Active Participation: Fun Games and Challenges

This is a fun challenge to get you outside and moving. Other variations, if you can’t get outside, are also included (i.e from your window). Challenge yourself, or challenge a family member.

Game Option #1 – with a partner

  1. Pick your team – Squirrels or Dogs?
  2. Pick any exercise or movement you want – one for each team (e.g. squirrels = jumping jacks, dogs = toe touches)
  3. Go for a walk, a bike ride, or watch from your window.
  4. Set yourself a time limit, a route, or a specific number of sightings (e.g. 10)
  5. Record how many of each animal you saw after a specific time, or when you finished your route, or if you reached 10 animal sightings.
  6. For every animal you saw, you must complete 10 repetitions (or whatever number you have pre-determined) of the opposite team’s exercise!
    For instance, if I am on the dog team and I saw 5 dogs, and my partner is on the squirrel team and saw 6 squirrels, then my partner would have to do 5 x 10 repetitions = 50 toe touches, and I would have to do 6 x 10 repetitions = 60 jumping jacks, if those were the exercises pre-chosen).

Game Option #2 – on your own

  1. Basically, you have the same rules as the partner game, but you will need to record the number of squirrels and dogs that you see.
  2. Decide on two different exercises to be done, one type for each animal.
  3. Set your time limit, route, or number of sightings.
  4. The animal with the most sightings wins, and you will have to do that many repetitions of your pre-chosen exercise.

Other variations:

  • Choose different animals for your sightings, or bicycles vs. walkers, or cars vs. trucks instead.
  • If you are in your house, make it like an “eye spy game” through a window (e.g., Each person chooses a colour and then looks for different coloured objects and records how many they can find. If I see 8 blue objects, and you find 7 yellow objects, that is how many repetitions of an exercise we do.)
  • Make up your own rules or game. Have fun and keep moving!