Healthy Activities for the Month of February

February is the month of love, but it is also Heart Month. Instead of focusing on chocolates and candy, try out some fun, healthy, heart-related games and activities with your family:

• Heart Relay Races: You can add fun twists to the old relay race by replacing the egg-n-spoon version with a gelatin heart instead.  Or, stack candy hearts on a Popsicle stick.  Play Heart Lava with large paper hearts that teams use to move across the room without falling into the “hot lava.”
   
• Jump Rope for Heart: Grab some jump ropes and have some fun! Who can jump the most in a minute?  Who can go the longest without tripping?  Or, come up with some fun new tricks!
   
• Hugs & Kisses: A variation of the Simon Says game where “Hug” is where you hold your hands above your head to form a circle like an “O.”  And “Kiss” is where you move into a jumping jack position with your arms and your legs out like an “X.”
   
• Valentine’s Scavenger Hunt: Create a hunt around your house, neighborhood, or community.  For extra fun, have seekers hold or perform a certain exercise to get the next clue.
   
• Balloons: Grab some red or pink balloons (2 or more per players). Object of the game is to keep the balloons from hitting the ground for one minute. Or one balloon between two people, which they must get across the finish line without using their hands (hitting with their heads, chest, feet, etc.).
   
• Valentine’s Day Tag: Freeze tag but once someone is frozen, they must use their hands to make a heart on their forehead. To become unfrozen, a free teammate must run to a basket with valentine cards (the ones that kids exchange) and read it to the frozen teammate. (An alternate option would be to give a nice compliment to unfreeze them.)
   
• Board Game: Work together to create a fun, heart-healthy exercise board game on poster board, or create new cards for old games (Candyland, Chutes & Ladders). Rename basic exercises to fun Valentine names (cupid crunches, lovebird lunges, etc.).
   
• Yoga: Create your own yoga studio within your home. Find free online videos or check out a DVD or book from the library.
   

So, instead of sitting on the couch sharing a box of chocolates, get out, share some laughs, and make some heart-healthy memories.