Keep Kids Moving with Halloween Themed Physical Literacy Activities

We get it. It’s fall, it’s getting cold and rainy outside, and there’s probably a lot of candy being eaten even before Halloween. It’s important to keep kids moving by promoting activities that teach physical literacy, and with a Halloween theme, they can be fun too! Physical literacy is important as it allows children to move with confidence and benefits healthy development. 

Here are 5 ideas to keep kids active for recess, gym – or even Halloween parties at home!

Mummy Racing

Grab some rolls of toilet paper, and pair off the kids! This relay race includes “wrapping” the mummy from ankles to head, avoiding feet, mouth and eyes. Once fully wrapped, the mummy must run (or lurch) from the starting point, around an obstacle, and back. Then it’s the partner’s turn to be wrapped and run! First group to have both mummies complete the race wins.

You can also play variants of this game by making “ghosts” out of pillow sacks!

Practice for a Thriller (Zombie) Dance Mob

Dance is an amazing way to get exercise, and THIS dance is as classic as the song. Don’t be discouraged by the size of the mob; when it comes to choreography friendly for kids, it doesn’t get much easier than Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

With as little as fifteen minutes a day, you can practice physical literacy with this song the whole month of October long. This handy choreography tutorial will help get your class or family’s ‘zombie’ on in no time.

You can make it extra spooky by giving them flashlights or glowsticks and turning out the lights.

Simon (the Monster) Says

Uhoh! Simon was bit by a vampire, and now he and his friends are mesmerizing you to follow his commands! If you can’t trick the monster by following orders, you will end up as a vampire’s midnight snack.

Have Simon the Monster (and the next monsters in turn) give out Halloween-themed orders like “crawl like a spider,” “laugh like a witch” and “pretend you’re a scarecrow.” Then watch the fun!

“Pumpkin Tossing”

There’s so many games that can be played with small gourds (or small orange gator balls, for safety). You can do relay races, simple toss and catch, rolling, and even throwing games that work on accuracy and hand-eye coordination (eg, knocking a “pumpkin” off a stump or other pedestal with another ball or bean bag). The only limit is your imagination!

We love this “Pumpkin Patch Throw Down” game invented by a gym teacher!

Spooky Freeze Dance

Grab a boombox and make a mix featuring all your favourite Halloween hits like the Ghostbuster theme song and Purple People Eater. Put on the toons and have all your little ghosts and goblins start to boogie! But when the music pauses, if they don’t freeze like statues, they’ll be out until the next round. You can step up the freeze dance game by adding a forward movement, like in red-light, green-light.

Most importantly of all, be sure to have fun!