When was the last time you played a board game? Maybe you do a little Monopoly, Clue, Chutes and Ladders or Candyland. One of the challenges you face with these games is that your family and friends may easily get board with the board game. If you’ve experienced that then you may have also tried games that challenge the mind using cards or electronic devices. These often are more appealing to teens and older adults but they’re not suited for younger children. In most cases all of these games fail to engage players on one very important level — physical activity. Fitivities delivers genuine family fun along with a variety of scalable physical workouts.
FITIVITIES IS MORE THAN A BOARD GAME
This is a fast-paced game where all ages and abilities can play together at the same time. Players roll, spin, move, and experience controlled frenzy. FITIVITIES™ combines all the popular aspects of classic board games, but includes physical activities adaptable to almost any age while engaging all in simultaneous team play.
Sandy “Spin” Slade explains her reason for developing the game. She says, “I truly believe that if we want to change the way society views physical activity, it has to start in the home and it has to be fun.” How is it designed and what makes it fun? She shares, “I have combined the best qualities of Skillastics® a series of standards-based, fitness games I created with the perfect mix of team play and excitement that naturally could be adapted to fit all age groups or any combination of ages.”
FITIVITIES AND THE FAITH CONNECTION
Sandy’s faith in God is important to her and has shaped her passion for others. She identifies seven ways that Fitivities directly strengthens families and help links physical activity with faith.
1. Fitivities provides a means for families and friends to come together in a physically active environment. It creates a “gathering effect” – a form of fellowship.
2. Fitivities is ideal for bringing generations together (grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren all playing together) throughout all seven stages of family fitness. Sometimes it’s difficult for different generations to interact. Fitivities makes it easy. Cross-generational interactions are frequently identified in the Bible as important.
3. Commitment to Christ and faith is key to a Christian lifestyle. Fitivities helps reinforce that the commitment to being active and taking care of our bodies parallels the Christian faith commitment. It’s God’s desire that we take care of our body – Corinthians 6:19.
4. It is important as a family member that you commit yourself to your family. Sometimes that means praying for loved ones to come to the understanding the importance of committing themselves to Christ. Families also pray for family members to commit to start taking better care of themselves. Fitivities is an easy, simple and non-threatening way of introducing physical activity into a loved one’s life that has been quite resistant. The game naturally lends to allowing time before, after, during play or as a planned mid-game break for taking time together in prayer.
5. When you play Fitivities, you are having so much fun that you don’t realize it also good for you. When a church member invites someone to his/her church for a program or special event, this person may attend, but is resistant to continue. Once they discover how much they enjoyed the event, or how good it felt participating, they decide to come back.
6. Playing Fitivities offers individuals a lot of support – encouraging each other and supporting each other while doing the exercises. Being a member of a church community provides a lot of support – praying for each other.
7. Playing Fitivities you strengthen character and a winning spirit. It is a way to commit to a healthier lifestyle. The character qualities and winning values exhibited during the game can be reflected upon during post-game conversation time. These easily transition into short and natural discussions about faith, God and being life to others.
DOING FITNESS AS ‘FAMILY’
Today’s culture may talk more than ever before about family-friendly fitness but it is often defined through disconnected activity. That means the children play separate sports, parents independently do personal fitness and grandparents do activities to preserve health, wellness and strength.
Sure, combined the result is that the family is active and practices a positive and supportive attitude toward fitness. BUT – when the family can commit to playing together, working out as a team and engaging in collaborative fitness, the immediate experience and lasting impact are both more significant.
Fitivities is one tool that creates a simple context and format for doing this. Next time you plan to have a larger family gathering or you’re just committing to having ‘family night’ at your home don’t set yourself up to be bored. Instead now is the time to get a board game that will get you active and having tons of engaged fun. Fitivies is family fitness that is family fun.
