Family Activity Guide, Age-by-Age

13 years and up

Cool off by having a water fight! Fill water balloons, grab some Super Soakers, and chase each other around the yard to see who can get who the wettest.

Calories burned in 30 minutes: 160

Stage a mini Tour de France. Map out a course that's at least five miles -- with plenty of hills -- and get the whole family in the race. You can even have a short "time trial" course and give awards for other impressive feats, such as "king of the mountain" (to whoever pedals fastest up the hills). Be sure to watch the real Tour for inspiration, or listen to it online; it runs from July 7 to 29. See www.letour.fr.

Payoff: 512 calories burned in 60 minutes of bicycling at 12 to 13.9 mph.

Grow a kid-friendly garden. Dig up a patch and start planting in your yard -- or buy pots and soil for a deck garden. Try cherry tomatoes or herbs like basil that kids can pinch off, taste, and smell. For more ideas on what to grow, go to kidsgardening.org.

Payoff: 576 calories burned in 2 hours of gardening.

Have your kid teach you a sport or a game -- skateboarding, ultimate Frisbee, soccer, hula hoop.

Calories burned in 30 minutes of hula hoping: 210

Embark on an athletic adventure like white-water rafting. Get inspired by the athletic feats showcased on amazing-kids.org. Check out 10-year-old Jordan Romero, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro!

Calories burned in 3 hours: 1,260

Originally published in FITNESS magazine in 2007.