Lovely childcare

For 3-Year-Olds! Indoor & Outdoor Physical Play and Game Ideas

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.

At age three, children grow significantly in both body and mind, and their physical abilities and vocabulary increase.

During this stage, they can understand simple rules, which broadens the kinds of play they can enjoy.

Here, we’ve gathered fun movement activities and games that three-year-olds can do indoors and outdoors.

By moving their bodies together with friends and enjoying social interaction, they also learn the importance of following rules.

We’ve selected enjoyable activities that will make children think, “I want to try that!” So get creative and have fun playing together with everyone!

For 3-year-olds! Indoor and outdoor physical play and game ideas (71–80)

Copycat game

Let's try it with the teacher! Copycat Game♪

Copycat game

Let’s have fun with body mimicry! Here are some ideas for a copycat game that’s sure to make everyone smile.

While copying the teacher’s movements, strike unique poses like animals or heroes and play together.

You’ll find yourselves laughing and saying, “What is this?!” as you move your bodies.

While playing, kids build flexibility and balance, and the best part is learning through fun—“Can you really do this pose?” You might even discover some unexpected moves!

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Jungle GuruguruTsubasa Suzuki

[Full-body Play / Pair Play] Jungle Guruguru / Tsubasa Suzuki & Hitomi Kudo [Action Song / Animals / Touch-and-Play / Parent-Child / Childcare / Kindergarten / Parenting / Children’s Song]

Jungle Guruguru Tsubasa Suzuki

Let me introduce Jungle Guruguru, a game where you can enjoy moving your whole body to a lively musical tempo.

You’ll enter the jungle while moving your body to the song.

Snakes, rhinos, tunnels, and more appear, so the children work together, using their bodies to get past each challenge.

In pairs, they can hold hands and spin around, and of course, it’s also a body-movement game that one person can fully enjoy on their own.

It’s the kind of play that will get everyone excited just by copying the teacher or friends.

At the end, you make it out of the jungle and finish with a high five! Be sure to have fun and get your body moving.

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Shape Finding Game

Let’s develop discovery skills, imagination, and expressive ability! Here’s an idea for a shape-finding game.

It’s a simple yet effective game where you look for shapes in everyday life.

Start with basic shapes like circles, triangles, and squares, and once you get used to it, raise the difficulty with stars, diamonds, pentagons, and more.

This will broaden interest and make the game more fun.

Plus, drawing the shapes you find on paper helps cultivate expressive skills and creativity, which is a great bonus.

It’s a playful way to deepen shape recognition and boost the power of discovery!

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Color tag (a children’s chasing game)

Younger Class – Color Tag (Color Oni Game)

Color tag (a children’s chasing game)

It’s a traditional game.

You don’t need any equipment, and even small children can play.

On sunny days, try it outdoors.

The person who is “it” calls out a color—for example, “red.” Everyone else looks for something red and touches it.

While they’re touching it, they’re invincible and can’t be tagged by “it.” Anyone who can’t find the color and gets tagged becomes the next “it.” Good rules for choosing colors include “pick colors everyone knows” and “colors on clothing or shoes don’t count.” A kindergarten or daycare playground is plenty big for this game.

It’s also great for intergenerational activities with older adults who prefer light exercise!

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Signaling Game

A simple game you can play in your room: 'Traffic Light Game'

Signaling Game

Here’s a traffic-signal game everyone can play.

The rules are: blue = march in place one step, red = crouch quickly, yellow = shake your head and look around, and any other color = do nothing.

Choose one person as the leader.

The leader calls out a signal color, and the other participants perform the corresponding action.

The game gets more exciting if you increase the speed and keep a good rhythm! It’s recommended to start at a slower pace at first.

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