1. Let your child be your personal trainer for the day. Kids love calling the shots. Have them demonstrate the proper techniques for the assigned exercises. Maybe they'll share some of the exercises they've been learning in gym class.

2. Start a fitness chain letter asking friends to share their favorite exercises. Following guidelines in 365 ACTIVITIES FOR FITNESS, FOOD AND FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, kids will be well on their way to creating a "Collection of the World's Best Exercises".

3. When traveling to a new city (or even in your own town) find the tallest skyscraper and see if you are allowed to walk up the stairs. Take a family "hike" up the skyscraper---how many flights are there? How many steps? How long did it take?

4. Help your child and his or her friends make their own workout video. Each child can take turns being the cameraperson, instructor, and class.

5. Try making up a synchronized swimming routine in a kiddie pool, small home pool or the shallow end of a community pool.

6. Have your child go a few rounds with a pillowcase punching bag filled with sand and hung from a tree branch.

7. Give a kid a chopstick, put on some classical music and encourage your child to use her whole body to convey to the orchestra how the music should be played.

8. Create a family quadathalon day. This is a four-event challenge where everyone will have a personal goal instead of competing against one another (which probably wouldn't be fair). Select four activities or sports that all family members enjoy: walking or jogging, in-line skating or biking, swimming or water-walking, minitramp or "jump rope jump-a-thon." In the end everyone can participate together, such as hula hooping.

9. Plan children's parties, gatherings, and events around physical activities. Have a backward party complete with remove the tail from the donkey and backward relay races. Or throw an old-fashioned Olympics. Guests can wear togas and participants can run footraces, wrestle, improvise chariot races, and throw the javelin and discus (Frisbee). As in ancient Greece, the events can be rounded out with a little art and poetry. Contest winners will receive an olive branch wreaths to wear on their heads.

10. Teach your child a few of the basic yoga poses found in 365 ACTIVITIES FOR FITNESS, FOOD AND FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. Remind them to breathe in and out deeply during these movements. In addition to being very calming, these poses improve muscle tone and balance.

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