What do you do with your children when you’re cooped up inside with boundless energy? For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we are entering into the season where cooped up children is more common. Still, there are many times throughout the year when your children are cooped up inside and aren’t satisfied with the usual games.

With a little creativity and/or some investment you can turn your home into a place of movement, fun, and peace.   A key to keeping your sanity is to think ahead (that could be said of so many things in wellness, right?). A few moments of planning early in the morning or late at night can save you from losing your sanity as the children at home begging for another 30 minutes of screentime or are starting to plan a revolt.

The very first thing to address is perspective.   Many bodies trapped inside means there will have to be a suspension or change in the definition of structure and order.  While occasional “tidy up” times are essential to the sanity of the home, the expectation that the home will remain that way for very long will have to be abandoned. 

Did you know that the family unit is referred to as the  “The Domestic Church?” How we speak to our children and what we teach them on the ordinary is our daily act of worship.

THE OBSTACLE COURSE

Is this an article about snow days or the need to give up control? Our everyday, ordinary lives are the exact place the gospel is walked out.  Because, really, who can maintain control and structure when you are using all the couch cushions, dining room chairs and whatever else you can find for an indoor obstacle course?

Don’t let them have all the fun though.  If there are older children at home, let them set up the obstacle course but do take a 5-minute break to run through it yourself.  The endorphins from laughter are good for you and for them.

Pro Tip: Painters tape adds a fun dimension to the traditional course and won’t do damage to a rental unit.

WEB OF YARN

Just as your life needs times of exercise and times of rest, inside play must also include quiet time.   With a ball of yarn, you can transform your space into a spider web. One person unravels a ball of yarn around door handles, over chairs and down the hallway.  Then it is the children’s turn to unravel the web and re-spool the yarn. Want an added challenge? Add notes with movements such as “congratulations you made it this far, do 5 jumping jacks.”

JUMP AND SWING

Let’s say you are more of a “send me a link and let me buy something” person.  The best investment I can recommend for any home is an indoor trampoline.  It’s not just for those days when you are cooped up.  A rebounder is a great exercise when you need a 5-minute brain break.  Science has also shown that learner is easier for some (kinesic learners) when they are moving their bodies.  There are countless models to consider depending on the size of your space, the age of the children and how many will be using it (wear and tear).   Here’s another chance to get in on the action, take turns praying for other families in the area while you bounce. Prayer will never be boring again.

Finally, if being stuck inside is a frequent issue and you are willing to make an investment a doorway trapeze is worth consideration.  DreamGym is a semi-permanent option that does require a few screws into a door frame. This option comes highly recommended by a mother of 4 who homeschools in a 2 bedroom duplex.  She knows what it means to keep 2 rambunctious boys busy.

These are just a few ideas, I would love you to share yours with us.  How do you turn an everyday obstacle into an opportunity in your domestic church?

Amber lives with husband, 3 children and their Akita in San Jose, CA.  Revelation Wellness has infused everything she does since coming back from Instructor Training; everything from teaching homeschool PE to her children boasting to their Sunday School class that she would be running a half marathon (before telling her she was).  Imperfect Wellness is the way she describes the classes she teaches and the witness she presents. You don’t have to be perfect to pursue wellness.

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