2023 Active Challenge for Kids
Fancy being more active in 2023?
Join our 2023 Active Challenge – 52 fun physical activities guaranteed to get the blood pumping, one for every week of the year! They’re accessible, require minimal equipment and can be modified to suit children and adults of all ages!
There’s no better time than the New Year to make a meaningful pledge to be more active but we understand it has to be practical and realistic, which is why we’ve created this bitesize programme of 52 different physical challenges.
The physical activities vary each week but they share one common theme – they’re exhilarating and FUN! So give it a go – can you keep up with us throughout the entire year?
How does it work?
Each quarter we’ll reveal the latest batch of weekly challenges, which will be published in a downloadable and printable planner to stick on your fridge!
Each new weekly challenge will begin on a Monday and participants should aim to complete each one a minimum of three times per week, putting special focus on weekends when it’s the perfect time to encourage friends and family to join in!
Remember, the UK Chief Medical Officer recommends that children are active for an average of 60 minutes a day across the week, so the active challenge will contribute towards this goal.
Tick the activities off as you go and post on socials using #PremierActiveChallenge to share your progress. The Premier Education team will be joining in too, sharing videos and tips along the way to help keep you motivated!
Why not keep a weekly diary of your progress and record how the different challenges make your family feel? Or send us your letters, emails and pictures to tell us how you’re getting on.
At the end of the year, we’ll award some prizes to those who have shown effort and been dedicated to living a more active 2023!
Above all, it’s about having FUN! Embrace each challenge and give it your best shot. But remember, above anything else, it’s about having FUN and finding the joy in being active.
Benefits of keeping active
Physical activity is so much fun plus it comes with a host of positive health benefits:
- Lower obesity levels and improves overall health
- Children are happier and less anxious
- Creates positivity, confidence and enjoyment
- Gives a sense of achievement
- Develops social skills
- Reduced stress
- Strengthened bones and muscles
- Improved coordination, strength, endurance and balance
- Supports fine and gross motor development
Anchor Point: June
Weekly fitness challenge activities – June 2023
Week 23 – Garden volleyball
Week commencing 5th June
Test your reactions with a fun game of garden volleyball this summer. All you need is something to act as your net, tied between two points, and a ball to hit over the net to a partner.
Can your kids get a rally going? How many can they get?
Week 24 – Father’s Day/parents challenge
Week commencing 12th June
Take it in turns with your child to spell out your names with this exercise word game! With each letter having its own exercise, can you and your child complete your first name and surname? Why not try swapping with your child later in the week – you spell out their name and vice versa.
A – 5 x jumping jacks
B – 10 x jumping jacks
C – 10 jumps
D – hop on one foot 5 times
E – touch your toes 10 times
F – crab walk for 20 seconds
G – 5 x sit ups
H – 10 x mountain climbers
I – 5 x push ups
J – 30 seconds of high knees
K – kick your left foot as high as you can
L – 5 x jumping jacks
M – 10 x jumps
N – balance on 1 leg for 30 seconds
O – 5 x sit ups
P – 5 x push ups
Q – 10 mountain climbers
R – kick right foot as high as you can
S – run in place for 30 seconds
T – run with high knees for 30 secondsÂ
U – 10 x jumps
V – 10 x mountain climbers
W – balance on 1 leg for 30 seconds
X – 5 x sit ups
Y – 10 jumping jacks
Z – hop on one foot 5 times
Take advantage of the longest day of the year (Summer Solstice is on Wednesday 21 June) by enjoying some extended walks around your local area, park or woods. There’s time to head out on a family walk after school or enjoy a long stroll over the weekend. Either way, soak up the extra sunshine and fill the long summer days with some added adventures! Aim to walk at least three times across the week. How did it make you all feel?
Take advantage of the longest day of the year (Summer Solstice is on Wednesday 21 June) by enjoying some extended walks around your local area, park or woods. There’s time to head out on a family walk after school or enjoy a long stroll over the weekend.
Either way, soak up the extra sunshine and fill the long summer days with some added adventures! Aim to walk at least three times across the week. How did it make you all feel?
Week 26 – Garden musical statues
Week commencing 26th June
Make the most of the lighter evenings, and get the whole family to bust some moves in the garden or park with this party-game inspired activity. All you need is some music, then get your groove on while the music plays. As soon as the stop button is pressed, freeze!Â
A great one to do with friends or family members to increase the competition element, but it’s also fun for your child to do on their own and see how still you can be when the music stops.
Aim to do this once in the week and once at the weekend. Just remember to keep the music down so the neighbours aren’t disturbed.
Anchor Point: may
Weekly fitness challenge activities – May 2023
Week 18 – King Charles III coronation inspired challenge
Week commencing 1st May
Be inspired by the pomp and circumstance of the coronation and see if your children can channel their inner soldier by taking on a marching challenge. Can they march on the spot for 30 seconds followed by ‘high knees’ jogging on the spot for 30 seconds? See if they can complete 5 rounds.
Walking and jogging are great ways to get the heart-rate up and the addition of the ‘high knees’ means those legs will get a great workout!
Week 19 – Family HIIT
Week commencing 8th May
Everyone can be involved in this fun, energetic activity, and see if you and your kids can repeat this twice during the week.
- Bench dipsÂ
- Star jumps
- Side lunges
- Jog on the spot
- Sitting ‘v’ twist
- Air punches
Complete each exercise for 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest. Can you do four rounds? Aim to beat your family members by doing more exercises in the 40 seconds than them!
Week 20 – Mental Health Awareness Week – yoga challenge
Week commencing 15th May
To tie in with Mental Health Awareness Week, this week’s challenge has been set to make sure our minds are healthy as well as our bodies.Â
Some simple yoga movements and breathing exercises really help children to tune into how they are feeling. So, get them to wear something comfy and warm and they will enjoy this chance to stretch out those muscles and check in with their thoughts.
Exercise 1: Sitting cross-legged, in a comfortable position, take 10 deep breaths, counting in for 5 and out for 5.
Exercise 2: Standing up tall, slowly start to nod your head forward, then roll all the way down, with a soft bend in your knees – can you touch your toes? Take a deep breath at the bottom, then slowly roll back up. Repeat 3 times.
Exercise 3: On all fours, curl your back up like a cat to stretch your spine, then release and arch your back the other way. Try to breathe in to curl then breathe out to arch. Repeat 5 times.Â
At the end of the set of exercises ask your child to return to their seated, cross-legged position and see if they can notice how they feel.
Week 21 – Burpee challenge
Week commencing 22nd May
Burpees are a great way to get everything firing! Why not see how many your child can do in one minute? Better yet, join in and see who can do the most!
For the exercise, start standing up, then crouch down and place your hands on the floor, either jump or step your feet back then quickly return them, jumping up, and repeating the movement. As a variation, try doing a ‘frog burpee’ instead, which removes the jump at the end.Â
Aim to do this challenge three times throughout the week and build on your scores each time.
Week 22 – World Bicycle Day-inspired challenge
Week commencing 29th May
As World Bicycle Day is on 3rd June, we’re celebrating the bicycle as a great way to stay healthy as well as a form of transport. So, get outside and see if you can use your bikes or scooters on three journeys where you’d normally use the car. These could be to school, to the local park or playground, or to a friend’s house.Â
Just make sure you all wear helmets!
Weekly fitness challenge activities – April 2023
Week 14 – Easter bunny HIIT workout!
Week commencing 3rd April
From bunny hops to springy jumping jacks, this egg-citing Easter-inspired workout will get the whole family bouncing into the Easter weekend.Â
Hop to it with 40 seconds for each exercise, with 20 seconds of rest in between. Can your kids complete three rounds?
- Jumping jacks
- Hop on your left leg
- Rocket jumps
- Hop on your right leg
- Bunny hops
Week 15 – Family golf!
Week commencing 10th April
It’s half term, so it’s the perfect time to try out a new activity with the other members of your family. Pitch and putt or crazy golf are great fun and get you outdoors – and moving! Why not give it a try and see if you can get a hole in one.
We know, however, that golf isn’t for everyone, and it can be tricky to start with. You can switch it up in lots of ways.Â
Head to the park or into the garden and take a variety of small balls and some targets – plastic cups or bowls work well. Set them up approx. 2m away and take it in turns to roll/throw the balls, aiming for the targets. Come up with a scoring system as a family, for example, smaller targets, or those further away could be worth more points.
Week 16 – Fitness hide and seek
Week commencing 17th April
Whether it’s indoors, in a garden or at the park, a thrilling game of hide and seek is a fabulous way to pit your wits against family and friends whilst keeping active.Â
Turbo-charge your game by adding a fitness twist – whoever is found has to do 50 star jumps!
Week 17 – Family hopscotch
Week commencing 24th April
Hopscotch is not only brilliant to help establish counting, but it’s a simple and easy game to initiate at home. All you need is some pavement chalk to mark out your grid. You might also find hopscotch marked out at your local playground to use, so there’s no excuse not to get hopping!
Anchor Point: march
Weekly fitness challenge activities – March 2023
Week 10 – Family step-up challenge
Week commencing 6th March
This one is guaranteed to get the blood flowing! Challenge each family member to see how many step ups they can complete in one minute. Use either the bottom step of a flight of stairs or step up onto a secure box. Repeat daily (three times across the week if not) and track progress. Can anyone improve on their scores from the start of the week?
Week 11 – Sponsored dance routine for Comic Relief
Week commencing 13th March
Comic Relief helps to support vulnerable or disadvantaged people in the UK and around the world. Why not pledge to undertake a sponsored dance challenge, raising funds for children in need?Â
Ask friends and family to sponsor you while you create your own dance routine with friends. Either put on a performance at home or ask your school whether they will allow you to perform the routine during assembly.
If you’d prefer not to seek sponsorship, simply make up your own dance routine for fun and make a video diary of your progress to share with friends or family.
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Week 12 – Big Walk and Wheel
Week commencing 20th March
The Big Walk and Wheel, starting today, is a national initiative to encourage kids to commute to school using human power only! Try walking, cycling or scooting. If not the whole way, can you make part of your trip on foot or wheels? For more information or to get your school involved, click here.
Week 13 – Floor is lava!
Week commencing 27th March
This one is a huge hit with kids, being simple, fun and energetic! It also requires good listening and coordination.
Play your favourite music and run, dance or leap around the room until a grown up calls ‘FLOOR IS LAVA!’ at which point everyone should get off the floor as fast as possible, pretending the floor is made of burning lava.
Kids and parents should leap onto the sofa, sit on a chair, hop onto a footstool or climb on to a toy box – anything to avoid getting stuck in the molten lava!
Anchor Point: february
Weekly fitness challenge activities – February 2023
Week 6 – Keepie uppies family challenge
Week commencing 6th February
As it’s Schools’ Football Week, we’ve included a football-themed challenge for the whole family to try, regardless of age or ability.
Spend time perfecting your keepie uppies with a ball in the park or back garden – aim for a minimum of 15 minutes of practice three times throughout the week. At the end of the week, bring the family together to see who can do the most keepie uppies in one go. It’s great for balance, coordination and muscle memory!
If your children are a little too young for keepie uppies or other factors make this challenge a difficult one for your family to try out, why not try a slightly simplified version? Begin by asking your child to hold the ball. Then, instruct them to drop the ball, let it bounce, and challenge them to kick it on the way up. To complete the challenge, they’ll just need to catch the ball!
Week 7 – Musical chairs
Week commencing 13th February
This classic game shouldn’t only be reserved for kid’s parties as it’s great fun and a brilliant form of exercise. It’s also super for problem-solving!
You’ll need a minimum of four players but the more the merrier.
Assign someone to control the music then count how many participants are left. Arrange enough chairs – allowing one per player – in a circle with all chairs facing the outside of the circle.
When the music starts the kids run clockwise around the chairs. When the music stops they have to sit down on a chair as quickly as possible. Count this as the trial run. After this, remove one chair after each round – every time one person will be left standing without a chair. Who will be the last one standing?
If you’re short of space, adapt the game by using cushions instead of chairs. Or if you don’t have enough cushions to spare, make spots out of coloured paper (roughly the size of a dinner plate) to sit or stand on instead. Both options take up less room and are easy to modify to suit the space you have available.
Week 8 – Pancake flipping fitness challenge
Week commencing 20th February
Pancake Day falls this week so we’ve got a pancake-inspired fitness challenge to keep children busy!
Since pancakes are flipped up and down, this week’s workout contains exercises that require up and downward movements. Can you complete three reps of the following:
- 20 x press ups (kids on their knees, adults on their feet)
- 20 x bunny hops
- 20 x explosive squat jumps
- 20 x sit ups
- 20 x step ups
Week 9 – World Book Day challenge
Week commencing 27th February
As it’s World Book Day this week (2nd March), challenge your family to select 10 favourite characters from children’s story books. They could be animals, aliens, dinosaurs or sportsmen. Once you have chosen your 10 characters, try running or walking like each one, mimicking their movements. Will you waddle like a penguin, stomp like a T-Rex, or fly like a bird? Let your imaginations run wild!
Anchor Point: january
Weekly fitness challenge activities – January 2023
Week 1 – Dance party
Week commencing 2nd January
Celebrate the start of a new year with a fun 15-minute family dance party! Play your favourite tunes, turn up the music and bust out your best moves! Take it in turns to make up your own dance routine (think Simon says) or dial up the challenge by adding a freeze dance section! It’s guaranteed to get the blood pumping and faces smiling!
Week 2 – Winter scavenger hunt
Week commencing 9th January
It may be cold outside but it’s a great time to head out on a winter scavenger hunt with family. Take a long walk through the woods, or see how many items you can spot on your walk to school:
- Fallen leaves
- Robin
- Pine cone
- Pigeon
- Bare tree
- Puddle
- Footprints in mud or snow
- Feather
- Clouds
- Winter berries
- Moss
- Rose hips
- Bumpy bark
- Pebble
Keep a record of how many items the child manages to spot.
Week 3 – Indoor obstacle course
Week commencing 16th January
Obstacle courses encourage your creativity to run wild and can be adapted to suit the equipment or space you have available.
Set up a simple obstacle course in a safe area in the house (avoid sharp corners or walls). Aim to add about 6-8 different activities within the course. Here are some of our favourites:
- Crawl under tables
- Stick a line of masking tape to the floor and pretend it’s a balance beam to walk along
- Climb over footstools
- Crab walk from one room to another or one piece of furniture to another
- Lay cushions on the floor and leap like a frog from one to the next
- Crawl through a tunnel of blankets or sheets hung over chairs or sofas
- Throw balled socks, a softball or small teddy bears into laundry baskets – how many can you score?
- 20 jumping jacks on a designated spot
- Bowl over a stack of plastic cups
An obstacle course works both indoors and outdoors but as the weather can be a little temperamental it’s best to set yours up indoors – perfect for a rainy day!
Time yourselves. Who will be the first person to complete the course in the fastest time?
Week 4 – Winter workout HIIT
Week commencing 23rd January
Hiit is a great form of physical exercise, being super for cardiovascular health, strength and endurance.
Work your way through the following fitness activities, completing each one for 40 seconds, with a 20 second rest in between:
- Hold a plank
- 20 sit ups
- Jump rope
- 10 push ups (kids do them on their knees, adults on their feet)
- Left leg forward lunge
- Jumping jacks
- Squats
- Jump from side to side
- Frog jumps
- Wall sit
- Arm circles
- Right leg forward lunge
- Jog on the spot
- Touch toes then reach for the sky
Week 5 – Balloon volleyball
Week commencing 30th January
Get the whole family moving with an exhilarating and hilarious game of balloon volleyball! Inflate your balloon(s) and clear the area (to avoid accidents) then take it in turns to keep the balloon in the air.
As an extra challenge set the timer to see how long you can keep the balloon in play. Each time you play, see if you can keep the balloon off the ground for an even longer period of time!
