E is for Exercise

Welcome to my Blogging from A to Z April Challenge for 2019! The A to Z Challenge is a blogging event held each April. Bloggers create posts from A to Z beginning on April 1st and ending on April 30th. There is a post scheduled for each day of the month (except for Sundays) with each day corresponding to a sequential letter of the alphabet.

I'm keeping this year focused on toddler activities. More specifically, I'm keeping it limited to indoor activities. We live in northern Minnesota, where the winters are long and cold, so a variety of indoor play is a must. It's not too hard to go stir crazy when you're cooped up inside for months at a time!

Today's letter is E...for Exercise!! Even when you're stuck inside and it's crummy out there, there is a definite need for movement. Especially when it comes to toddlers! We just have to get the wiggles out somehow!

Our house is currently being remodeled in pieces and parts, but we have a nice living space on the main floor. It's big enough for us to run around between the kitchen, dining room, and living room...and hardwood floors allow us some messy play here and there.

We run around and play chase every once in a while, but we definitely need more variety than that. I have taken to doing different activity songs with them now and then, so we sing a lot of "If You're Happy and You Know It" and the like. The best way I've found to get us moving though, is with a Toddler Dance Party.

The boy is a huge fan of music and is quite the visual learner, so I created a YouTube playlist full of fun songs, silly songs, educational songs, and activity songs. Some days we just bounce around to whatever comes up on the shuffle. Other days, I direct things specifically to the activity songs by using a secondary list that is more limited in scope. I've found that this activity is best in the late mornings. It wears them out just enough to get ready for lunch and then settle easily into a nap. Plus, I tend to have more energy in the mornings in order to keep up with them for these events!

We dance and sing together and do the different hand movements for the songs. We work on learning body parts, ways to move our bodies, and following directions. It's a good way to get the blood flowing and is a decent substitution for being able to run wild outside. We will still look longingly out the window though...there's nothing like being able to enjoy the outdoors!

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Miss a prior 2016 A to Z post? Find your missing link down below...

    A is for ASL                                   B is for Bubbles                 C is for Counting
    D is for Dot