We are trying hard this summer to stay active in various ways. I walk with friends during my lunch break, and the kids play during the day at the Boys & Girls Club. After work, we go to the pool for a couple of hours. I take along shampoo, soap and pajamas, so they are ready for bed (and plenty tired) by the time we get home!

We try to go on day hikes every weekend, or at least somewhere like the zoo, where you have to walk around!  I also play soccer, hide easter eggs, or take a walk with my toddler in the evenings after work.

For our summer fun our local library offers late hours on Tuesday and Thursdays. My daughter and I take walks from our house to the library this way we exercise our bodies as well as our Minds! She is so excited when it comes to Tuesday and Thursday and I am happy she is reading, not to mention the walks we take too!!!

Every morning and every evening my 3-year old rides his bike while I walk/run beside him a mile. He loves it when I have to run to keep up with him. If we have time, we do 2 miles. He makes motorcycle sounds while he pedals. That bike was the best $20 I ever spent!!! I got it at a yard sale, and it had training wheels and a bell already on it!

We are trying to do all we can this summer to stay fit. We have a 4 year old and she keeps us pretty busy. We also have a pool in our neighborhood and we try to go there and she can swim and we try to do water walking so we can all have fun and get fit!

My four-year old son and I "dance " every morning to get our blood moving, and then spend the day reading books, building things using items from our plastic and paper recycling bins and cooling off with water fights in our easy-set pool.

Our family has been very active this summer. We went to the mountains and did alot of walking, canoeing, and hiking. Most days at home were spent swimming. Relay races and playing tag in the pool were lots of fun, and the kids were also worn out by the end of the day. At home I would include the kids house cleaning by everybody getting barefooted and giving them diapers wipes, (one under each foot) cranking up the music and everyone would ice skate. By the time we were done the floors were clean and we had a GREAT time. Healthy veggies from the garden are also hit. No soda is a must, white milk rules!

WE ARE A FAMILY OF 4, THE BOYS ARE 4 AND 2.
WE PLAY OUTSIDE ON THE PLAYSET, SWINGING,CLIMBING AND SLIDING.
WE TAKE TURNS PUSHING THE BOYS IN THE DOUBLE STROLLER AND THEY DO SOME WALKING. WE SWIM AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD POOL.
THE BOYS PLAY IN THE PLAYROOM, WHILE MOMMY WORKS OUT AT THE GYM, 2-3 DAYS A WEEK. DADDY PARKS IN THE BACK LOT AT WORK, AND GETS IN MORE WALKING.WE SAVE JUMPING AT "MONKEY JOES" ON RAINY DAYS. WE'RE TRYING TO EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES FROM THE LOCAL FARMER'S MARKET. AND OF COURSE, WE ALL DRINK MILK.

My kids have been spending time at my parents while i work, they play outside and help my dad w/ his farm animals, and we have days when we have no tv till after dinner. Also we bought a pool big enough for them to play around in, they'll do that all day if i let them.

I'm a homeschooling mom so I'm always looking for ways to keep the kids motivated (combining learning, fitness, and fun!). Here are 10 ideas:

1. Backyard Treasure Hunt~ the kids get to practice reading instructions and they get to run around the backyard (gym class).

2. Hula Hoop~ Jumping while counting along (math).

3. Frisbee~ The kids throw the frisbee around to one another, while going through the alphabet and naming something that starts with each letter whenever they catch the frisbee.

4. Hopscotch~ This is great indoors or out! We have a large checkered rug in our foyer and they jump from color to color . It's a good rainy day activity.

5. Tag You're It~ Can be done indoors or outdoors.

6. Washing the Car~ The kids love to help and in the process have a water fight.

7. Create an Exercise Video~ My kids LOVE seeing themselves on video, so they're eager to jump around and make silly faces while we videotape them. Afterwards they're very excited to watch their "movie".

8. Laurie Berkner Band~ Her music is so much fun! We pop in one of her videos and all of us dance.

9. Twister~ A classic game the whole family can play. Small children learn their colors.

10. Riding Bikes~ The kids ride bikes while the parent walks/jogs alongside.

Gosh, I hope I win! I would love a Wii!!!!

me and my kids have every other weekend where we have all the kids in the neighborhood race on feet, by bike , and do 1 legged races and group football . every age from toddler to 14 yrs of age running down our little street.

Every weekend we swim and garden outside , as a family ! everyday after my oldest gets out of school , we have "family club Time "where we crank the tunes and jam out to oldies and radio disney and hip hop , to r&B, on xm on our cable channels !!!! We jam out and clean at the same time !!!

Then in the evenings we take my toddlers electric camero and walk our block and let her drive!!!!

we love it and we are happier for it !

My son and I do the Wii Active together. the rule is is that he has to do the wii with me before he plays videogames.

My husband and I enjoyed an active lifestyle before we had kids. We are still able to stay fit, but now it takes some creativity to keep motivated and inspired. We have two boys, one is two and the other is nine months. They are always on the go and usually in separate directions. These are the tips we have for keeping our family healthy and fit:
1. We always eat dinner together and model healthy food choices for our children.
2. Allowing our two-year-old to help decide what activity we will do after dinner (walking, strolling, jumping, etc…) makes him more likely to enjoy it and stick with it.
3. We use our pool for more than just swimming. We sit on the stairs and kick our feet as fast as we can and also play ring-around-the-rosy holding hands with the baby in his float.
4. Both our boys love chasing and being chased. Our two-year-old will crawl to give his brother somebody to “chase”
5. Both boys make good weights. Lifting them up 10-20 times above my head gives them one-on-one attention and I get a good workout too!
6. My two-year-old loves being outside and helping mom. During his brother’s morning nap we usually clean up the yard for 30 minutes. We make a game out of tossing pinecones in the yard waste bin and running to find the next one.
7. Lastly, we all try to get enough sleep so we can get up and do it all over again!

This summer my family has discovered disc golf. It gives us a fun way to exercise and spend time together, gets us outdoors to enjoy nature, and we can make it fit into our schedule as long as it doesn't rain. Last but not least, it appeals to my frugal side because after buying 1 or 2 discs for each family member at a local sports re-sale shop (about $15 total per person), it's completely free to play! There are several different courses in the Triangle area and we try a new one every few weeks for a change of scenery and new adventures.

My fiance and I have decided to really get in shape this summer!

<strong>On weekdays</strong>, I work late (until 8PM), but when I get home, we go for a <em>run/walk</em> while talking about our days. It's become part of our routine, so we don't even have to think about it, just do it!

<strong>On weekends</strong>, we walk about a mile to the park, where we <em>swing, play basketball, or play tennis</em> (I hit a lot of "home runs", but I'm getting better!).

And on <strong>Sunday</strong>, we use our News and Observer coupons and <em>bike</em> to Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS to get their weekly deals. We usually get all hot and sweaty, but we don't even notice because we're thinking about all the free stuff we're getting.

So that's about it. I really hope I win, I just found out about Shamrock milk this spring and like it a lot.

Invite your neighbors and friends to create your own Field Day in the yard.  Use items you already have in your home or can obtain easily.  Set up activities such as water balloon toss, sack races, ring toss, capture the flag, Hula Hoop marathon, obstacle course, jump rope run, and 50 yard dash.  

If the weather is REALLY hot like it gets in North Carolina summers, include more water activities.   A wet-sponge throw is fun, or a sprinkler run.   If you have the materials ready you can make this a once a week event!  Enjoy a barbeque afterwards with parents, if you like.

We would love to win a Wii!

Our life is naturally active. As soon as we've breakfasted, we all go outside and find something to do-- jumping on the trampoline, playing on the climber, practicing skateboarding, or even weeding the garden. As a rule, no one plays inside before 11 am. We really try to take advantage of the cooler mornings.

Late afternoon -- after the youngest wakens from her nap we almost always head to the pool. My two sons are on the swim team, but they'd want to be at the pool regardless.

We do talk about the importance of using our bodies and treating them well with good rest, food, and activity, but we never talk about doing something just for the sake of exercising. We want activity to be part of the natural part of having fun, so it is second nature, vs. one more thing to schedule.

we recently moved to the mountains where there is nothing but opportunity to be active. i found a hiking/ climbing area called granite city where we all love to play and hike and explore. we also take a walk around the lake after dinner every evening, and we take any chance we can get to check out a new waterfall. lucky for us it's not as hot as it was in Raleigh so there is a shorter period of time where it's too hot to be in the sun (unless it's river or waterfall related and then the splashes of water make it quite refreshing and enjoyable) anyone needing a break from the heat, i can only recommend coming to the mountains to cool off and play in nature!

We dance and we clean. Everyone participates in our regular dance-offs. If you're not performing, you're a judge and no one ever gets less than a "woo-hoo!" Everyone also participates in our cleaning races that keep us moving. We set the timer for 15 minutes and we race to see who can finish quickest. My 4 year old's favorite version of this is our bag race, where he and his sister race to see who can fill their paper bag with the most things that need to be put away. Just 2 little ways we put movement into our everyday lives.

I keep my 21 month old daughter active by taking her:

1. swimming at the neighborhood pool

2. to the beach

3. to a playground at a local park

4. to story time at the library every Wednesday

5. grocery shopping

6. outside the house to draw with sidewalk chalk or blow bubbles

and of course she has lots of toys that she enjoys playing with like Little People and Weebles. I keep her active and in return she keeps me active as well!

I know many moms have mentioned dancing to music. We really enjoy this too. For moms with really little ones (like mine) holding them while you dance is fun for everybody. We especially like dancing to "Shake your Booty" and "YMCA" My little ones also like dancing to nursery rhymes with movements such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes" "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy, Bitsy, Spider"

Our kids are now young adults, but over the years I've always read and heard that the most influential thing a parent can do to encourage healthy habits is to model them personally, particularly the parent of the same gender as the child. So I've made sure I'm exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating healthy meals and snacks myself, plus we've encouraged our daughters' involvement in team sports from their earliest pre-school-age teams to their current college age opportunities. Osteoporosis is very prevalent in my family, so I've pointed to my older family members and reiterated the importance of calcium consumption and weight bearing exercises continually for our children over the years. We consume a lot of dairy products in our home!

Ever since our 9 year old went to camp his younger brother has wanted to have our own camp...so we have a schedule of...
hiking around the yard...playing badminton (really keeps them on the move), basketball, kickball,soccer, and baseball. Their excitement has not only kept them off of the couch but has also picked up our level of excercise.
On rainy days we have turned cleaning a house into a game that both boys love. We have them move things out of the way when cleaning but with their competitive side we see who can do it the quickest. When things need to go to another area of the house for proper placement we start two piles and then run relay races to see who can put away their pile first. They are getting a great workout and being of great assistance without realizing it. Wii really have been having a ball!

Instead of Saturday morning cartoons, we went to the gym with our 2 young daughters and swam at the indoor pool as a family.

We have 2 boys, ages 4 and 2, so life is naturally busy and active. I love the outdoors, and try to incorporate that as much as possible into our lifestyle. Things that we do as a family during summer:
-take walks and bike rides around a loop in our neighborhood in late evening
-walk/ride bikes to the neighborhood pool instead of drive
-slip-n-slide in the yard
-water balloon fights outside
-wash our cars
On rainy days, I like to go to JumpZone or Marbles. Sometimes we just play hide-n-seek or hit balloons in the house.
I am pregnant with our third boy, so I get up early every morning at 6am to speed walk for exercise. Sometimes, my husband will get up early and ride his bike through the neighborhood for exercise.

Hi, We have 3 kids ages 16 yo, 11 yo and 7 yo. My husband and I work daily. When we come home from work our ritual has been eat dinner every evening together. We share thoughts, feelings, ideas, and comments that come about while we are away. Every Wednesday is library day for our family. Every Thursday is breakfast night for dinner. We schedule swim dates, movie dates, beach dates, and long weekend dates every evening on Sundays for the week ahead. My husband and I eat out alone once a week which is on Fridays since I am off. We take nature walks after dinner, or play a monopoly. TV is scheduled throughout the day for 2 hours only and then its reading or writing in journals.

Thanks.

Living my life as a Proverbs 31 woman

www.tangelasmithwilliams.com

If I can just get my girls outside, the activity & fun happens. Having things in your yard like a swingset, a wagon, things to push or ride gets them going. If nothing else, blow bubbles. Before I know it we are all 4 outside & taking a walk or working in the garden. There's something about being outside that makes you want to stay ---- until the mosquitos start biting!

At our house we drop everything and dance! We crank up the radio and do our best freestyle moves. It's something even our 1-year-old can join in on, and we love sharing our favorite music with one another.

Mom to Jude

Get the family up after dinner and get them walking, also use this as a time to get the dog up and walking also. It is really hard to get the family up after dinner so I have to bribe them with other non food treats for after we get back.

My goodness, you definitely deserve a Wii!! You are definitely busy!

 I took my son out of pre-school for the summer (I have my own business and so have some flexibility) and have been looking for educational activities -- wanted to open up his world without breaking the wallet.

 I took you Hopscotch idea and added a twist. My son is four and a half and really loves numbers. He is also incredibly active, so anything with running, jumping, climbing, and more running is always good.

 I made two cloth cubes with the numbers one through four on four sides, leaving two sides blank (in hind sight I should have put a zero on those sides). One cube is blue with red numbers and the other is yellow with black numbers (we are into super hero colors). 

 With either sidewalk chalk or the numerous clay-like rocks in our yard, we draw a design of my son's choosing of nine squares each ascribed a number one through eight and the last a star. For our purposes, the squares are generally not attached and are a reasonable jump-length apart.(I use nine squares because my son can count to twelve -- eight squares with numbers, four highest on the cube).

The rules of the game are to first assign one die as the "and" and the other as "take away." We throw the dice in the air and whichever lands closest to my son is the one we start with. He then throws the starter die on the design. The die and where it lands determines his jumps. If we start with the "and" die and it lands on the number two with the die showing the number six, he must tell me what six and two makes. Once he comes up with the answer, he jumps to the number eight square (leaping and jumping on all preceeding numbers as he goes). The next player does the same (usually it's me -- whew! gasp! truly, it gets the heart going).

On the next round you must use the other die. Same actions except you must "take away" the "land" (the square where the die lands) from the die number (switch the numbers when necessary. We always use the larger from the smaller). Once he answers the correct number he must jump back that many squares.

The game continues until a player reaches the star (for us, any number over twelve).

 FYI -- the blank sides of the dice are equal to zero.

Upon typing out our game, I think it sounds complicated, but my son helped think it up and grasped the concept quite easily.

I do have to admit, he is a much better jumper than I am. I try not to cheat by just stepping and have found that if I jump and run as much as he does ... I really have no need for an aerobics class ever again. Now I take pilates for a break!!

As for milk, he will only have white milk on cereal, or with homemade bake goods, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with whole wheat bread. The fun thing is, it's true for our entire family. And since I love to bake, we drink a lot of milk -- but don't ask my son if he drinks a lot of milk because he'll tell you he "only drink chocolte milk; clear milk is for cookin' and eatin' the 'tings' ya cook."

In a word, milk is for "everything."

Our family stays busy and active with our family olympics. My boys are 16 and 10 so we have to be creative in keeping them busy and active. Our 16 year old has battled for years with cancer and chemo effects on his heart so we keep him busy to strengthen his heart. Our olympics have different individual and team events, we choose 3-4 each week, swimming, diving, jumping, running, bike races or tricks, sit ups, jumping jacks, basketball- the list goes on and on. We judge each other on a 10 point scale and the winners get to choose the family activities. First place gets to choose the family dinner that night, skips a chore of their choice and gets to plan the events for the next olympics. Second place gets to choose the dvd movie and snack for our family movie night. This works in many ways...... no fighting to choose what we will watch and have for dinner while spending quality family time with our kids. We as parents are the real winners!!

I have a 5yr old son and 2yr old daughter who have very active imaginations. I have learned that the best ways to keep them interested in exercising is to show plenty of enthusiasm myself for the activities and involve imaginary play. For instance, when my husband and I take the kids to the local park, which has a track, we pretend that we are in the Olympics and we are running a marathon. We walk, jog, and run around the track while doing "commentating" for each other. My husband and son are big sports watchers so this comes easy for them. My daughter just loves to see that the rest of us are having fun and she follows suit. My husband pretends he is the hero and he has come to save her from Swiper the Fox-she loves Dora. When we model pleasure from the activities then we teach them that exercise isn't a chore but fun. Also I have a rule for myself that if I eat something fattening I have to follow it with a calorie burning chore like cleaning baseboards or windows and pulling out the beds to vacuum and dust under them. Let me tell ya that is a strong discourager to gourge myself on Edy's. LOL!

We put in a garden in the backyard and are constantly tending it. With a two year old, I really have to move fast to get everything watered and weeded. He mostly likes playing with the hose and picking strawberries.

When it is too hot outside, we have "bubble wrap dance parties." I lay out a few sheets of bubble wrap on the floor and we take turns jumping on it and running around the kitchen.

My wife and I have a three year old boy, and we try to keep him active by committing to two outdoor/physical activities a day. One that we can participate in, like walks and going to the pool. And one that he can do with his friends, like a playground or one of the numerous jump houses. We also have him enrolled in The Little Gym for gymnastics and they occasionally have Friday nights where they do a Parent Escape night where they are there till 11PM so we can catch a movie and peaceful dinner.

The key for our family is to start the day being active. My two young sons like to "race" me in my car as I leave the house to go to work... lining a Big Wheel or bike along Dad in his running shoes on the sidewalk to see who can win the race to the neighbor's mailbox. Once I speed away, they race back to our own mailbox. The result is everyone outside, having fun and breathing the fresh air first thing in the morning. Can't think of a better way to start the day!

My son William and I are avid bikers, and we enjoy increasing our mileage on the American Tobacco Trail near our home on Apex as often as we can. We make it a family affair, and often get our friends and their kids to join us. The real motivation? The healthy snacks we bring along, then the occasional ice cream treat after we hit the 10 mile mark.

All of the above, in this lovely NC heat, really helps William (and his parents!) burn calories, stay safe on a trail that's under cover, and very well maintained by our local counties.

Cheers for safe family biking for fitness in our lovely neck of the woods!

My kids are young adults and I am a high school guidance counselor. This summer I joined the Rex Wellness Center and have really enjoyed the mid-morning water aerobics classes. I have also started going back in the afternoons to enjoy some cycling. It has been a great way to get out of the house, meet new people, and work on getting back in shape.

We are all enjoying grandma's large, inground pool - playing marco polo, relay races, etc.

My husband and I are on a walking program as well.

My son participates in basketball (daily) as well as basketball camps (weekly). My husband and I walk through the neighborhood on the evening. I even received a text from my son while in the grocery store. He stated that he wanted the milk with the blue top!! (1% milk) He said that he saw in a magazine that it was less fat and better for you so he wanted to give it a try. No more whole milk................1% (cereal, coffee, recipes, etc.)

I run, walk, and swim a lot. I also plan of getting a bike around Christmas time. The Raleigh public swimming pools are one of the cheapest forms of family entertainment all year round, but especially in the blazing heat of the summer.

I have purchased a badmitton set and challenged my family to a health competition of guys against the girls. We get out and play 2-3 times a week now and we're all loving it!

I have purchased a badmitton set and challenged my family to a healthy competition of guys against the girls. We get out and play 2-3 times a week now and we're all loving it!

Well, gosh. We don't do anything quite as exciting and entertaining as some of the posts I've read above. None of the kids like this NC heat or the gnats that have invaded our yard so we don't spend nearly as much time outside as we should. However, they do run all through the house pretending to be Star Wars or Transformer fighters, or NASCAR racers. Because they are playing pretend and are up and active, I accept and embrace the noise that 3 VERY loud little boys (8, 6 & 4) and 1 VERY loud little girl (2) make. We NEED this Wii like nobody's business :-)

OH!  And we go through 8 gallons of milk a week, so the coupons would help our grocery bill in a big way.

Thank you!!!

My 13 year old daughter is in year round school and I have a fulltime job, so we have a busy schedule almost all summer. I try to live a healthy lifestyle and promote wellness on a day to day basis. I do this in many different ways: I encourage her to take walks with me after dinner with our 2 dogs. I purchased a membership to the YMCA and have attended Yoga classes with her several times. I try to keep healthy food and snacks in my house and limit our eating out. I work out , go to the gym or take long walks everyday. I hope that by living a healthy lifestyle, I set a good example for my daughter and she will incorporate healthy living into her life as an adult and a as a Mom! As a single mom, it is really important for me to be a good role model for my daughter (to lead by example) and instill healthy habits she will carry on through her life.

With school out, I am just thankful for the time to actually get out and be active.  I am starting to introduce my daughter to new sports to see which one she takes a fancy too.  I think volleyball is her thing.  With the two of us playing together, it is more about just getting out and having fun instead of it being a competition.  We get to bond as well as be active.

My family has taken up the hobby of Geocaching. Geocaching is a sophisticated treasure hunt of sorts. It is done with the use of a handheld GPS. The great thing about it is that after than initial investment it involves free, year round, all outdoor fun. We get our coordinates and off we go. Geocaching gets us out walking and hiking in small and big parks along with places like the American Tobacco Trail and the Cary Greenway. It is a great way to get a lot of excercise without even realizing that's what you are doing. Geocaching also can take you to all kinds of places you didn't know exsisted which adds to the fun. Kids love finding the caches and trading something they have brought along for something that is in the cache. It appeals to everyone young and old-great for the whole family!

I get to keep my grandchildren (ages 5 and 1) on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  We always  find something active to do: playing at the park or yard, blowing bubbles, playing basketball or just tossing a ball around, riding bikes and/or pushing toddler toys in the neighborhood, splashing in the kiddie pool.  TV and/or  video time is limited to 30 minutes a day.  On rainy days, we try Marbles Museum, Monkey Joes, Planet Child, the library's story time, or in-door fun, e.g., laundry basket basketball.  My 5-year-old likes to help make dinner and has learned about healthy foods but has actually applied more from "modeling" by adults - asking to eat fruit and vegetables after he has seen me enjoy them so much.  All the activity is a good way for me to stay fit, too!

No one in my home is really great about staying fit and excerising. So, I guess you can say that I have tricked them into it. I purchsed one of those very large exercise balls and we take turns seeing who can sit on it the longest with out touching the floor. We do this about every other day. This works the abdominal muscles and improves balance and coordination. It usually leads us into trying other things like touching our toes or who can do the most leg lifts or push ups. When the microwave is on we roatate our arms in little circles and see who can do it the whole time the microwave cooks. THey have no idea they are working on their upper arms' strength and toning. I have also started using the excuse of " I don't want to get the car dented" and parking far away from the doors of the places we shop. Teenagers will usually do just the opposite of what you want them to, so by never using the word exercise, and just making small changes - that I can benefit from too - they really are exercising!

Now that summer baseball is over, the family has tried different activities to stay fit. I have a teenage daughter and 12-year old son. We have discovered our local par-3 golf course the last month or so and have visited a couple times a week at least. We walk the course and play the 18 holes. My son goes even more often with friends! The family has had a great time and all of us have improved greatly, although my husband is a great golfer already. We have had a lot of talk-time with each child and improved our lifestyle. It has gotten our family moving and talking. It's great and FUN too! Everyone benefits!!

Now that summer baseball is over, the family has tried different activities to stay fit. I have a teenage daughter and 12-year old son. We have discovered our local par-3 golf course the last month or so and have visited a couple times a week at least. We walk the course and play the 18 holes. My son goes even more often with friends! The family has had a great time and all of us have improved greatly, although my husband is a great golfer already. We have had a lot of talk-time with each child and improved our lifestyle. It has gotten our family moving and talking. It's great exercise and FUN too! Everyone benefits!!