From a game of musical hula hoops to moving your hips to the beat, Kids on the Geaux offers numerous ways to get active while laughing all the way through.
"They're still working the major muscles of the body, working out and exercising but it's fun," Terri Roberts, community education coordinator with Woman's Foundation, said. "They're more engaged and don't feel like the dread of, 'I have to do a set exercise routine or go the gym.' The whole goal is to get the moving and make them enjoy what they're doing. We don't want it to be a chore or for the kids to dread it...we want them to come outside, move around, and get the physical activity in."
The best part, kids don't need a gym membership or even dumb bells to get their bodies moving. Terri said you can use hula hoops for the nostalgia of hopscotch.
"You don't have to go out and buy anything," Roberts explained. "You can use chalk and make circles. We do the classic game where you can hop on one foot or two and make it fun. We'll put them side-by-side so that you can have a team and whoever finishes first is the winner. We all like a challenge and have a winner. We all like to be the winner and be on top."
Roberts said, do not let an injury or limitation stop you from getting or staying physical--there are always modifications.
"Instead of running around, like we do with the games, you can walk if you need that low impact," Roberts said. "If it's a strain on your knees or ankles to do these activities we can do it in a chair. You can do sit ups and push ups on the chairs. Everything that we do can be modified so there is no excuse. You also won't feel bad that you can't do the running, or jumping---you can still do the motion and work out those muscle groups as well."
With a rise in child obesity, Roberts said, it is something Kids on the Geaux is hoping to combat...just by giving kids the tools they need to make better choices.
To learn more, visit the Woman's Foundation website.