Tightrope on the floor
A 15-minute rainy day game
Tape a long line on the floor and take turns crossing it heel to toe. Then make it harder: a book on your head, a spoon in your hand. Your child gets to invent the final challenge.
You’ll need
- Masking tape or a long string
- A paperback book
- A spoon (and a rolled-up sock to carry on it, if you want it really hard)
How to do it together
- 1
Tape a straight line about 10 feet long down the hallway or across the living room. No tape? Lay a string or a belt in a line.
- 2
You go first and wobble a little on purpose. Kids love watching a grown-up nearly fall off.
- 3
Take turns crossing heel to toe, arms out like a real tightrope walker. Count the steps out loud together.
- 4
Make it harder each round: walk backwards, cross with a book on your head, then carry a spoon with something on it.
- 5
Last round, your child invents the challenge and you have to do it. Whatever they come up with, you try it.
Make it easier
For a 5-year-old, make the line wider with two strips of tape, and hold hands on the first try.
Make it harder
For an 8-year-old, add a zig-zag to the line, time each crossing and try to beat your best time together.
Why it’s worth it
Fifteen minutes of balancing, laughing and taking turns, with no screen in the middle. Your child gets to be better than you at something, and to boss you around for one round. That's the part they remember.
With Weekadoo
In your weekly plan, this idea comes with balance challenges of rising difficulty for the tightrope line, written for your child
Every Sunday, a plan with a 10-minute idea for each child on weeknights and a family one for the weekend, picked for their ages and what they love.