how to get kids active?!

Just a random suggestion, but my sister did this for her two and it worked: Hide (or sell on if money's tight) the game controller and replace it with wii fit or xbox kinect. They can get a lot of exercise out of certain games and they probably won't even realise. Plus ebay has wii packages especially on the cheap. Another technology based idea is the active DVDs (sing and dance along to favourite children's characters).

Pedometres help too. Who can do the most steps in an hour? Who can get their's highest by tea time?

As for outside games, if it's hot use a water game. Water pistols (cheaply picked up if not got already, I've got 3 for £3 before) to have a water fight with. Or head to the woods, it's much cooler there so Hide and Seek is an option, or an organised game of imaginary play (You're all little sheep and I'm a big lion coming to get you!). Most children when left to their own devices without being plugged into technology will start imaginary play themselves. If you can't do strenuous exercise due to heat then go for a walk and either hide clues or have landmarks on the way, so the children get points for spotting something. Have a star chart they can move forward in if they complete the task. Whoever does the most, moves furthest ahead in the star chart and gets a treat (choose the game for the day or something). I loved skipping, and it's something you can easily do with them. If you have enough space inside you can do it there too. If you wanted to stay in the garden, then treasure hunts are brilliant.

Inside energetic games are a bit more limited, but simple party games go down well, musical bumps for example, or musical statues, dressing up and dancing and then everyone having to swop hats when the music stops (anyone left with their hat is out). As others have said, Duck Duck Goose is great, as is Simon Says (the kids I know love it if you link it to a favourite character eg. Fireman Sam, or themselves and they take it in turns after you) and Twister. Party Tapes (when I was little I had paddington bear which me and my sister put on and played to endlessly with just the two of us haha) are available, fun and something to stick on if you do need that quiet time. Hand-clapping games are good fun and they start learning the rhymes of by heart too (Hi Low Jack-a-lo is great and simple). Pirates and Ladies or other similar games are easy to play, lady has to hide from the Pirates and Pirates have sword-fight, and that can be done indoors so easily, just move anything breakable in case the sword-fighting gets a bit to energetic.

I know you feed them healthily already but food ideas for snacks that are easy to replace higher calorie stuff with, and might be added to your list are:
low-cal jelly (that's jello to Americans, not jam),
sugar-free lollipops,
Pie Filling (their favourite fruit with sweetener sprinkled on top and microwaved until mushy --> If apple, add a little cinnamon and it tastes like the McDonald's pies, works wonderfully as a dessert),
Home-made Vanilla Milkshake (Skimmed Milk with vanilla essence and a tiny bit of sweetener if needed, all whisked up or frothed in a blender),
Chocolate Strawberries/Fruit (Get a sachet/pot of the options 40 cal, put into small dish and add a tiny bit of water until it becomes a paste, they each get cut up fruit and get to dip it in chocolate, you can interchange the chocolate for fat-free yoghurt),
Extra Light Philidelphia/Cottage Cheese with little veggie sticks to dip in,
Popcorn (salted is the best, but if they want sweet add sweetener, can be a great treat for the evening and a film, story audiobook or book after all the activity),
New kinds of fruit (I know it sounds obvious, but unusual fruit that they haven't tried before can be really exciting. One of my favourite childhood memories is the Greengrocer at the end of our road who used to give me a different fruit to try every few days, he was called Tony - he was great! Starfruit, passionfruit, different melons, coconut - all fab!)


Mini Milk ice-lollies are surprising, if you want to give them a treat these are fab! They're only around 30 calories. Alternatively, buy/make lolly moulds (around £3) or use little pots, yoghurt pots or similar, and make out of juice, squash or skimmed milk with vanilla. It's so fun for them! If you don't have time to make them, stick fat-free yoghurt pots in the freezer instead.

Really hope this helps, do keep us updated!

Where are you that it's too hot to go out? It's not clear when you have them, but couldn't earlier-morning and later-afternoon activities be outside? Middle of the day might be too much, but with hats/sunscreen/plenty of water and high-water-content snacks (fruit/raw veg), there must be some time in the day you could get them outside? Walk to a park, take a ball/frisbee/hulahoops/skipping ropes etc. Is there a park nearby that has an adventure playground? Or, how about swimming? If you have a local pool, that'll keep everyone cool and thoroughly occupied in an active way!

Inside, dancing and related games are often popular - you can make it competitive if that makes it more appealing to the older boys - statues, for example, (and there may be dance challenge games for playstation? That might be an easy compromise...) and the winner gets to choose their favourite fruit/vegetable for the next meal (offer only the things you have!)/pick an outing for later in the week. Building 'forts' in the sitting room/bedroom was always very active (and very popular) for us as well.

I teach dance - and there are some indoor games that you can play that work on coordination and fitness.

Sailors - clear a space and have all the kids stand in the middle. Then you call out 'directions' and each direction has an action that the kids have to do. Not being a sailor myself, I've probably got all the directions wrong, but my kids have fun!
Port - run to the left.
Starboard - run to the right.
Climb the ropes - mime climbing ropes with arms and legs.
Scrub the decks - get down on all fours and mime scrubbing.
Captain's coming - stand to attention and salute.
Ladies on board - hands on hips and strut around on your toes.
Calling out the directions in random order makes them run all over the place and get up and down a lot. You get faster and faster and eventually everyone's running and falling and laughing and being ridiculous.

Musical Statues - dance until the music stops, and then call out a statue which everyone holds for 5 seconds or so and then the music starts again. Statues we use all have a foundation in core strength, but you can make up your own. We use:
Elephant - stand on one leg and lift the other knee, hooking the same arm underneath the knee to hold your nose. The lower leg becomes your 'trunk'. (this one teaches balance, but mostly is for the amusement of the grown-ups watching the kids try to grab their noses and falling over)
Ballerina - stand on tip-toe with arms above your head (we make them suck their tummies and bottoms in and try to get as tall as they can)
Superman - on your tummy, lift your legs and arms off the floor (arms in classic Superman flying pose) - strengthens back muscles
Dish - on your back, arms by your side next to your legs, lift legs and shoulders off the ground while keeping as much of your back on the floor as possible - strengthens abs

You can also set up a circuit and spend a minute at each station - push-ups at the couch, punches in the doorway (air punches, not punching the other kids!), star jumps/jumping jacks by the TV. After a couple of sessions, get the kids to pick their own exercises. See what they come up with.

And if they insist on playing the playstation? Get dance games, workout games, movement games and for every 15 minutes of movement games they play, they are rewarded with 5 minutes of mindless play. You'll be surprised how hard they'll workout to earn half an hour of mindless game time - of course they play the mindless games when YOU decide, not the instant they earn them!

And, as others have suggested, get them involved in food prep (mini pizzas, fruit kebabs, fried rice, sushi rolls, veggie plates) so they get excited about eating the healthy foods.

I know you said outdoor activities should be limited, but I want to throw one out there in case you change your mind -- geocaching (http://www.geocaching.com/) -- "Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location."

It's tons of fun for adults and kids alike, and can get you moving and exploring outside. The only downside is that you need a smart phone, or a GPS.

LOVE THIS IDEA for my own kids! Thanks for sharing!

http://www.educational-freeware.com/news/easy-crafts.aspx is another site I just found via google.

I have a daycare that uses.. I did caution her to make sure ALL parents were ok with..
Shaun Ts Fit Kids® Club
Item #: MDFKDVD2101
Shaun T and the Fit Kids are bringing the fun and fitness to help kids of every age achieve a healthy lifestyle! Plus get snack tips, a label-reading guide, and a FREE cool wall poster!

You need a schedule!
Do you have them all day or just after school...that will depend on what type of scehdule to use....
If all day, stucture your day as if they were in school/daycare center...
8am...free play...games, cards, color, etc...no tv
9am...snack...have them make their own..yougurt "sundaes", carrots with dip,pretzels with peanutbutter and raisin faces, etc...
10am...outside
11am...do something educational
lunch time
1pm...organized play...board games, cards, puzzles, etc...
2pm...quiet time...read or rest....hugs and cuddle time, too
3pm...playstation for 1/2 hour only....
4pm...playtime...dress up, act out a play, etc...
5pm...snack and than home

organize some of their play time, but other times let them go find something to do....if they say I am bored, tell them to go find something to do! By structuring playstation time and cuddle time you can pre-empt the whinning over it all...

If you have them after school...have snack, free play, homework time, structured playtime, snack and home...

Google some school programs to get ideas...

I know it's hard to work with, but I've been there. I have two sons and a husband that doesn't care to move most of the time. Here's what I do.

Leave the game console right where it is. Take away the remotes and hide THEM. Oh, and hide the TV remote, too. My kids spent some major energy trying to find them. lol If you want, even turn this into a scavenger hunt when they've earned time on the console. And that's the thing-make them earn the time by being active. We use a point system in our house. Certain behaviors earn points, certain amounts of points can be spent, at MY discretion, for game time or other privileges. You decide what the desirable behaviors are - being active, cleaning up an activity, etc. Take away points for undesirable behavior, such as whining, disobeying instructions, etc.

For when they DO have game time, have an active game, like Just Dance or something, that they can all join in with and be active. A dance game really gets those age groups going. I find my kids even want to do yoga and workout videos with me. They love that stuff! All I have to do is start doing it and they are in line and doing it with me.

Do outside activities every day that there is light outside! If it gets hot, then do it early in the morning before it's hot. They need sunlight and they need true running time. Give them a ball to play with or take them to a park. Have a water day and tell parents to bring water clothes for the kids. Have a water balloon game outside.

For inside, don't discount dress up games, like avafrisbee mentioned. And YES boys LOVE dress up! They just prefer dressing up as ninjas, super heroes, and sheriffs and such. Read them a story and have them act it out afterward. My kids do this on their own without my prompting even, so I know kids love it. Have them plan a puppet show or something like that, too. Then you can even have them perform it for the parents one night.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

I am also a licensed child care provider. There is no electronics ( tv, gamethings, computer) for children in my home. They will function just fine without them. Kids love to build with legos and block, do art projects, play board games and cards and play outside.
I don't know where you live but you involved with your local childcare provider group , take some classes on childcare activity development and nutrition ect. There are many on-line childcare sites too.

Maybe hide and seek, and tag?