Growing up, my brothers could turn anything into a competition… still can. And there’s something really fun about finding challenges in amongst our everyday routines. In a previous newsletter I mentioned the value of purpose for all of us and in a friend’s brilliant vlog the other day I was struck by her link between our ability to persevere and our sense of having achieved. It’s led me to explore new ways of creating activities that provide this journey of challenge to achievement. If we are able to do these in person then it’s brilliant for grown ups to get involved either working together or for a bit of healthy competition – kids will enjoy this so much more, will stick at it for longer and you might even get a sense of accomplishment yourself! (It should be noted that all activities below are also appropriate for grown ups wanting a competition and a laugh even when there are no kids about!)

This family’s video would be one I’d recommend for some quick inspiration and there’s a further collection on our Pinterest Family Challenge Activities board.  We’re especially loving a good obstacle course as a way of combining a series of activities using different skills but I’ve come to the conclusion that the best obstacle courses are not copied from a Pinterest post, but ‘made unique’ with what we have available. So below are some (definitely not exhaustive) lists that I hope will get your imagination going…
Actions to perform: jumping, crawling, dancing, stopping & starting, climbing, imitating, dodging, skipping, sliding, balancing, hopping, stretching, spinning, rolling, zigzagging, singing, tunnelling, stepping over/onto, running…
Objects to use: balls, sheets, cushions, buckets/pots, soft toys, steps, rice/pasta, towels, washing baskets, scarves, chairs/stools, boxes, cars/trucks, water, slides/ramps, balloons, bags…
What to do with things: filling, sticking, hiding, rolling, balancing, transferring, fetching, catching, matching, stacking, throwing, finding, floating, lifting, sorting, carrying, sinking, popping, collecting…

You can see some of the ideas that have been enjoyed by us on Pinterest, but what I’d most encourage you to do is have a think about what each person finds fun and is good at so you can include achievable goals, and which tasks might be a challenge so you can provide support when necessary and encourage growth. As my wise husband said, ‘it’s an opportunity to learn more about your child and to help your child learn more’!