Fun Exercises to Do at Home That the Kids Will Love, Too!

Exercise is one of the easiest and most important ways to take care of yourself. As a health coach, a common reason moms call is to help them lose weight. Of course, exercise is part of maintaining a healthy weight, but it also boosts mental health and immunity. The challenge is finding fun exercises to do at home because we can’t all get to a gym, right?

First let’s talk about the benefits of learning fun exercises to do at home for both you and your kids.

Benefits of trying fun exercises to do at home

Amp Up Happy Brain Chemicals

Endorphins, known as the brain’s happy chemicals, are released when you work out. These chemicals produce a euphoric feeling, and you can get them from even moderate exercise. It can also improve clarity and focus as research shows how exercise benefits kids with ADHD. I certainly found that to be true for my own two kids with ADHD, especially my son. So, it not only improves your mood, it helps you become more productive and effective. Just a half hour of movement a couple days a week would be a good start. For those who are prone to depression and anxiety, exercise can sometimes produce effects similar to that of a prescription. How’s that for why you need to try fun exercises to do at home?

Lessen Anxiety

Along with feeling happier through exercise, you can also gain a sense of calm. When you’re feeling anxious or amped up, a workout session might do the trick to level out your mood. People with anxiety disorders have been shown to experience symptom relief through physical exertion. This is because you work off all the adrenaline and as mentioned above, you trigger the release of calming happy chemicals.

Increase relaxation when you try these fun exercises to do at home

When you’re feeling too hyped to sleep, an exercise session might be what you need to promote slumber. Timing is important if improving sleep is your goal. Choose about five or six hours before your bedtime to work out. Your body’s core temperature will rise due to the physical activity. Then right before bed, it should drop to a temperature that helps to promote sleep. In other words, do your exercise before afternoon snack time to improve both yours and your children’s sleep.

Boost Energy

Sometimes when you’re feeling sad, a quick boost in energy can help to alleviate your mood. A short stroll or these fun exercises to do at home might just give you the shot of adrenaline and endorphins you need to get through the afternoon slump or to shake a blue mood. It can also give you the drive to be more productive and creative once you’ve cleared your head.

Trying these fun exercises to do at home can reduce stress

Another beneficial brain chemical that exercise releases is norepinephrine, which reduces the effects of stress and helps you cope. This is great to know when you’re already feeling stressed to the max and in need of some self-care. So, take a break and try these fun exercises to do at home. You’ll likely feel much better afterward.

Exercise stimulates bone and muscle growth

Movement ensures that we build strong bones and muscles. Every time your feet hit the ground, it stimulates a tiny electric impulse in your bones (calcium crystals are piezoelectric) that signals your body to add more bone. Using your muscles to exertion causes microtears that cause your body to increase muscle tissue when it heals the tears. If you don’t move, you not only lose bone and are at risk for osteoporosis, but you also lose muscle. Those bat wing arms are not fat. They are unused muscles that are now atrophied.

Strengthens the heart and lungs

While breathwork improves lung capacity and saturation of cells with oxygen, exercise pushes the lungs and heart to safely work harder. This makes them more efficient, work better as a team, and makes the heart muscle stronger. This means that you are able to do more without getting out of breath or having heart palpitations. It keeps your body young.

And improves gut health and immunity

Lymph needs our bodies to move in order for it to move. It is a passive system. Digestion works better when we move, too. Moderate exercise stimulates the immune system and its anti-inflammatory activity. It promotes the production of key immune cells and slows aging. Strenuous exercise can temporarily inhibit the immune system, so don’t overdo it.

Exercise is good for your body, mind and soul. Even when you’re stressed or overloaded and simply don’t feel like moving, pushing yourself to get up and move your body may be the best medicine for the situation. After all, we were made to move!

Fun Exercises to do at Home

With all these great reasons to exercise, let’s get into what fun exercises to do at home. First, you want to move your body in all three planes of motion–twisting, forward and backward, and side-to-side–without hurting yourself. Be sure you have enough room to lay on the floor and to also be able to stand and hold your arms out from your sides without hitting anyone.

Now that you’ve made sure you’ve got space, here are ten fun exercises to do at home with the kids. I highly recommend making these exercises into relay races or imaginative games using colored cards, tunnels, stuffed animals, or other props. Kids will quickly lose focus if exercise is boring and so will you. Make it fun and creative!

Bear Crawl

• What it does: Full-body coordination; activates shoulders, core, and legs.
• How-to: On hands and feet, belly facing down. Crawl forward/backward on all fours.
• Pro tip: Race across the living room or mimic animals—bear crawl like a forest creature!

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Crab Walk

• What it does: Targets triceps, core, glutes, and improves balance.
• How-to: Sit with hands behind, feet flat. Lift hips and walk backward/forward.
• Game idea: Crab races or obstacle courses dragging a stuffed toy! Trying balancing the toy on your belly as you move across the floor.
• Backed by experts: Included in fitness routines for its benefits.

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Squat Jumps

• What it does: Builds explosive leg strength and boosts cardiovascular health.
• How-to: Squat, then jump high, landing softly.
• For kids: Turn it into a magic jump—pretend to jump over lava! Or, maybe you are jumping frogs or kangaroos trying to get the food high in the tree…
• More info: Squats and jumps are commonly included in functional kid plans.

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Mountain Climbers

• What it does: Engages core, shoulders, and legs; sparks heart rate.
• How-to: From a plank position, alternate driving knees to chest quickly.
• Fun twist: Pretend you’re running on the spot up a mountain!
• Why it works: Bodyweight movements like this target multiple areas.

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Plank & Plank Walks

• What it does: Strengthens core, shoulders, and stability muscles.
• How-to: Hold a forearm plank or “walk” sideways while staying low.
• Kid-friendly twist: Pretend you’re a super spy sneaking under lasers!

Here’s a sample workout that includes some of my suggested exercises. They offer others as well, but again, add in some gamification. These are great, kid-friendly, safe movements, especially when they are first learning how to do them. But, they get boring.

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Lunge with Reach

• What it does: Improves balance, glutes, quads, and flexibility.
• How-to: Step forward into a lunge and reach overhead or out front.
• Game idea: Pretend to touch the clouds or pick apples in a pretend orchard.

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Crab Reach & Twist

• What it does: Builds core rotation and shoulder stability.
• How-to: In crab position, reach one arm up and twist torso gently.
• Make it a story: Reach for stars, touch the moon, twist across the galaxy!

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Inchworm

• What it does: Stretches hamstrings and builds upper-body strength.
• How-to: Stand, fold forward, walk hands into a plank, then feet towards hands.
• Kid appeal: Pretend to be an inchworm inching across the soil.

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Bear-to-Crab Flow

• What it does: Combines two movements for strength and coordination flow.
• How-to: Perform bear crawl for a few steps, stop, flip into crab position, reverse.
• Wild animal game: Move through the “jungle” switching animal modes!

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7‑Minute Imaginary Adventure Circuit

• What it does: A balanced, playful full‑body series with cardio and strength.
• How-to: 12 exercises × 30 seconds each with 5-second rests.
• Use your imagination: dodge lava, crawl like bears, sprint through imaginary park

• Why it works: Kids need about 60 minutes of activity daily; short playful bursts make it achievable .

Suggestions for getting started with fun exercises to do at home

Start with just 30 minutes three times a week and work up to doing 60 minutes a day. Break up the time into smaller increments. Maybe have a sun-up session right after breakfast, a brain break after morning lessons, and then have an adventure circuit or obstacle course as part of afternoon free time. Each session should incorporate a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down to help the body adjust to your exercise regimen.

If you plan to do your routines outdoors, remember that children don’t regulate their temperature well and get overheated easily. They don’t sweat like adults do and they need more water to cool down. Don’t push them and above all, have fun!

Check out my other posts in the Self Care for Christian Moms: Homeschool Edition series!