by Dr. Ali

Happy November! When we think of November, we always think of good food and family fun! But with November usually comes a changing season and decreasing temperatures too! We understand how tricky it is to be a parent during these hard and strange times, and one concern we often hear, especially now, is “How do I keep my child moving now that the weather is getting colder and they can’t play outside?” 

Have no fear! There are plenty of great activities your child can do to keep moving if you have to stay indoors, even if you don’t have a ton of space to work with! Below is one activity that you can set up for your child that is festive, can be done completely inside on a chilly day, and will keep them working toward achieving a final goal.

1. Color The Turkey
   1. Find a turkey of your choice and print out a blank copy so your child can color it and make it their own! You can also try the dot to dot below! Attach it to another piece of paper or construction paper (you’ll see why later)
2. Feather Scavenger Hunt
   1. Place feathers all around your house, in both high and low places, under buckets or bins, and anywhere in between! This way, when they’re seeking out the hidden feathers, they are doing many squats to get to low feathers, and rising up on their tiptoes to get to high feathers. These are two motions that are great for strength building and balance.
3. Pin the Feathers on the Turkey
   1. Have your child stand next to a wall with one arm above their head touching the wall. Tape the turkey to the spot where their fingers touch the wall. Next attach tape or glue dots to a wider part of the feather. Tell your child to JUMP with the feather in their hand, to stick it onto their turkey, wherever they want to! They may need some help getting the feather to stick but the jumping is the important part here, so give them an extra sticky hand if they need it.
4. Do a turkey dance!
   1. Finally, with their beautiful turkey constructed, do a turkey dance (aka a chicken dance) and start marching your legs and flapping your wings just like a turkey!

We’d love to see your turkeys AND your turkey dances! If you would like to share, tag us or message us @kidpt on Instagram or @kidptnj on Facebook. Gobble Gobble!