HEALTHY KIDS DAY® Suggested ActivitiesLooking for ways to awaken a child’s imagination and inspire healthy choices just in time for summer? Check out these great ideas for your HEALTHY KIDS DAY event designed to help kids get (and stay!) on a healthy development track. These ideas can also awaken the imaginations of parents, caretakers, and community members as we rally together for the Y’s single largest national event dedicated to youth.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITYHOP, SKIP AND JUMP: Draw a hopscotch board (or 2 or 3) leading into your facility. Watch participants hop their way into your event!

DOWNWARD DOG: Teach child-friendly stretching and yoga that families can do together every day.

DANCE IT OFF: Invite a local radio station to host a dance competition.

GO AROUND IN CIRCLES: Set up hula hoops and see who can keep them rolling the longest.

READY. SET. GO!: Set up an obstacle course, inviting kids to race their parents for the best time.

EVERYBODY PLAYS: Ask your mayor or a well-known personality to host an official play date including fun games such as freeze tag, kickball or follow the leader.

HEALTHY EATINGHEALTHY TASTE TEST: Provide samples of fresh fruit and/or veggies, inviting kids to close their eyes (or use a loose blindfold), taste the food and guess what they are eating.

GET COOKING: Invite a local chef to do hands- on cooking demonstrations with healthy recipes.

Download more enrichment activities from The Y Feeds Kids.

STEM & THE ARTSCOMMUNITY MURAL: Hang a giant piece of paper on the wall, inviting kids and families to draw or paint pictures of their favorite activity to do together.

INSPIRE THE MAD SCIENTIST: Enlist a local science teacher to do a science activity with the kids.

TAKE FLIGHT: Provide paper and sample templates to have the kids make paper airplanes. See whose can fly the farthest!

BUDDING BOOKWORMS: Invite your local librarian to read their favorite stories to kids.

SHOW OF HANDS: Provide materials for kids to create a puppet of a character from one of the books from story time.

WAY TO GROW: Invite a local university horticulture department or county extension to do demonstrations for creating your own healthy garden. Provide some simple ways to use herbs/vegetables in healthy recipes at home

MAKE SOME MUSIC: Provide recycled materials, inviting kids to make their own musical instruments (shoe box + rubber bands = guitar! or create their own shakers filled with items such as rice or beads).

BUILD IT: Provide families with materials to build a suspension bridge from straws, masking tape and dental floss. Test its strength by hanging a paper cup filled with coins from the center.

CHILD HUNGER IS NO FAIRYTALE: Create a space for youth to draw artwork related to food & fairytales and submit to Y-USA. Selected artwork will be featured in a national anti-hunger campaign.

IDEAS TO GET YOUR IMAGINATION GOING WHEN PLANNING ACTIVITIES

Tips for Engaging Families• Provide name tags and make an effort to call youth

and parents/caregivers by name.

• Create a family passport that encourages each member to participate in some of the activities. Once a participant completes an activity give them a sticker or stamp to complete their passport.

• For each activity, plan ways for parents/caregivers to participate with their children.

• For each activity, plan and share ways for parents/caregivers to continue engaging the children at home. Think about providing take-home questions that are open-ended and make the activity relevant at home.

• For each activity, provide a community resource that connects them to further engage the family.

• If possible, take family photos and through registration tracking, send a family photo as a thank you after the event.

• Set up a check-in or registration table where the family can receive a raffle ticket (this number can be written on their registration and tracked when their photo is taken).

• Host a family photo scavenger hunt (families need to take pictures of themselves doing silly things such as posing in the “YMCA” letters) throughout the event. Have them post on social media using #HealthyKidsDay.

Tips for Awakening Imaginations: • Create an art space for youth to explore different

types of materials.

• Allow youth and families to create their own unique

art pieces. Instead of providing samples of projects to complete, offer guiding prompts or open- ended directions.

• Provide a station for family members to create fun portraits of each other. Then create a recipe that describes the family member. For example: 10 cups of “fill in the blank (hugs)” or 1000 tablespoons of “fill in the blank (laughs).”

• Create a “mad libs” series with fill-in the blanks to make silly stories inspired by healthy eating and physical activity (ex: noun would be specific to a vegetable, verb would be specific to a type of dance)

Additional tips for a successful event: • Provide snacks and drinks that are

HEPA compliant.• For each activity, be intentional on making it age and

temperament appropriate for all youth. Remember: Some children may prefer a quieter environment, so if possible, provide activities in a “quiet zone.”

• Think of summer offerings at your Y that you can promote through activities:

- Promote safety courses such as babysitter training, first aid, CPR, Water Safety

- Promote summer tutoring/education programs as well as summer camp options

• Invite pre-teens and teens to volunteer at the event

• Host a race event such as a youth triathlon or a 5k

• Incorporate demonstrations/performances that involve the local community such as:

- Martial arts group

- Local dance team

- Local children’s choir or band

- Bike safety demonstrations or bike checks from a local bike shop