For 3-Year-Olds! Indoor & Outdoor Physical Play and Game Ideas
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!
- No prep needed! Indoor activities for 3-year-olds, including movement play and group games.
- Recommended for 3-year-olds! Fun indoor activities and group game ideas
- [Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Play ideas everyone can enjoy
- [Childcare] Full of energy! Indoor activity ideas to get kids moving
- [Childcare / Physical Play] Fun Activities to Get Moving
- No prep needed! Indoor play and game ideas that 2-year-olds will enjoy
- [For 2-year-olds] Let’s get moving! A collection of ideas for physical play and movement games
- [For 4-Year-Olds] A Collection of Indoor Play and Game Ideas That Get Everyone Excited
- For 3-Year-Olds! Indoor & Outdoor Physical Play and Game Ideas
- [For Preschoolers] Fun Riddle Collection
- Ideas for indoor play, physical activities, and games suited to the development of 2-year-olds
- [For 3-year-olds] Recommended for recital and performance days! Skits, songs, and other program ideas
- [Quiz] Recommended for preschoolers! A collection of fun quiz ideas
For 3-Year-Olds! Indoor & Outdoor Physical Play and Game Ideas (11–20)
Chestnut Ogre
A tag game perfect for autumn! Here’s an idea called Chestnut Tag (Kuri Oni).
It’s similar to Freeze Tag, but the twist is that you transform into a chestnut! Choose one person to be ‘it’ (the oni), and everyone else runs to avoid being tagged.
If you’re about to be tagged, you can transform into a chestnut to create a barrier.
If a teammate touches you, you can start running again.
However, if you get tagged before transforming into a chestnut, move to the spectator area.
Where is the goldfish?
Are you familiar with the picture book “The Runaway Goldfish”? It’s one of the most popular books among children, and it’s fun like a game as you search for the goldfish hiding in various places.
This activity, “Where’s the Goldfish?”, is based on that book.
Everyone looks for the goldfish that has hidden somewhere in the daycare room and returns it to the aquarium.
It’s a fun game that engages both mind and body, and finding the goldfish is so exciting.
Returning the goldfish to the tank also seems like a great way to nurture children’s kindness.
Train play
“Train play” recommended from around age two, when kids start walking! There aren’t any strict rules, so let them play freely.
If you make something to serve as the train cars—like a hula hoop or a square loop made from cardboard—the kids will get excited.
If you pretend mats or balance beams are the tracks, a simple game suddenly becomes much more fun!
Ninja Game
This is a “Ninja Game,” a pretend-play activity kids love that also gets them moving, and it can be played indoors.
As ninjas, the children move while staying hidden: they follow closely behind the leading adult, circling around the spot.
When the adult turns around and says, “Who’s there?” the children must quickly crouch down to hide.
And when you think of ninjas, you think of shuriken.
The adult pretends to throw shuriken at the children’s heads and feet, and they try to dodge them: crouch if it’s aimed at the head, and jump if it’s aimed at the feet.
It’s a super exciting game that even younger preschoolers can enjoy.
Butt-walking showdown
Let’s try racing by walking on our bottoms! Walking on your butt? It kind of feels like walking…
or hopping—such a strange movement.
Sit on the floor with your knees up, lift your feet, and move using only your butt.
It seems pretty tricky, right? Kids might be able to glide along more easily.
Set a finish line and see who can reach it the fastest! If adults do it, they might end up with sore muscles…
(lol).
Color Search Game
Let’s look for what colors are hiding around the room! Here are some ideas for a color-finding game.
This activity is appealing thanks to its simple and easy-to-understand rules.
Just color some paper with markers, put the pieces into a paper cup, and you’re ready to play! It feels exciting, like drawing lots.
As you play, it helps improve color recognition, making it a fun and educational activity.
Once you get used to the game, try drawing two pieces of paper and combining the two colors—that sounds fun too.
Give it a try!
For 3-year-olds! Indoor and outdoor physical play and game ideas (21–30)
Crawling tail-chasing game
Let’s introduce a crawling tail-tag game that gets kids excited.
Give each child a “tail” made by braiding plastic ribbon (like florist’s raffia).
The teacher is “it” and chases the children.
At the start signal, the children crawl away to avoid being caught.
If a child gets their tail taken by “it,” they can rejoin the game after doing five jumps and putting the tail back on.
Try swapping who’s “it” or increasing the number of chasers to keep the game fun!
