Have your kids been hopping on their sled lately and pretending they’re participating in a luge event? Or emulating their favourite Olympic figure skater? Winter can be a tough time to keep kids active and healthy. Now that you’re no longer glued to the TV to watch, take advantage of this opportunity for family fitness and Winter Olympics inspiration at home in response to the Sochi Winter Olympic Games!
Family Fitness and Winter Olympics: Activity Ideas
Ice Skating
My two children absolutely loved watching the Olympic ice skating events during the Winter Games! Ice skating can be a fun way to fight childhood obesity in the winter. Encourage your whole family to get those ice skates on and head out for a skate at a local backyard rink, or pond, or an open skate at your local arena. You can also check if there’s a spring session to sign your child up for ice skating lessons, whether it’s speed skating or figure skating. Some arenas even offer ice skating lessons year round.
Hockey
And how about those amazing Olympic hockey games?! If your child is swelling with Canadian hockey pride, send them out on that local ice with a puck and hockey stick for some pickup hockey fun with the neighbourhood kids. Of course, you could always check out when the next hockey team sign-up is at the local arena. And the fun can continue year-round, either at the arena or on the pavement with a ball instead of a puck.
Skiing and Snowboarding
Pile into the car and go snowboarding or downhill skiing at the local ski hill once a week. If you’re a scaredy-cat about skiing (like me), check out these 5 Tips to Tame Your Skiing Fear. And if you’re worried about the cost of skiing, check out these tips to hit the slopes for less.
Cross-country Skiing
If you would rather stick to flatter terrain, strap on some cross country skis and go skiing as a family. I have warm fuzzy memories from when I was a kid, of my whole family skiing on park trails every winter. Perhaps the local park or wildlife park near you offers ski rentals. If you would rather have your own equipment, give your local Kijiji or Freecycle sites a try for low-cost or no-cost used equipment.
Curling
Do you enjoy curling? Did your child enjoy watching Olympic Curling with you? Learn more about curling together with the Curling for Dummies book. Then give your local curling club a try – some curling clubs have curling for children and families available! Or how about getting curling introduced to your child’s class at school? Show your child’s teacher and/or principal these programs which bring curling right to the school:
Whether we like it or not, winter is still here. Enjoy it and take advantage of your child’s fascination with the Winter Olympics while it lasts!
What family fitness and Winter Olympics inspired sports do you enjoy as a family? Let us know in the comments below!
We loved watching the Olympics this year. My husband tvod all of it. I thought our DVR was going to explode. Unfortunately here on the West coast we are in a drought and have hardly had a winter, you guys need to share! 😉 I would love to get my four year old in to peewee hockey or something like that!
Heather, have you ever seen four year olds on the ice playing hockey? They look SO adorable!
These are great ideas! I have been trying to do things out with my son as well!
It can be so hard to get out there in the cold sometimes!
I’m a former competitive figure skater – so ice skating is one of our favorite family activities in the winter! We also like sledding (when there is enough snow) and snowshoeing!
Oh wow, I’ve never met a competitive skater before! Are your kids following in your footsteps, Emily?
Now I wish that we lived somewhere that snowed! I have always wanted to learn how to ski!
Sounds like your next vacation should be a skiing getaway, Jennifer!
Looks like they are having a blast ice skating! What a great family activity to do together!
It is one of those activities everyone in the family can do together!
These are great, wish it snowed in Florida!
And we are really wishing we could get Florida type weather here right now, LOL.
These pictures are great. I love this. It looks like great family fun.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
My kids want to do more since the Olympics, but I’m just not coordinated enough for winter sports lol
Kas
Check out some March Break camps with winter sports, Kasandria!
Since we’re in Southern California there really isn’t a way we can enjoy winter sports unless we drive somewhere… I’ve only made snowmen in the snow and they were pretty bad ones at that! Looks like a lot of family fun!
Surely they have arenas where you can skate and play hockey in California, Danielle? I think we Canadians would be lost without our ice LOL.