Keeping on the Move at Home

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY RACHEL DOELL

Bennett, Adelaide, and McCarthy

The last couple weeks of isolation and physical distancing have challenged our family to get creative with our daily rhythms and routines. Sports, dance, and weekends on the ski hill have been replaced with creative movement at home. Functional fitness has always been something Troy and I have loved. Getting our family outside on the weekends, trying new sports, and teaching the kids to fall in love with movement have long been top priorities in our home.

Over the past couple weeks of being in isolation with the kids we have used sports goals, homeschooling lessons, and games to get the kids moving and also encourage them to get creative.

Living room obstacle courses are a really fun way to get kids to interact with what they are learning in school and encourage them to use their bodies. Adelaide, our pre-schooler, is currently learning about the life cycle of animals, how they move, and their behaviour patterns. This past week we have used the life of a rabbit, bear, fish, and spider to create movement patterns through just a couple of cans from the kitchen cupboards.

Bennett, our second grader, is the soccer player in the family and also often thinks he’s Adelaide’s teacher. So along with running soccer drills through the living room, he’s also been an incredible help with Addie and her animal movements.

Along with dance parties, hopscotch, yoga, and indoor fitness classes, our living room has quickly become the landing spot for countless forms of movement. Functional movements are not only beneficial for improving the strength of our bodies, they also help with improving kids’ focus and sleep patterns. When we get our body moving, we allow healthy hormones to be released in our bodies that help us to remain calmer, focused, and more positive throughout our day.

RACHEL DOELL is an instructor, personal trainer, mother, and wife who loves health and fitness. Her fitness company, Daily Routine Fitness, features simple ways to fit living a healthy life into your everyday routine.

By teaching our children that movement can be fun, we can encourage them to have healthier relationships with their bodies and teach them how movement not only energizes us but also can help calm us down.

Need some help getting started? Adelaide and Bennett wanted to share with you one of their favourite “shake the bugs out” routines.

AMAZING ANIMALS OBSTACLE COURSE CHARADES

Set up a few cans or boxes as an obstacle course. Write down a variety of animal names you have been learning about or find interesting on separate pieces of paper and place in a jar. Then, put on some fun music.

Take turns drawing an animal name from the jar. Make your way through the obstacle course by acting out how that animal would move through it while the other players try to guess what kind of animal you are. Make this extra fun by adding costumes and small prizes.

Need more ideas for movement? Join me on Instagram @dailyroutinefitness for weekly live workouts and fun workout videos with the kids!

“By teaching our children that movement can be fun, we can encourage them to have healthier relationships with their bodies…

“Put on some fun music.

“When we get our bodies moving, we… remain calmer, focused, and more positive throughout our day.