Lovely childcare

Fun circuit play for 4-year-olds: physical activities using balance beams, mats, and more.

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.

By the time children are four years old, they can control their walking and running speed on their own and are able to perform more complex body movements such as skipping and hopping on one foot.

Many teachers may be thinking about incorporating activities that let children move their bodies to the fullest during this period of significant motor development.

So this time, we’re introducing circuit play ideas recommended for four-year-olds.

From activities that use equipment like horizontal bars, vaulting boxes, and mats to those that let children move while enjoying an imaginative world—pretending to be animals or avoiding “dangers”—we’ve gathered circuit play ideas perfectly suited to the development of four-year-olds!

These activities can be enjoyed both indoors and outdoors, so please use them as a reference.

Fun circuit play for 4-year-olds: motor activities using balance beams, mats, and more (11–20)

Animal Role-Playing Game

[Age 4] Animal Role-Playing Game — Body-Building Games for 4-Year-Olds | Torikai Yui-Kindergarten [Nursery School/Kindergarten]

Animal Role-Playing Game

This is a circuit-play activity where children pretend to be different animals as they move through a course and clear obstacles.

Use long benches, colored cones, and blocks to create the course and set up obstacles.

Since they crawl on all fours or jump while acting like animals, they can get plenty of exercise even indoors.

Imitating a flamingo by standing on one leg also helps develop balance.

It might be great for expanding children’s interests to have them try animals they don’t know, too.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

In conclusion

We introduced circuit play ideas recommended for four-year-olds.

There were lots of fun ideas, from using fixed playground equipment and gym supplies to handmade items.

Since age four is also a time when vocabulary grows and imagination flourishes, adding a storyline or theme to circuit play is recommended; it helps children immerse themselves in the world of play and enjoy it even more.

Try creating a special circuit course that combines various movements so the children can have a blast to their hearts’ content.