Family Activity Guide, Age-by-Age

18 Months to 5 Years

Dance It Off!

Try dancing with the kids in your living room. Got two left feet? Check out bustamove.com to learn all sorts of teachable moves.

Calories burned in 30 minutes: 144

Good Ol' Games

Play an old school game with your kids, like Red Rover, Kick the Can, or Red Light, Green Light, in the backyard -- fun and nostalgic for you, a blast for them! Rusty on the rules? Look 'em up online. One site to try: gameskidsplay.net.

Payoff: 320 calories burned in 60 minutes of games.

Neighborhood Fitness

Do a fitness swap with a friend or neighbor. Raid each other's garages and borrow three pieces of equipment each -- a mini trampoline, tennis racquets, a bocce ball set. Then try them out with your kids. It's a great way to mix things up and test different activities without springing for all-new gear. Or have a neighborhood fitness block party. Pick three or four neighbors; do an activity at one house, then run to the next!

Payoff: 112 calories burned in 30 minutes of bouncing on a trampoline.

Home Bowling

Create a bowling alley in your driveway using empty water bottles as pins and a softball as the bowling ball. Setting up the pins and running after the ball really boosts your heart rate. (Hey, there's no auto-return here!)

Calories burned in 1 hour: 336

Visit the Zoo

Take a full-on walking tour of the zoo -- no tram, all on foot. Before you go, log on to learnanimals.com for cool facts to chat about during your visit.

Calories burned in 2 hours: 420