Activity: Up Down Up!

Let's face it. Kids young and old like Winnie the Pooh (myself included). Who can forget the cute "Little Black Rain Cloud" song, or better still Winnie the Pooh's "stoutness exercises"? If you are unfamiliar with these songs, take a look at these.

"I'm just a little black rain cloud"

"Stoutness Exercise (Up, Down, Up!)"

Now seeing as I am currently overweight, I figure that any way I can make exercise fun for me as well as my daughter is a good idea. So lately, Mia and I have been turning on "Toddler" radio stations using Pandora and then we begin dancing, twirling, jumping, skipping, running, kicking, and just about every other movement you can think of. It helps her to get out her wiggles before bedtime (always a good thing), gets her exercising, helps her learn to move her body and also work on her balance and coordination skills. Not to mention that it's more fun for me to exercise with her than attempt to run in 30 degree weather (I'm not a runner by any means, but I do walk in 5k's occasionally).

If only exercising was as perfectly easy for people as it is for Winnie the Pooh. But for now, I think that 20-30 minutes a day (sometimes we break it up in to 10-15 minute chunks) is a great start! Especially if you can't go outdoors because it's too cold or too hot.

What kinds of exercise activities to you do with your kids when stuck indoors? Do you have any outdoor activities that can easily be transferred inside?