One of my kids favorite things to play outside is when they make their own backyard Olympics. It’s not based on any of the actual events, but rather they just make up different stations to see who does it “the best.” I love when they get outside and get creative inventing activities- and they have so much fun with it! CLIF Kid is dedicated to reclaiming play, and we’re encouraging boys and girls everywhere to get back outside, push their boundaries and feed their adventures. Here are our ideas to create your own backyard Olympics: on our bikes, in the pool, and on the driveway.
Bike Races
They decided to do a bike race around the entire block, to see who could go the fastest. Then they thought some “mountain biking” would be fun- the muddier the better (even though we live in flat Texas!). We rode through our neighborhood to a puddle-filled portion of the forest, and found that some other kids had already set up a little bridge! What messy fun!
Swim Races and “Diving” Contests
We were quite sweaty, so the kids decided they needed to race in the pool. They competed with different strokes (even doggy paddle!), judged who could do the longest handstand underwater, and who could make the biggest splashes with their cannonball. Then they had the idea of doing a high dive contest (high jump?) or who could be the most creative. How funny to catch them in action!
Running and Jumping and Balls
This is my boys’ favorite part: inventing all sorts of running and jumping and ball handling challenges and recording who does them the best. Their usual line-up includes:
- long jump
- running long jump
- one lap around our circle
- one lap around our block (they call it the marathon:)
- dribbling a basketball around cones
- shooting as many baskets as you can in a minute
- kicking the soccer ball as far as you can
- throwing a tennis ball as far as you can
Our backyard Olympics were powered by CLIF Kid Zbar®, which I love because they are made with important nutrients from organic ingredients- perfect for active kids- and the kids love them because the flavors are amazing (oatmeal cookie!). Check out the CLIF Kid facebook page to learn more, or watch this adorable video about the important of playing outdoors.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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