...Long story short - I wrote a bunch of junk (which I deleted) before I came up with the following. Yes I had to scrap a lot but it wasn't wasted time as it got me to having this pretty great family activity idea to share with you. However reading what I wrote to get here would be like reading a tedious (and slightly schizophrenic) stream of consciousness ala Faulkner so I spared you that private hell. Read on...
As the weather starts to cool, here's a great idea for spending time with your kids and getting them outdoors. If they are much older than 11 or 12, this may not interest them. Two words - obstacle course. It's relatively easy to set up an age-appropriate obstacle course in your backyard for your kids to run through. It doesn't require expensive equipment or loads of prep time - in less than an hour you can plan it out (have your kids help!) and another hour or so to set it up and/or put together a few minor pieces of equipment (I usually make whatever I need). I've done this a number of times as a Cub Scout Den Leader and let me tell you - nothing gets 8 year old boys going like an obstacle course...especially if you tell them you want to see how fast they can go!
So here's what you do.
1) Plan for approximately 10 stations for them to run through against the clock. Here's a sample program for kids about 7-10 years old:
1. Balance beam (about 5" off the ground - simply a 4x4 beam on feet to steady it)
2. Jump rope 10x
3. Soccer ball dribble through cones
4. Frisbee toss at target (like a tree)
5. "River" jump (set two lengths of rope 4'-5' apart parallel to each other; they have to jump over "the river" between the ropes; for even more excitement tell 'em it's lava)
6. 10 yard crab walk (hopefully you remember this one)
7. Up and over (let them scramble over something big like a picnic table; just be certain it's stable and cannot tip over).
8. Rope swing - if you have a sizeable tree in your yard, tie a rope up in it and have 'em swing over yet another river or lava pit.
9. Somersaults x 5 (make sure they don't drink too much bug juice beforehand!)
10. Run backwards for 10 yards
2) Actually take the time to draw a scaled plan/map of your backyard and then lay out the course on paper. This is a great way to show your kids how maps work at a scale they can relate to (their backyard).
3) Following your plan, lay the course out in your backyard so that your kids can run through it safely and without having to navigate too many obstacles NOT part of the course (like guy wires on a tree or a bird bath). I find snaking it back and forth usually works better than trying to make a big circle. Don't forget to include a start and finish line!
4) Have your kids do some slow test runs to work out any kinks. You may also find that you want to rearrange the order of obstacles for better flow or to accommodate the layout of your yard.
5) Grab a stopwatch and have fun! Challenge them to run through it faster each time. Odds are as they familiarize themselves with it, they will indeed get faster and have a true sense of accomplishment. Or maybe one of the challenges is something they have trouble with at first, but figure out how to master.
There you have it. Pretty simple and you've probably got most of the stuff on-hand already. This is a sample course; you may want to come up with completely different challenges. Just don't forget to pick ones appropriate for your kids' ages and abilities as well as your yard. If you know your child has trouble with some particular physical skill, this is a great opportunity in the safe environment of their own backyard to work on it by creating an obstacle to help them develop that skill. However I do encourage you to challenge and stretch them just a bit - that's how kids learn and grow. A challenge that is easily accomplished is no challenge at all...nor any fun.
Enjoy and be safe!
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