Indoor Obstacle Course Ideas for All Ages!

Some days, my daycare children have boundless stores of energy.  They need to move their bodies!  One of our favourite indoor activities that really gets them moving is to set up an obstacle course in the playroom.  This activity never gets boring because we think up new courses every time.  I love an activity that appeals to a range of ages and ability levels.  The older kids love to fly through the obstacle course at top speed or be timed with a stop watch.  Timing a child’s courses and then finding the average is a great math activity for those fellow homeschoolers out there :).

We will set up a mini course section for the younger children who want to explore the obstacles at their own pace.  The younger kids love to crawl and climb on objects.  I’m amazed at how quickly they get the concept and want to take a turn at the longer course with the older children.  Use whatever obstacles you have in your house.  Here are a few suggestions that might help spark ideas for your indoor obstacle course.

We laid our basketball net down on its side to become a balance beam.  You could use a skipping rope or a line of books to make a balance beam.

Then the children jumped on the mini trampoline and went down the slide.  A couch cushion would work to jump on or set up two chairs with a blanket and have the kids crawl through a tunnel.  Obstacle courses are great when they involve using spaces up high, down low and in the middle.

The kids flipped over toy storage bins and used them as stepping stones.  You could also use small towels laid out on the ground or any step stools you have at home.

We have a turtle bean bag toss game that they decided to include in the course.  You could use rolled up socks and toss them into a laundry basket to create the same idea.  Or you could wind duct tape (sticky side out) around a piece of cardboard.  Lean the cardboard against the wall and throw baby socks onto it.

Next, the children set up a relay section to their obstacle course.  They put stuffed animals into a bin and then added a doll wagon a short distance away.  The task included the kids grabbing the cow from the yellow bin and running with it to put it into the wagon.

Our course finished with some pylons the kids had to run around. You could substitute soup cans or toy cars for the pylons.  Once the children saw the different elements to an obstacle course they were inspired to make up their own courses.

I love this type of activity because it is active and creative.  The children can keep altering it indefinitely to change the game.  Different ages of children can participate and play together easily.  The building process is very social in nature and the children learn how to include everyone’s ideas into the course design. I also like how this activity is non-competitive within the group but can be self-competitive by using a stop watch.

Have fun and good luck; it’s only a matter of time before the kids will want YOU to run through their obstacle course creation!