Ideas for indoor play and physical activities recommended for 1-year-olds
Around age one, children become much more physically active—walking, running, and greatly expanding their range of movement.
Their curiosity also blossoms, and you’ll see major developmental changes: they begin to speak, express themselves, and assert their opinions.
For teachers wondering, “What should we play today?” with these energetic one-year-olds, this is a must-read!
Here are some recommended play ideas for one-year-olds.
You’ll find plenty of options—from activities like eurhythmics and mat play that let kids move their bodies to the fullest even indoors, to imaginative role-play, sensory play that uses their fingertips, and simple crafts that spark excitement.
Find the perfect activities for your children and have fun together!
Indoor play and physical activity ideas recommended for 1-year-olds (1–10)
gymnastics
For one-year-olds, the most important things in gymnastics are enjoying it and imitating.
As an introduction, read picture books and have the teacher demonstrate lots of movements.
They’re also becoming interested in familiar plants and animals, so choosing the right themes is a key point.
This is a time when they’re receiving lots of stimulation—seeing, feeling, thinking—so take plenty of time for the lead-up to the gymnastics activities.
It’s best to work in a way that supports one-year-olds as they learn to do a variety of poses.
Balloon play
Pack balloons tightly into a large zippered bag and remove the air—voilà, it turns into a balloon mat! Kids can roll around or walk on the mat in lots of different ways.
Colorful balloons offer even more fun: they can be held and shaken, or hung up and batted.
Balloons are perfect for curious one-year-olds to play with to their heart’s content.
While watching over the children as they take on challenges, please support them so they can build more and more “I did it!” moments.
mat exercises
Mat exercises are perfect activities for energetic one-year-olds who want to move their bodies.
Try using a vaulting box to make little hills or creating spaces where they can roll around—there are many ways to make it fun.
Playing with their whole bodies—walking, standing, climbing—is important for the development of one-year-olds.
It’s best to watch over them gently to prevent falls or bumps.
You’ll be soothed by their expressions, from bright smiles to serious, focused looks.
We hope they play a lot and grow up healthy and strong.
circuit play
Let’s have fun moving our bodies with a circuit play activity! Use mats, color cones, and hula hoops to create a wonderful course.
For one-year-olds, this is a time when activities that use the whole body—like walking, jumping, and climbing—become very active.
Be sure to support each child so they can move freely at their own pace.
We’ll likely see many moments of “I did it!” from the children.
You might be amazed at how they grow.
To prevent injuries, don’t forget to include warm-up exercises.
Pool cue play
A pool noodle is a round, hollow foam rod.
It’s a handy item that kids can play with as is or cut down to palm size.
Since it’s made of foam, it’s easy to reshape—bend it into an arch to make a tunnel, have children jump over the rod, or stuff pom-poms into the holes of small, cut pieces of pool noodle.
With a teacher’s creativity, there are countless ways to play! It’s great to separate activities into those that use the whole body and those that use fine motor skills, so children can choose the kind of play they enjoy.
Let’s play Bento Bus
Would you like to enjoy “Bento Bus Pretend Play” with one-year-olds who are starting to show interest in food? First, prepare bus-shaped sheets—one per child—and also prepare the bento ingredients, again one set per child.
Have the children stick the ingredients onto their buses.
Once their very own bento buses are complete, have them sit on chairs, hold the steering wheel, and off they go! Let them steer along to the “Bento Bus” song.
You can also assign the children to play the roles of the ingredients that appear in the song.
Let’s have a fun time together.
Newspaper play
Let’s have fun playing with newspapers that feel great to the touch! Newspapers aren’t just for feeling—you can tear them, crumple them into balls, and enjoy many different ways to play.
If you spread them out all over the room, kids can use their whole bodies, not just their hands.
Children will be deeply engaged, and because they can enjoy it with all five senses, it’s perfect as a main activity on rainy days.
While you watch over the children as they play freely and creatively, be mindful so they don’t bump into their friends.
If you include putting things “away, away” as part of the activity when you’re done, tidying up will become a habit.
Give it a try!