Ten Simple 10 Minute Kid’s Workout Ideas
to Easily Incorporate Into Your Homeschool Routine…

Looking for a simple way to add physical fitness to your child’s homeschool day? Try making it fun for everyone by incorporating some of these simple kid’s workout routines!!

  1. Compete

    Okay, this is a fun one… even for Mom!

    My kids absolutely love being outdoors as much as possible. Unfortunately though, it isn’t always an option! When it’s rainy or frigid out and being outside is off the table, they tend to get fidgety and moody. So if your kids are anything like mine, this simple kid’s workout is a must!

    For the days we find ourselves stuck indoors, I simply pick out a couple exercises and we all compete!

    Some of our favorite go to activities are jumping jacks, crunches, or squats!

    Want to plan your own 10 minute competition? Simply pick a few of your favorite exercises, set a timer for 2 minutes and compete! Make it fun by asking who thinks they can do the most in the time frame allotted. We tend to do this 4-5 times, adding up to an awesome 8-10 minute workout for kids!

    Now, if you have super competitive children you might need to lay down some ground rules prior. Practicing proper form and having a little self control is still important during competitions! The main goal is to workout, not get injured!

  2. Race

    This is a similar concept to the competition mentioned above.

    As a mom of 2 boys, I understand they need some healthy competition in their routine. Who better to compete with than your kid brother, right? Ha!

    Unlike the last one, this isn’t exactly an easy kid’s workout to incorporate into your day if you live on a busy street or are in the middle of a snow storm. However, it can be a great option if your circumstances allow!

    We live in a small subdivision and have a nearby walking trail that I can see from my back deck. So when we are experiencing the mid day lag and my boys need to get outside, we plan a quick race!

    I have my boys line up at our back fence and my 5 year old daughter (who stays behind with me) yells “On your mark, get set, GO!”.
    I start the stop watch on my phone and off they run.

    We don’t really focus on who the winner is, we more compare their current time to their own previous time. So in a sense, this competition is almost more against themselves than each other. Plus, they are totally worn out when they get back. HUGE WIN!

    If you have littles and don’t feel like this could work for you, simply adapt it!

    Typically my daughter just plays outside while they run and I keep an eye out for their return. I could totally go with them and take my 5 year old if I really wanted to, and I do find that as a valid option from time to time. However, I usually just soak in a little Vitamin D and relax for those few moments instead. A simple refresher for this homeschool mom.

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  3. Ride

    My kids absolutely love bike riding! I seriously think they would do it all day if they could (there have been a handful of school days I darn near let them). There is nothing they love more than a mid afternoon bike ride around the block after a difficult math lesson.

    Again, this is an outdoor/weather permitting activity.

    Unfortunately in Kansas, we could have what feels like spring one day and freezing winter the next! So bike rides aren’t always an option. It was literally in the 60s yesterday and we are preparing for some snow tonight, typical.

    When applicable though, if you have older children that enjoy practicing their Independence, bike rides are totally where it’s at! Littles can always ride around in the driveway or stick with Mom doing other simple outdoor activities.

    Want to know more about how I let my older homeschool kids practice their independence? Check out Walkie Talkies & Homeschooling.

  4. Jump

    Think trampoline! I’m not talking about one of those huge, expensive, outdoor things either. I’m simply talking about a small exercise trampoline that can be used indoors (or out).

    Kids think they are a blast and it’s a great cardio workout!

    Want to take it up a notch? You can even incorporate math into workouts for younger kiddos! My daughter absolute loves when we do this! I typically grab some dice from our hefty game collection, let her role, then she gets to jump that many times!! Not even joking, it really is that simple.

    When you add fun elements to your kid’s workout, it’s no longer exercise! Now it becomes a fun game!!

    We also do 5 minute jumps where we all take turns jumping for 5 solid minutes, no stopping. Definitely gets the heart rate up, which is always the end goal when you are trying to add a little cardio into your child’s homeschool routine.

    Jumping on a mini exercise trampoline is a great workout for homeschoolers too

  5. Dance

    This is a family favorite and my kids never think of it as a workout! So much fun, you guys!!

    If we can’t break free and get outside in between lessons, dancing is always the answer!

    Simply turn on some music and dance it out.

    Sometimes we like to all do the same moves together, other times we just go crazy. You can seriously work up a sweat dancing, plus it’s totally fun! We seriously have a blast with this one!

    Want to take this kid’s workout up a notch? Try doing zumba instead! You can easily check out discs from your local library or subscribe to an exercise channel, but our absolute favorite way to zumba it out in our living room can be a super fun twist. You ready for this one?

    I let my kids take turns being the instructor. No screens required! This is such a blast and my kids can come up with some really hard moves too! Each kid gets a song and once everyone has had a turn being the dance instructor, workout done!

  6. Stretch

    This one is so good and incredibly simple.

    Stretching is just really good for the body! Not only does it help wakes our bodies up, but it also gets the blood flowing and increases flexibility. I know I feel so much better on days that I stretched first thing in the morning, so why wouldn’t my kids?

    This doesn’t even have to take a full 10 minutes out of your day. It can even be as little as 2-3 minutes if your extremely limited on time!

    Stretching is a great thing to incorporate into your school morning or afternoon. I do this a lot with my 5 year old daughter, my boys tend to join in from time to time as well. It’s just a great, simple option when you don’t have the energy for an entire kid’s workout routine.

    Stretching also doubles as wonderful warm up (or cool down) to most any cardio activity!

    Squats, lunges, and stretches can be done just about anywhere, even in the kitchen

  7. Lunge

    Yes! This one can be so hardcore, you guys!

    Snow coming down outside and you’ve exhausted your options? Try encouraging your kids to do lunges every time they need to get up during a lesson! They need a cup of water? Do lunges the whole way there. Trip to the bathroom? More lunges.

    While you can certainly only do this over the course of one lesson, you can also can encourage your kids to do lunges for a certain time period instead! You can keep it simple by doing this activity over 2 hours or if you’re brave you can stretch it out over the entire day!

    I actually love to participate in this particular kid’s workout and we have totally stretched it out over the entire day before. Talk about burn, wowza! Simply use your best judgement on what might work best for the kids in your household. If you have children that are constantly on the move, all day might be too much for them to handle!

  8. Play

    This might sounds a little off the wall, but I had to include it on this list!

    Sometimes the best kid’s workout ideas come from the actual kids.

    A fun example? My kids made up a simple game one beautiful summer day. They literally spent hours doing it! So be prepared, this may not be (just) a 10 minute workout! A super fun activity either way though!

    So my kiddos basically draw a ton of chalk circles stretching from one end of our driveway all the way to the other end. Then, they took turns hopping from circle to circle without landing outside of a circle. If they do miss a circle, they simply started over.

    Frontwards, backwards, sideways, leaping, they literally did it over and over again as many ways they could think up!

    While the original version my kids created may not be an option for a quick 10 minute workout, you can easily adapt it into an indoor activity if you wanted!

    Simpy throw some wash cloths, pillow cases, or even pieces of paper onto the floor and have your kids line up and jump one by one through the house. Miss a Target? Start over! Too easy? Spread the targets our more or mix up the rules. Have hard floors? Use a little masking tape instead so that the kids don’t slip.

    End result (either way) – The kids got up, they had fun, and they got some exercise!

    *Bonus game idea: Play Simon says! Simon says do 10 jumping jacks, Simon says run in place… you get the idea. This happens to be my 5 year old’s favorite 🙂

  9. Count

    Simple, yet incredibly effective!

    Pick a number and a handful of exercises to work through. Easy peasy!

    Practice trying this kid’s workout a few different ways.

    If you pick a low number, let’s say 12, you can pick 12 different exercises and do 12 reps each.

    If you want to pick a higher number, like 60, you can pick 6 different exercises, doing 10 reps each, building up to 60 exercises total.

    Kids have so much fun with simple activities like this!

    Want to mix it up even more? Last year we did a super fun version of this kid’s workout! We actually decided to incorporate it into our 100th day of school celebration! We picked out 10 simple exercises (Our number was obviously 100), and we did 10 reps of each, hitting 100 exercises for the day!

    Jumping jacks, squats, arm circles, and crunches were all involved. So fun!

  10. Invest in equipment

    Okay, I do understand that this may not be an option for everyone! However, if your budget allows, this is a great way to fit exercise into your homeschool day!

    You actually don’t need a ton of space to have a great personal gym for your homeschool!

    My personal suggestion would be investing in something simple like a Total Gym. We purchased ours a few months back and use it multiple times a week! Our space was limited to begin with, so this was the perfect option for us since it folds up and can be stored away when not in use!

    A Total Gym makes a great addition to a home without taking a lot of space My older boys enjoy working out on this gym for 5-10 minutes in between lessons during our homes school day, but even my 5 year old can use it (with supervision).

    The total gym is awesome for building muscle and toning. Plus, it makes a great option for someone with a little wiggle room in the budget but has very limited space like we did!

    Other equipment worth investing in…

    Pull up bars for the doorway, hand weights, and bands are also great options for limited space and money! If you decided to go this route, getting exercise equipment the kids can easily use on their own is key.

    Do some research and figure out what fit is best for your family! Also, be firm and make sure your kids know how to safely use everything you invest in!

    Looking for the gym we use? You can find that here –> Total Gym 1900 

Mix it up & keep it simple

Packing some quick activity into your homeschool day is incredibly important! Planing simple kid’s workout routines can help creat a strong foundation for healthy living!

So get up, get those kids moving, and most importantly have fun with it!

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Homeschool & Health Helps

Looking for other healthy homeschool tips?  Check out these helpful articles!

 

Until Next Time

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