Activity: Dance/Move like animals

One of my favorite things to do with kids that are just too wiggly and don't want to settle down, is actually to keep them moving, but with direction. Instead of letting them just run around wild, I have them move like animal. This is a great idea to tire them out quickly, as they will be moving fast, and up and down a lot. Here are some example to get you thinking:

Hop like bunnies
Run like cheetahs (really fast)
Crawl and bark/meow like dogs/cats
Waddle like penguins
Fly like birds
Swim like fish
Walk like an elephant (use your arm to create a long nose)
Crawl and oink like a pig
Etc.

The only limits in this game are what you can come up with. I have no idea what sound an armadillo makes, so I'm not going to suggest it. As the kids get older, you can have them swim like whales, but also make whale sounds (think finding Nemo) or just watch the following video.

This is sure to bring lots of giggles. Have you tried anything like this? What's you favorite animal to imitate?

Activity: Charades

I happen to love Charades. I've played it as a kid, at birthday parties, college parties, etc., and I still love it. And the best part about it, is that it is very adaptable to various age groups and situations. All you need to do is have a list of things that the kids can act out. I like putting the items on slips of paper, so that the kids can draw one out of a hat. Here are some categories that might work well for kids:

Animals (farm, circus, jungle, etc.)
Things in Nature (leaves, trees, raindrops, etc)
People (pretend to be each other)
Action words (jump, run, skip, roll, etc.)
Vehicles (Car, train, airplane, etc.)
Body Parts (just have them point to their body parts and have people guess)
Facial Expressions (happy, sad, mad, bored, etc.)

There are of course many other categories that you can come up with. And you may need to allow kids to make noise, instead of remaining silent like we do as adults.

Mia, as an almost two year old would do really well at pointing to body parts, but she's not quite ready for the other categories. So as you plan the game, make sure that the options are appropriate for the age group.

Have you tried this with your kids? What words or categories did you use?