Your little people come with a lot of extra energy, these super fun movement activities for kids are perfect for getting them up and moving! Here are 50 different animal inspired movements to help them get all their wiggles out.

It's no joke that kids come with a lot of energy! One of the best things that you can do for that is kick them outside with the yard toys and tell them to not come back in until it's dinnertime… Just kidding, sort of! 😉 However, sometimes there are just times that you're all stuck inside together. April showers may bring May flowers, but they sure make it hard to go outside to play!

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These fun movement activities for kids are sure to keep them entertained for a while, plus you get the added benefit of it getting some excess energy out! Woot woot! We've got 50 different animals that they can act like, so there won't be any getting bored with this activity after 5 minutes. #Winning

HOW TO DO THESE MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Get your kids moving with this easy activity! Find a room that has plenty of space for them to move around in. Read the instructions to them and let them go crazy. Let them be that animal for as long as they want, you never know how fun acting like a chicken can be! Once they're done, move on to the next one. It's so fun that even you may want to get in on the movement. 😉

REPTILE MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Your kids never knew that acting like these reptiles could be so fun!

• Leaping Frog – Squat as low as you can while puffing out your cheeks. Blow out the air and jump as far as you can. Ribbit like a frog while you do this over and over!
• Crocodile Crunch – Make a crocodile's mouth by holding your arms out straight in front of you with one on top of the other. March forward and open your crocodile's mouth. Keep marching while opening and closing your mouth!
• Turtle Crawl – Get down on your hands and feet. Slowly move one hand forward, then the other. Now, move one foot forward, then the other. Repeat and remember, turtles crawl in super duper slow motion!
• T-Rex Stomp – Bend your elbows, then bend your wrists down to make short t-rex arms. Take big steps and march around, roaring like a t-rex while you stomp your feed!
• Sidewinder Shuffle – Get down on your hands and feet. Keep your hands on the floor and move your feet to the left. Then, keep your feet on the floor and move your hands to the left. Keep doing this and hiss like a snake!
• Crawling Lizard – Get down on your hands and feed, keeping your elbows out wide with your hands turned in. Crawl around like you have sharp claws on your fingers. Stop, stick your tongue out like a lizard, then keep going!

So fun and such an easy way to get kids moving and get the wiggles out.

ACT LIKE A WATER ANIMAL

It's time to take to the water! Here are some of our favorite water animals to get your kids moving and grooving.

• Otter Backstroke – Walk backwards, moving your arms in big, backwards circles. Switch directions while you do this. After 5 strokes, pretend that you're cracking open a shellfish on your belly and eating it!
• Walrus Roll – Lie down on the floor, resting on your elbows. Roll from side to side, then lift up on your elbows again and clap your hands!
• Seal Shuffle – Lie down on the floor and push up with your hands. Walk forward on your hands, dragging your legs behind you, barking like a seal!
• Fish Swish – Put your arms together in front of you. Drop your chin between your arms and pretend to swim like a fish while you swing your arms from side to side.
• Creeping Crab – Sit on the floor with your feet in front of you. Put your hands behind you, then lift your bottom off the floor. Crawl forward, backwards and side-to-side as quickly as you can!
• Tadpole Wiggle – Lean your head forward and stretch your arms behind you. Wiggle your arms and your bottom as you walk around, pretending to swim like a tadpole.
• Jellyfish Jiggle – Keep your legs straight while you bend your body over as far as you can. Hang your arms down loosely, then slowly walk forward. Let your arms dangle and sway like tentacles!
• Shark Swim – Put your hands together above your head to make a shark fin. Swim around in a big figure eight and show your sharp teeth as you go.

Didn't you love hearing the giggles that came from acting like those fun animals?!

INSECT MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES

It's time to act like the creepy crawlies! Kids won't be able to help but love doing these.

• Inchworm Slide – Lie on your stomach with your arms out in front of you. Slide your knees up underneath you, then reach out your arms and lie flat again, stretching out as far as you can.
• Snail Trail – Lie on your stomach with your arms out in front of you. Slither forward, keeping as flat to the ground as you can. Remember, a snail doesn't have arms or legs to help it move around!
• Butterfly Flutter – Raise your arms out to the side, then touch your shoulders, making your arms look like a wing. Slowly flap your arms like a butterfly!
• Bumblebee Boogie – Stretch your arms out to the side, then move them around in circles. Pretend to fly around, buzzing as you go.
• Spider Glider – Get down on your hands and feet. Move around fast in different directions. Go forward, backwards, sideways and even diagonally.

Did you get tired just watching your kids do those? Because we definitely did! 😉

ACT LIKE A BIRD

It's time to “fly like an eagle…” literally! We've got all different kinds of birds comin' atcha!

• Rooster Run – Put your arms down at your sides and run in a rectangle without moving your arms. Crow like a rooster, cock-a-doodle-doo!
• Pigeon Strut – Bend your elbows and tuck your hands under your armpits. Keep your legs straight, bend over at your waist and march! Stand up straight, march again, and coo like a pigeon.
• Flamingo Flap – Stand on one foot and bend your other leg like a flamingo. Flap your elbows like they're wings. Switch feet while still keeping your balance!
• Blue Jay Bounce – Bend your elbows and tuck your hands under your armpits. Hop from one spot to the next. See if you can whistle while you do it!
• Waddling Penguin – Stand up straight with your arms at your sides. Take small steps without moving your arms or bending your legs. Rock back and forth as you go.
• Chicken Strut – Bend your elbows and tuck your hands under your armpits. Flap your elbows up and down and strut around, clucking like a chicken!
• Soaring Eagle – Stretch your arms out to your sides as far as possible. Flap your wings and fly around, keeping your arms straight. Dip your right arm to turn right and your left arm to turn left!
• Hummingbird Hover – Stretch your arms out to your sides. Swing your arms in a figure eight to hover Walk back and forth like you're going from flower to flower!
• Soaring Seagull – Stretch your arms out to your sides and flap them up and down as fast as you can. Fly around like a seagull!
• Chicken Peck – Move your head forward and backward to peck like a chicken while marching in a big circle. Cluck while you go!

So cute, right?!

SMALL ANIMAL MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Get ready for your kids to really get some energy out with these fun ideas!

• Deer Dance – Place your feet together, then bend your knees. Jump with your feet together, then jump again as soon as you land, without making a sound!
• Kangaroo Hop – Bend your elbows, then bend your wrists forward to make short kangaroo arms. Bend your knees and jump as high as you can and say “boing” every time you jump!
• Dog Trick – Crawl on your hands and knees for three steps. Sit up on your legs, then take three steps like a dog walking on its hind legs. Pant like a dog with your tongue sticking out while you do it!
• Mole Miner – Kneel down, then pretend to dig with your hands and arms. Take small steps on your knees, then spin around after every few steps to dig in a new spot.
• Pony Prance – Stand up tall and march. Kick your feet out like a pony as you go. Snap your fingers each time your feet hit the floor!
• Bunny Bounce – Skip forward, then backward. Hop to the right, then the left. Wiggle your nose like a bunny while you do that!
• Cat Pounce – Crouch down on your elbows and knees, then get up on your hands and feet. Pounce forward, landing on your hands and feet. Meow like a cat while you pounce!
• Monkey Swing – Reach your arms above you. Pretend to swing from one vine to the next, jumping to catch each one. Make monkey sounds while you go!
• Sloth Slide – Cup your hands, then reach them above you. Pretend to slide along a tree branch, moving one hand in front of the other. Go really, really slow!
• Puppy Dog Dash – Get down on your hands and knees. Crawl around as fast as you can and bark like a puppy as you go!

Whew, did you just get tired reading those??

ACT LIKE A BIG ANIMAL

Here come the big kahunas! These big animal movement activities for kids is a sure-fire way to have them ready to relax and read some books once they're done with them.

• Bull Run – Raise your pointer finger on both hands and hold them to the side of your head to make horns. Swipe the floor with your foot, then run like a bull!
• Leopard Leap – Get down on your hands and feet. Jump towards your hands, then move your hands forward and jump towards them again. Make leopard sounds each time you leap!
• Gorilla March – Squat until your fists reach the floor. Crawl on your feet and fists, keeping your head up and your bottom down. Don't forget to pound your chest like a gorilla every so often!
• Camel Hump – Bend over and touch the floor with your hands. Keep your legs straight and arch your back like a camel's hump. Slowly walk forward on your hands and feet.
• Cheetah Sprint – Start with your hands on the floor. Lift your hands to stand up and run as fast as you can. Growl like a cheetah while you run around!
• Elephant Stomp – Make an elephant's trunk by clasping your hands and holding your arms straight out. Sway your truck back and forth as you stop your feet and make elephant sounds!
• Mule Kick – Lean your body forward. Kick your right leg backward, then switch legs and say hee-haw!
• Cougar Creep – Get down on your hands and feet. Crawl as low as you can without letting your stomach touch the floor. Growl like a cougar if your stomach touches the ground!
• Bear Crawl – Get down on your hands and feet, then raise your bottom high in the air. Lift your left hand and left foot at the same time and move forward. Now lift your right hand and right foot at the same time and move forward. Growl like a bear while you crawl!
• Horseback Ride – Pretend you're holding a horse's reins. Step forward with your foot in the air. When your heel comes down, gallop forward with your back foot and keep going!
• Panther Prowl – Get down on your hands and knees. Crawl forward, shifting your weight from side to side so that one shoulder is always higher than the other. Make panther sounds while you pretend like you're in a tree!

On a scale of 1 to “whew!”, how pooped are your kids right now? We're gonna call that a success, right there! Now that your kids have gotten their energy out, they can focus on reading or other fun learning activities.

Now that these movement activities for kids are over, the only question is this… Were you able to do all of the different animals?? 😉 Let us know just how much your kids loved them in the comments!

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