Lovely childcare

No prep needed! Indoor play and game ideas that 2-year-olds will enjoy

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
9 years of experience as a nursery school teacherShibata Risa
I am an active nursery school teacher with 9 years of experience. After graduating from university, I worked at a daycare center. The time I spent happily with children—playing piano, singing songs, and doing finger-play—are priceless memories to me. Currently, while raising three children of my own, I work at an after-school day service, engaging with children and providing individualized developmental support. Drawing on my diverse experiences as a childcare worker and as a mother, I hope to express and convey my thoughts through writing.

Two-year-olds can move their bodies a lot by walking and running.

It’s also a time when they become more assertive.

Here, we’ve gathered indoor play ideas that two-year-olds can enjoy!

There are a variety of fun, developmentally appropriate activities, including physical play and games they can enjoy with friends.

We’ve focused on activities that require no preparation, so you can start right away on a sudden rainy day or during spare moments.

Please use these ideas as a reference and get creative with your play.

We hope you have a great time indoors with the children!

No prep! Indoor play and game ideas that 2-year-olds will enjoy (21–30)

[Interactive Hand Play] Pittanko

[Interactive Hand Play] Simple! Suitable from age 2! Pittanko

[Interactive Hand Play] Pittanko

This is a hands-on fingerplay that children of a wide range of ages can enjoy.

It’s a fingerplay called “Pittanko,” where you sing a song and, at the final “pittanko” part, you touch various parts of your bodies together.

Since some two-year-olds may find it difficult to find a partner on their own, teachers should step in and support them so they can pair up smoothly.

It’s also recommended to change the spot you touch each time—press hands together, connect backs, touch cheeks, and try different parts to have fun.

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Mukkuri Kuma-san

[Group Game] “Mukkuri Kuma-san” | How to Play “Mukkuri Kuma-san”

Mukkuri Kuma-san

Here’s a game called “Mukkuri Kuma-san” that both kids and teachers can enjoy together.

The rules are very simple: the teacher plays the bear and pretends to sleep.

The children sing as they quietly approach the sleeping bear.

When the song ends, the bear wakes up and jumps to their feet, and the children run away.

The teacher playing the bear chases the children.

The child who gets caught becomes the next bear.

For children who don’t understand the rules, it may help to teach them slowly and carefully while demonstrating each step.

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Moguradon’snursery rhyme

November nursery rhyme “Mogura-don”

Moguradon’s Nursery Rhyme

Let me introduce a mole-themed nursery rhyme game that friends or parents and children can enjoy together.

Everyone forms a circle and holds hands.

One person sits in the center as the mole.

When everyone calls out, “Mole, wake up!” the mole answers, “Okay!” and wakes up.

At the same moment, the people around should try to run away so they don’t get caught by the mole.

The mole chases and tags someone.

Next, the person who was tagged switches roles and becomes the mole.

You can make it even more fun by discussing and changing the lines you say during the game.

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Tunnel play

Childcare Magazine Hiroba December 2017 Issue: “It’s Time for Movement Play! — Exciting! Thrilling!! Tunnel Play! Part 2”

Tunnel play

Kids love activities that get them moving, don’t they? Let’s try some tunnel play using various items you can find at daycare, kindergarten, or at home! You can cut holes in newspaper sheets or use the frame of a vaulting box, and add variety by setting them up vertically or horizontally.

You could also make lots of tunnels with things like string or plastic bags and turn it into an obstacle course—kids are sure to love it.

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bowling

[Ages 1–2] First-Time Plastic Bottle Bowling!!

bowling

Plastic bottle bowling you can freely enjoy making with leftover origami, stickers, scissors, and more.

Start by sticking on small stickers to use those fingertips, and let children feel the joy of “I did it!” with single snips of the scissors.

On a sheet of white construction paper, stick the colorful pieces you’ve cut and the stickers.

Wrap that around a plastic bottle, line them up, and the bowling tournament begins! Roll the ball and enjoy knocking the bottles down—it’s fun and also a full-body activity you can do indoors.

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