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.
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!
circuit play
Even on days when you can’t go outside, circuit play is a fun indoor option! By connecting various items to create a course like a circuit, children can use their whole bodies and keep playing without getting bored.
If you want an easy setup, you can link towels or handkerchiefs together, or use crepe paper tape.
Another benefit is how easy it is to adjust the difficulty level to match children’s ages and developmental stages.
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.
Sticker play
Sticker play is probably incorporated into various activities even for one-year-olds.
With round stickers and colored pens, you can whip up a quick sticker activity.
You can draw circles to indicate where to place the stickers, or draw illustrations and have children place stickers on top to express ideas—there are lots of ways to do it.
Since stickers can be a choking hazard, choose larger ones and make sure not to take your eyes off children while they’re sticking them.
Even though it’s a quick activity, it can turn into a wonderful piece of work, so be sure to send it home for caregivers to enjoy.
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.