Keeping Cork Active
Keeping Cork Active

Family Play

Games and Activities

Cork Sports Partnership, in conjunction with a number of partner organisations, have put together the following physical activity opportunities and resources to help you stay active in the comfort of your own home.  

PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINKS & RESOURCES BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Please adhere to up to date HSE guidelines on social distancing if you are exercising in public spaces. These guidelines can be viewed here >>>

Click here >>> to download the ‘Keep Cork Active’ booklet.

Play Activities and Games

Lets Play Ireland Resources

Let’s Play Ireland is a government-led initiative aimed at promoting play for all children living in Ireland during the COVID-19 emergency.

Playing is central to children’s physical, mental, social and emotional health and wellbeing. Children learn through play while developing resilience, flexibility and understanding of their world. Play in families enriches childhood. All children and young people have a right to play.

The Cork Sports Partnership have developed a Lets Play Cork Series along with a number of local partners full of ideas and interactive resources. Please follow this link to find out more>> Lets Play Cork

Active Playgrounds

Active Playgrounds was developed by Get Ireland Active to increase play and physical activity during school break times. Many of these games can be also used in the home environment. 

This resource provides many ideas for activities and games using playground markings and other playground games.

The games outlined are aimed at increasing enjoyment, motivation and adherence in child involvement and learning.

They can be simplified or progressed depending on the age and ability of the children.

Many of the games can be adapted for indoor play, using similar equipment as well as music. 

Virtual Run Around Ireland

The Active Schools “Run Around Ireland” Challenge can be adapted to your home environment. Instead of running a lap of your school, run around your house a number of times (depending on how big your house is) and track your progress. 

Get all the family out and see who will be the first to run around the island of Ireland. 

For other Active School’s information see www.activeschoolflag.ie

Fun Resources & Games

The Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) has developed a number of resources to support play in a playground or school setting. 

Playground Games:

– Without Equipment (Beans, Laughing Tag, Follow the Leader)

– Traditional Games (Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says etc.)

This guide is easily adapted for use in the home with easy to follow how to set up descriptions for each game.

Move Well Move Often:

Practice your fundamental movements skills such as jumping, skipping, hopping, dodging, landing, balancing, throwing, catching, kicking, striking, walking or running. Follow the buttons on the side of linked PDST page for video descriptions. 

Garden Treasure Hunt

How to create a Treasure Hunt in your garden:

Treasure hunts have long been a staple weekend or school holiday activity for kids of all ages – challenging their problem-solving and teamwork skills.

But rather than copying a boring old treasure hunt, Capital Gardens has compiled a set of tips to help you create an exciting hunt for your family. Here’s the step-by-step guide to creating an incredible back garden treasure hunt.

  • Capital Garden’s How to Create a Treasure Trail – Click here >>>

Another version of How to Set Up a Treasure Hunt game by Youth Sports Trust UK is outlined in the video below. 

Home Arts & Crafts Ideas

Detailed and fun step by step guides to your own Arts & Crafts at home.

Colouring

Free Sports themed colouring sheets.

Family Fun Fitness

Cork Sports Partnership has created a Family Fun Fitness pack to help families exercise and stay active together in a fun back to basics circuit. The circuit comprises of general Movement & Animal Movement exercises that will both challenge and entertain younger and older members of the family while completing at home!

This Family Fun Fitness pack comes with short demonstration videos and a checklist so you can measure how many times per week each member

of the family has completed the circuit.

– Family Fun Fitness – Click here >>>

Cosmic Yoga

Yoga is known to be a great recreational activity that offers opportunity to self regulate promoting positive behaviour. See below yoga based activities we have collated for your child and siblings to take part in at home. 

For more information & ideas see www.cosmickids.com

Lego Games

The official LEGO® channel hopes to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow, so there’s lots of awesome videos here for families to enjoy together, from exclusive webisodes to stop motion animations!

Lego YouTube Channel – Click here >>>

This Girl Can

This Girl Can is all about celebrating getting active in a fun and sociable way. Here are some of the activities they have developed. 

Fun School Games

School Games is a resource developed by Youth Sport Trust in the UK. The games outlined in this resource are aimed at increasing enjoyment, motivation and adherence in child involvement and learning.

They can be simplified or progressed depending on the age and ability of the children. Here are some games to get you started.

For more information on Youth Sport Trust UK see https://www.youthsporttrust.org/

Project Spraoi

Project Spraoi is an initiative coordinated by Cork Institute of Technology that aims to increase physical activity, improve dietary intake and positively influence the overall health of Irish children. 

The following Project Spraoi resources will also keep you active and healthy at home. 

For more information on Project Spraoi see www.projectspraoi.cit.ie/

Zero to Three

During the first three years of life, emotionally nourishing relationships lay the foundation for lifelong health and well-being.

Zero to Three have some great resources to support families with young children.

The Inclusion Lab

The Inclusion Lab has lots of tips and takeaways for families to stay active and healthy. 

  • 24 At-Home Learning Activities to Share with Parents of Young Children – Click here >>> 

Water, Road, Farm Safety

Cork County Council has a number of resources to keep children entertained, informed and educated during this difficult time, check out the following fun resources below:

Bizzy Breaks

Bizzy Breaks is a collection of activities for primary school pupils designed to support children to move throughout the day:

What Moms Love

What Moms Love have put tother an amazing collection of creative indoor activities and games for all the family to enjoy. 

Birding Hub

With parents spending more time at home with their kids than ever before, it is easy to get bored and run out of fun activities to do together.  Birding Hub have put together a piece on how to build a bird house together at home.

 – Check out their Free Bird House Plans – click here >>> 

Other Relevant Sections

Sports Fun, Skills and Challenges

Cork Sports Partnership in conjunction with a number of National Governing Bodies of Sport & Organisations, have put together the following sports skills and challenges to help people of all ages to stay active at home!

Many of these activities are adaptive to suit all abilities. Some activities include;

  • Skills Challenges 
  • Colouring, Suduko & Quizzes
  • Home Exercises & Workouts
Family Play
Older Adults
Children & Youth
People with Disabilities
Adults & Youth
Everyone
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