Obstacle courses are great and they can be done either indoor during winter or outdoor during the summer for some fun!
Obstacle courses are not only fun, they’re challenging and they can be tailored to kids of different ages and skills so they can enjoy this activity whenever they want.
Plus, it’s a great way to keep your children active and away from screens for a while!
Obstacle courses are recommended to have at least 10 stations with 10 different activities or challenges for kids to partake in. That gives you a lot of freedom as a designer. All you need to do is make sure the activities you choose are age-appropriate!
If your obstacle course will be indoor, you can use everyday items to include in your stations.
Without further delay, here are a few ideas to set up your own obstacle course at home, whether that’s indoor or outdoor!
Indoor Obstacle Course Ideas for Stations
- Crawling under or over a row of chairs
- Belly crawling under a blanket
- Hopping between two points
- Jumping in and out of a Hula-Hoop
- Walking on a balance board
- Throwing a beanbag into a basket
- Running while balancing a beanbag on their head
- Ring toss
- Skittles
- Model an item out of playdough
- Skip in place while reciting a rhyme
- Do a handstand
- Somersault from point A to point B
- The floor is lava
- Jumping Jacks
And tons more!
Do make sure you clear an area indoor for these stations and make sure you put away anything that could break so your children have freedom of movement and they don’t have to worry about making a mess.
Outdoor Obstacle Course
When it comes to making an outdoor obstacle course, there’s a bit more detail to it. You have to determine the stations and then organise them in the space that’s available in the backyard.
To set up a simple obstacle course outdoors, you’ll need 3 Hula-Hoops, 4 pool noodles, 8 pens, 2 buckets, water balloons, and a catcher net.
First, lay the Hula-Hoops in a row, then make tunnels using the pool noodles. Do this by poking the pens on the ground and sliding one end of the pool noodle over the pen so that it fits into the hole in the middle of the noodle. Then do the same thing on the other side.
Now place a bucket full of water balloons in front of the tunnels and place a second bucket two feet away from the first one. Then, place the catcher net next to the second pool noodle tunnel.
Now bring your children outside and have them hop into each Hula-Hoop then crawl or jump through the tunnels, and then throw the water balloons into the other bucket until they get at least three in. Finally, have them run to the other bucket and scoop a water balloon into the catcher net before they run back to the starting line.
And that’s it! There you have a very simple outdoor obstacle course.
