DIY Outdoor Obstacle Course

During this time when playgrounds are closed consider building a DIY obstacle course, inspired by the video below! You probably won't have have access to piles of wood pallets, ziplines, or enough lumber to build a warped wall, but click on the button below for inexpensive everyday items that you can use to get your kids started creating an obstacle course of their own! 

 1. Pool noodles
Crab walk or bear crawl through a rainbow of hoops, practice movement skills while hopping on one foot or jumping through taped-together rings on the ground, zig-zag through vertical noodles stuck in the ground, and work on throwing with a giant target game.

2. Scrap lumber
Get ready to walk the plank! Or maybe it’s a tightrope, a gymnastics beam, or a log over a ravine. Place a beam across a round stump and make a seesaw to walk across. These activities will challenge kids’ coordination and vestibular system.

3. Tunnels
Crawl-through fabric tunnels make a perfect obstacle. If you don’t have one at home, a large cardboard box or a blanket draped over two chairs is also fun.

4. Stumps
Place a pool noodle across two stumps and create kid-friendly (and short!) hurdles to run and jump over. Step, step, step across them, or roll one through the grass. Use the stumps as anchors to create a rope maze to belly crawl under.

5. Any kind of ball
Use a bat, hockey stick, or even a broom to help develop hand-eye coordination while coaxing the ball across a finish line. Want a bigger challenge? Try using a balloon.

6. Ninja quintuple steps
If you have plywood, 2x4s, tools, and time, these slanted steps look amazing. 

7. Bean bags
Sew your own at home with dried beans or rice and some scrap fabric, and toss them onto a board painted with numbered circles, or try to get the most into a bucket or laundry basket. Toss all your bags and then move on to the next obstacle!

8. Skipping rope
A skipping rope can be the starting line for a standing broad jump, an easy tightrope when placed on the ground, or used in a game of riverbank.

9. Water bottles
Fill up plastic water bottles or milk cartons to use as bowling pins. Place the bottles in two rows and use any large round ball to try to knock them down. It’s a great activity for building arm strength, coordination, and fine motor control.

10. Hula hoops
Tie a hula hoop to a tree branch or clothesline to jump through, lay hoops on the ground in a row or pattern where kids must hop or step from one to next, or hold the hoop in two hands and skip with it. You can even try making your own hoops. 

Try these variations to make your obstacle course more challenging:
Change directions and start from the finish line.
Time children (or yourself!) to see how long it takes to complete the course.
Balance a marble or plastic egg on a spoon and weave your way back through the course.

Active for Life Raising Physically Literate Kids