Shop UK Site 
12 Quick and Easy Indoor Gym Activities
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Nov 12, 2020 | Social-Emotional Learning
Looking for some fun gym games for kids? Learning Resources is here to help. Whether you are looking for activities to keep your little one active during the winter or just some games to play in a spacious room, these games are sure to lead to hours of physical exercise and fun!
Here are some of our favorites:
Smart Toss™ Colors, Shapes & Numbers Game
Toss and play to learn shapes, numbers, colors, and more. Smart Toss board includes four games in one, featuring one side each for numbers, shapes, and colors. Use the fourth side for free play or create your own activities. Use stickers or tape to label each hole with anything from letters, pictures of animals or places, and words. Here are a few fun games to play:
Game 1 — Number Call-Out
- Set up the board with the numbers side facing up.
- Each player takes three bean bags.
- Throw the bean bags, one at a time, into the numbered pockets.
- If a bean bag lands in a pocket, the player must say the number printed above that pocket.
- One point is awarded for each correctly stated number for a maximum of three points.
- It is now the next player’s turn.
- Play until one player has 10 points
Game 2 — Shape Up
- Set up the board with the shapes side facing up.
- Take three bean bags. Have one player call out shape names.
- Aim for the pocket displaying that shape.
- Each bean bag that lands in the correct pocket is awarded one
- point, for a maximum of three points per turn.
- Play until one player has 20 points.
Ten-Frame Floor Mat Activity Set
Stand up and be counted! Giant ten-frame mats incorporate students into the number building fun as they represent 1–10, add and subtract, develop number sense, and more, using either the counters or themselves as interactive manipulatives. Create a double ten-frame with the second mat to extend number concepts to 20. Get them on their feet with math that really moves! Here are some fun games to use with the set:
Game 1 - Beyond 10
Using both mats, model counting and create a number, such as 12. Place 10 counters on one mat and two more on the other mat. Discuss how 12 is 2 more than 10. Make 12 other numbers greater than 10. Each time, ask, “How many more than 10 is this number?”
Game 2 - Roll Away
Lay out both mats for building numbers 2-12. Have students add the numbers on each die and fill in the corresponding number of spaces on the mat(s), using either the counters or themselves as counters. Continue rolling and representing numbers.
It's the find it, snap it, match it game that gets kids up and moving! Help your toddlers build gross motor skills while learning all about matching with the See & Snap Picture Hunt from Learning Resources. This fun twist on flashcards is as simple as it is fun: simply hide some of the set's 20 large picture cards around the house, place one of the 20 small picture cards inside the pretend camera, and send your toddler on a fun scavenger hunt to find and match the cards. In the end, they can even take a pretend picture - the camera really clicks! In addition to boosting gross motor and matching skills, See & Snap Picture Hunt also sends toddlers hunting for new shape recognition skills with the help of the set's 5 shape cards. Just insert the learning cards in the camera and see how many circles, squares, triangles, and other shapes your toddlers can find along the way.
Game 1 - Color Hunt
This game focuses on finding cards of a certain color. This time, scatter all the large picture cards around the playing area with the images facing down. Give your child an objective for their color hunt: “Collect three blue cards!” When your child returns, flip the cards over to see what they found!
Game 2 - Shapes in the World
Display all the shape cards. Point to and name each shape. Then, insert one of the cards into the camera. Can you find objects of the same shape in your home? (Here’s one example: rectangle = cereal box.) Snap a picture to confirm the match, and then continue finding the other shapes in the set.
Answer Buzzers and Stopwatches
Test your speed (and skill) with the Answer Buzzers and Stopwatches! Both are great for obstacle course and race challenges at home! They can both be used together or separately to add a competitive element to get kiddos moving. Have kiddos use their imagination and create games of their own!
7 more products to get you up and moving:
Save it for later!
Valentine's Day Mathlink Cube Activities
Mathlink Cubes are perfect for creating fun and engaging Valentine's Day themed math activities. Additionally, Mathlink Cubes can be used to create patterns and sequences, such as making a pattern of hearts and counting the number of cubes used. These activities will help students practice their math skills in a fun and festive way.
Learn More
Mathlink Cubes are great for kids for several reasons:
- Hands-on learning: Mathlink Cubes are a hands-on learning tool that children can physically manipulate and explore mathematical concepts. This can help to make math more engaging and interactive for students.
- Multi-use: Mathlink Cubes can be used for various mathematical concepts, including counting, addition, subtraction, measurement, geometry, and more. This makes them a versatile and valuable tool for teachers and parents to have in their toolkits.
- Develops fine motor skills: Using the Mathlink Cubes requires children to use their fine motor skills, which can help to improve dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
- Concrete to abstract: Mathlink Cubes provide a concrete representation of mathematical concepts, which can help children to understand and internalize these concepts. Then the children can apply what they learned in the tangible form to more abstract problems.
- Fun and engaging: Mathlink Cubes come in different colors, making math activities fun and engaging for children. The fun and colorful aspect of the cubes makes children more excited to learn and practice math.
- Differentiation: Mathlink Cubes can be used to provide different levels of challenge for students, making it easy for teachers to differentiate instruction and provide support for students who need it.
Overall, Mathlink Cubes are an excellent tool for kids to learn and practice math in a fun and interactive way.
READ MORE
Valentine’s Day Cards
Looking for a fun and cost-effective way to celebrate Valentine's Day? Look no further! These cards are perfect for bringing a special touch to your Valentine's Day celebrations.
These cards are colorful, fun, and, most importantly, free! You can print as many as you need!
Check out more printable Valentine's Day Card ideas
Printable Dinosaur Valentine's Day Cards!
Check out a unique and fun alternative for candy - using Learning Resources Dinosaur Counters and our FREE Valentine's Day Card Printables.
Cut out and give to friends and loved ones this Valentine's Day!
Big Feelings Pineapple and Learn-a-Lot Avocados Valentine's Cards.
Valentine's Postcards
Make your very own postcard to send to a friend or family member!
READ MORE
Mid-Summer Minicamp for Five-Year-Olds
Your soon-to-be-Kindergartener was built for summer! There’s so much to do, see, and explore, both inside and outdoors. If you’re looking for some fresh, fun ideas to help keep your rising Kindergartner engaged and learning for the rest of the summer, have we got the activities for you! Read on for three days’ worth of developmental, educational, and social-emotional activities – plus some bonus activities, just for fun. And don’t miss our summer minicamp activity ideas for three- and four-year-olds
Minicamp Day One:
Developmental Activity – Fine Motor Freezer Fun
Kick off your first day of camp with some fine motor fun! Threading is an age-appropriate challenge for four-year-olds, resulting in a colorful creation they can wear or display. Set out some pipe cleaners and pony beads and thread a bracelet, create a beaded pattern for your preschooler to follow, or stick some spaghetti sticks into a ball of molding dough and thread penne noodles to make Stegosaurus. Find more threading ideas here.
Educational Activity – Learning You Can Count On
Download this free, printable worksheet, grab some counters, and practice numbers and counting with your kiddo! Count the letters in their name (writing it out on a sheet of paper might help), their age, the number of siblings they have, and more!
Social Emotional Learning Activity – Paint a Rock
You may have seen the pretty, painted rocks people are leaving around neighborhoods across the country as a symbol of kindness. You can do the same! Take a walk and find some medium-sized rocks with nice flat or rounded surfaces. Clean them off and pop them in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes – you can use the time to talk about things that make your kids happy as inspiration for what they might draw. Let the rocks cool just a bit, then use crayons to draw their ideas! When the rocks are dry, use a Sharpie to write caring messages like “Kindness”, “Love”, or “Joy”. Then place them in your neighbors’ gardens to brighten up their days! Find other kindness activities here.
✨ Bonus Activity – Cool Down with a DIY Snowstorm ✨
End your first day of minicamp with another cool-down activity – making a snowstorm in a bottle! Gather a glass or see-through plastic jar, vegetable oil, white paint, glitter, and an Alka-Seltzer tab, and follow these instructions to make it snow inside!
Minicamp Day Two:
Developmental Activity – Get a Grip
Using the proper pencil grip is the key to legible writing. Help your kiddo practice this summer by providing a sheet of properly formed capital letters to trace using a variety of differently sized crayons, markers, and pencils. Around age five, kids should be able to manipulate a writing utensil with three fingers rather than move their wrists or arms. Learn more about proper pencil grasps here.
Educational Activity – Go on a Math Scavenger Hunt
Brush up on those math skills with a scavenger hunt around the house! Print this list of things to look for and set off to find everyday math items, including number words, items of certain sizes and shapes, pairs of things, and more!
Social Emotional Learning Activity – Create a Gratitude Wall
Playing school is a wonderful way to build your child’s creativity and imagination. It also allows your soon-to-be-scholar to mentally prepare for going to school and build the confidence they’ll need to thrive there. Set up some school-ish materials, like a chalkboard or easel, books, paper and crayons, and stickers, and follow your little one’s lead. Will they read to their stuffed animals? Teach you letters and numbers? Draw a picture?
✨ Bonus Activity – Build a Fort ✨
Nothing is nicer after a day of summer minicamp than a delicious popsicle! Follow our favorite recipe for fruit and veggie pops, working together to squeeze the lime, drop the ingredients into the blender, stir the elements, and insert the popsicle handles. Talk about the foods as you work with them – what color are they? What is their texture like? What letter does that food start with? How might it taste?
Minicamp Day Three:
Developmental Activity – Brew a Batch of Slime
Stretchy, sticky, and squishy, you probably know that slime is awesome. But did you know that slime also helps builds fine motor skills? Measuring, pouring, mixing, stirring, squeezing, smashing, rolling, and twisting are all great ways to strengthen hand muscles and build fine motor skills! Start your last day of minicamp off with some slime, using our favorite recipe.
Educational Activity – Print Letters in Playdough
Practice letter identification, letter sounds, and word building with this simple stamp-and-learn activity! Set out some molding dough (or make your own – another fun minicamp activity!), tools like plastic rolling pins, cutters, kid-safe scissors, and letter blocks or magnets. Then show your child how to flatten the dough and stamp a letter into it. Say the letter name as they stamp, make its sound, and say a word that starts with that letter. See if your child can find the letters in their name and stamp them all in a row.
Social Emotional Learning Activity – Have Fun with Physics
The forces of physics are all around us, and summer is a great time to see them in action. Floating in the pool, rolling a ball, and dropping an ice cream cone (oh NO!) are perfect examples of buoyancy, motion, and gravity. These simple activities will demonstrate some of the most fundamental properties of physics in a fun way – and you can follow up your lesson by making a simple machine (instructions included).
✨ Bonus Activity – Job Talk ✨
Print this free career worksheet, cut out the word cards and images, and match them up! Talk about each job, the responsibilities of each job, the qualities each requires, and which one interests your child the most (and the least).
READ MORE
