Guest Post: Get Active! Ship to Shore

Each week we bring you a new Guest Blog Post with ideas and games to get the kids up and moving as a part of our Get Active series! Today’s Get Active Post is brought to you by Renee Guthrie, Director at MyGym Virginia Beach-Hilltop.

Ship to Shore

This is a fun game that will get the kids moving and using their imagination! You will need to make two lines (with chalk or tape) about 10 feet apart. The children will be running back and forth between the lines.

• All the children will start on one line. Tell them, “This white line is the shore, like the beach. “

• “The other line is the ship. What is it?”

• “When I yell ‘ship’, you run to the ship, when I yell shore you run back to the shore.”

• Proceed to call ship/shore a few times to make sure they are getting it.

• “Now I am going to go faster, plus I have to add something. When I say Captain’s coming! You have to stop wherever you are and do a stork stand, while saying, “Aye, aye sir!”

• (Keep adding 1-2 new ingredients each time)

Ingredients:

• Captain’s coming = stork stand – stand on one leg and bring the foot of the other leg to the knee of the supporting leg. (say -“Aye aye, sir”)

• Swab the deck = get down on hands and knees, “scrub the floor” (say “scrub, scrub,scrub,scrub”)

• Submarine = Put one arm up like a periscope, and bend knees to go lower and lower (say, “Owooga, owooga”)

• Alligator = Lie down on your side and with your leg and arm, chomp the air (open say, “chomp, chomp, chomp)
   
• Mermaid = Sit down and wave your legs in the air like a mermaid tail (sing, “Ah, ahhhah” like Little Mermaid)
   
• Seagull = Fly with wings (say, “Screech, screech”) or be like the movie Nemo and say “mine” “mine” as you fly.
   
• Hurricane = Turn in your spot 2-3 times (say, “Hurricane, twirl, twirl)
   
• Crab = Do a crabwalk (say “Pinch, pinch”)
   
• Star Fish = Do an arabesque, with arms out to the sides (say, “Star fish!”)
  
  
• Octopus = Lay on your back and wave your arms and legs around crazy

This game is a lot of fun because there are so many different ingredients you can incorporate, you can even make up your own or have the children make up their own. The faster the pace of this game, the more of a fun cardio workout they will get.

Looking for more fun ideas for the family? Be sure to check out the MyActiveChild.com lists of Activities, Athletics, Resources and of course our Daily Calendar of FUN in Hampton Roads!