for cardio exercise and muscle toning. Both younger and older children who want to become better swimmers and stronger athletes should do laps regularly and track their progress.

2. Diving games. Diving for objects at the bottom of the pool helps swimmers practice holding their breath longer. It’s also a lot of fun if you play diving games, such as racing to find as many coins as possible within a time limit or within one breath.

3. Water aerobics. Instead of signing up for a water aerobics class, create your own exercise routine for the backyard pool. Children of all ages and their parents can get involved. Watch water aerobics videos to learn some moves, and consider using a pair of water weights.

4. Water sports. If you get tired of playing Marco Polo, try more advanced water sports. You need a goal for water polo, a net for volleyball, and a hoop for basketball, and all three require balls.

5. Water wars. There are plenty of ways for groups to have fun with water fights. Challenge children to stay on their rafts while practicing their splashing techniques on each other or while shooting water guns.

6 Creative Indoor P.E. Activities for K-5 Students

Winter is here, and that means it’s the perfect time to stay inside, keeping warm by the fire or under a heap of blankets. But for growing online students, staying inside all winter can mean plenty of pent-up energy.

The best way to keep your student from getting bored and restless during the chilly months of winter is to engage him or her in some indoor physical education activities. These activities can break up the school day or keep your child busy on the weekends. Most importantly, they offer a fun way to stay fit during the long winter months.

Check out these six indoor activities for kids listed below to find one you’d like to try at home.

1. Balloon Juggling

Balloon juggling promotes movement and hand-eye coordination. The challenge is to keep balloons in the air as long as possible without letting them drop to the floor.

This activity requires three balloons. Starting with just one, encourage your student to keep the balloon in the air. Once he or she has mastered keeping one balloon in the air, challenge him or her to try juggling two.

If just working with one balloon, have the student try to perform other physical tasks once it’s in the air. The goal is to complete the action before the balloon falls to the floor. For example, once the balloon is in the air, ask your student to do five jumping jacks before touching it again.

2. Exercise Signs

This is an activity that promotes exercise throughout the day. Using paper or cardstock, create a series of signs, each of which describes a brief activity. Place these signs around the home in areas that are frequently visited by the student, asking him or her to complete the activity before moving on. For example, a sign at the bottom of a set of stairs might read, “Do 20 jumping jacks before climbing the stairs.” A sign on the refrigerator might ask the student to “Do 15 crunches before opening the refrigerator door.” You can leave the signs up all day or just during a portion of the day. You may also choose to switch out signs with new ones to try a wider variety of exercises.

3. Stepping Stones

Give your student a few items from around the home to be used as “stepping stones,” and ask your child to cross a room (the “lake”) in the home. Examples of stepping stones include towels, pillows, old t-shirts, oven mitts, rubber mats, or anything which you deem safe to jump on. Students must strategically place their stepping stones on the floor and then carefully leap from one stone to another in order to safely cross the “lake.”

Once your student is able to cross the room, challenge him or her by taking away a stone or two. See how few stones your child needs to cross without touching the floor.

4. Preposition Obstacle Course

This is an activity that gets kids moving while reinforcing common prepositions used in everyday communication. To get started, map out an obstacle course inside the home, making sure that each part of the course includes a preposition. Examples of movements to include are:

• Crawl under the table

• Hop around the chair

• Skip across the kitchen floor

• Jump over the pillow

• Crabwalk along the sofa

• Walk down the stairs

• Leap toward the door

As students perform each movement, have them say what they are doing out loud, including the preposition. You might need to prompt younger students to help them remember all of the movements within the obstacle course.

5. Water Weights

This is an activity in which students create their own “weights” by filling milk jugs with water. Start by filling the jug a quarter of the way full, and then once your student progresses, he or she can fill it halfway or more. Have your child try a variety of exercises while holding a jug in each hand. Examples include:

• Squats

• Lunges

• Power walking

• Side bends

• Pressing the milk jugs above the head (with adult supervision, if needed)

Encourage kids to chart their progress by recording how much water they put in the jugs each time they are used, and how many repetitions of each exercise they are able to perform before needing a break. Just make sure your student doesn’t do too many repetitions, which could lead to muscle strain.

6. Coin Collection

This is an activity that integrates movement with math. Before starting the activity, spread coins throughout a room within the home. Instruct your student to collect as many as he or she can in a given time period, such as 1–3 minutes. Once time is up, your student should add up the change and record the total amount. Repeat this process several times, with the goal of increasing the amount collected each time.

Adults should consider placing coins of higher value in challenging spots. For older kids, place coins in places other than on the floor, so that they must jump or exert extra effort to get to them.

Indoor Physical Activities for Students in Grades 6-12

When lessons are over for the day, what does your child do? Watch TV or play video games? Catch up on some reading? Browse the Internet? During the middle of winter, chances are your student is stuck indoors doing one of these activities.

According to Let’s Move, a health program started by the First Lady to fight child obesity, children and teens need to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. To get your child more active during the week, encourage him or her to try some indoor physical activities. Indoor activities offer a great way to get exercise and stay healthy while having fun with friends and family members.

Work Out with Videos Online

It’s easy to take a jog or play sports outside when the weather is warm, but it’s just as easy to do workouts at home in any kind of weather—it only takes a little planning. On YouTube, you can find a variety of exercise and fitness channels that offer free workouts suitable for students in grades 6–12. Check out some of these channels to find workouts that your student likes.

• FitnessBlender.com offers videos ranging from a few minutes to half an hour long on cardio kickboxing, toning the lower back, high-intensity interval training, and more

• SparkPeople is a great resource for ab/core workouts and boot-camp-style videos

• Exercise Routine has videos for Pilates, endurance, toning, and jump workouts

• eHowFitness offers leg, upper body, ab, glute, and toning exercises

When you exercise along with a video on the computer, make sure you have plenty of space to complete the moves. Some of the things that can be helpful to have while you work out are a water bottle, workout mat, weights, balance ball, and stretch cords.

Choreograph Your Own Dance

Students who love music and want to exercise their creativity can try choreographing their own dance. Follow these steps to create a unique dance routine.

Pick a favorite song. Try to choose one in which it’s easy to pick out an eight-count beat.

Choose your dance style:

• Pop/rock/hip-hop

• Country/line dance

• Salsa

• Zumba

• Etc.

Create steps by doing research to find cool dance move ideas. Some good places to look include:

Workout videos

Popular dances like the Cupid Shuffle, Macarena, or Electric Slide

Moves from your favorite dancers and/or music videos

Dance video games

Friends or family members who are good dancers

Don’t forget to write down the sequence of moves and how many beats each move takes.

Practice, practice, practice (repetition is key)!

Teach your new dance to family or friends.

Consider doing your dance for an audience.

Go on Indoor Active Field Trips

Indoor field trips offer students a great opportunity to get out of the house while still getting active indoors. You can go on these “field trips” as a family or ask your student to invite a group of friends, including fellow online students who live near you. Here are some indoor field trip activities you can try:

• Bowling

• Roller skating

• Ice skating

• Laser tag

• Batting cages

• Indoor swimming pool

• Indoor golf

You might also want to consider signing your student up for martial arts, swimming lessons, dance class, or another type of weekly activity.

If you can gather a large group of kids, take them to a local YMCA or community gym. Some great group games they can play include:

• Kickball

• Basketball

• Volleyball

• Handball

• Ultimate Frisbee

• Relay races

What are some other ways that your student gets exercise indoors during the winter? Let us know your ideas!