Fun with no prep needed! Indoor activities perfect for 1-year-old classes
Children in the one-year-old class are starting to walk, learning to jump, and becoming more and more active.
Even when you suddenly have to switch to indoor play, you’ll want to make sure they can still move their bodies a lot.
Sometimes the weather or staff scheduling forces an unexpected change to indoor play, leaving you unprepared or unsure what activities to do.
For teachers in that situation, here are indoor activities you can do even without any preparation.
We’ve gathered ideas that are perfect for one-year-olds, so please try incorporating them.
Let’s spend a fun time with the children through a variety of activities.
No prep needed! Top indoor activities recommended for 1-year-old classes (1–10)
Color ball play
Let’s prepare plenty of colorful balls and play indoors.
How the children play is entirely up to them.
You’ll likely see a variety of behaviors: some children will observe the balls, some will try throwing them, and others will enjoy the way they feel.
It’s heartwarming to think of each as an expression of that child’s individuality.
It’s also fun to listen to the sounds the balls make when they roll or when they’re bounced on the floor.
For children whose walking isn’t yet steady, there’s a chance they might trip over the balls and fall, so please supervise them closely while they play.
Tunnel play
Enjoy a variety of tunnels! Here are some fun tunnel play ideas.
It’s great to set these activities with the goals of nurturing trust through close interaction with parents or teachers, learning how to use the body, and developing spatial awareness through tunnel play.
How to play: parents or teachers stand upright with their legs apart to form a tunnel, and children crawl through on hands and knees.
Once they get used to it, increase the difficulty with variations like the Lion Tunnel, Kneeling Tunnel, and Bowleg Tunnel.
Doing this on a mat is recommended, as it reduces the risk of serious injury in case of a fall.
Let’s make a ring.
Let’s use unwanted newspapers or scrap paper and some vinyl tape at the preschool to make rings.
There are endless ways to play with the rings! Hang them on hooks, use them like ring toss, or try spinning them by hand… As long as the activity isn’t dangerous, let the children enjoy using their own ideas.
Be especially careful about putting rings around the neck—this is dangerous, so keep a close watch.
If you use vinyl tape in a variety of colors, children can notice color differences and choose their favorites as they play.
It’s also a great idea to prepare rings in intentionally different sizes.
Tearing newspaper
Activities like tearing, ripping, and crumpling paper are favorites among one-year-olds.
You can use newspaper, or even the packing paper that comes as cushioning when you purchase supplies.
Let the children enjoy it freely while experiencing the texture of the paper.
Encourage them to notice the length of the torn pieces through your words, and to focus on the sounds and express them, so they can play using all five senses.
At the end, prepare a large bag and let them have fun with a tidy-up game.
Paper play
You can do this with items found at school or at home! Here are some paper play ideas.
It’s good to set goals like practicing tearing and crumpling motions and enjoying the different textures and sounds of paper.
The play is simple: tear or crumple tissue paper, newspaper, facial tissues, or copy paper.
Using your whole body to dynamically tear a large newspaper can be fun, and imagining what shapes the torn pieces look like can spark creativity.
It’s also fun to roll the torn paper into balls in your hands.
Give it a try!
Playing with plastic bags
When a baby is crying or feeling uneasy, seeing Mom or Dad’s smiling face can be very comforting.
Sometimes, the crinkling sound of a plastic bag can also mysteriously calm a crying baby.
Here’s a play idea that turns that plastic bag into a cute cat.
It might even stop your baby from crying! Please prepare a plastic bag and a pen.
Fill the bag with air, tie the opening, and draw a cat’s face with the pen—that’s it! Besides a cat, drawing familiar animals like a dog or a rabbit could be adorable too.
interactive play
A great bonding activity that’s perfect for skinship.
After children turn one, they can enjoy interaction games that include movement, so why not incorporate them into indoor play at daycare or kindergarten? Have the teacher sit on the floor and seat the children on their lap facing them, then gently bounce or rock them up and down so they can experience the motion.
Experiencing unstable movements also helps build the foundations of a body that can naturally find its balance.
You can also lay the children down on the floor and enjoy some close bonding time with tickles!
