Exciting for 4-year-olds! A collection of sports day event ideas for preschoolers (middle class)
Here are some perfect event ideas for a sports day with four-year-olds! We’ve gathered lots of activities everyone can enjoy—from perennial favorites at the preschool sports festival to unique events that spark the imaginations of middle-year kids.
Relays, beanbag tosses, circuits, and other activities that children can tackle together with their parents offer precious, memorable experiences.
With kids and adults cheering loudly for one another and smiles filling the whole venue, we hope you’ll find inspiration in these heartwarming event ideas.
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Fun Idea Competition (21–30)
Go! Go! Go! by Shinkansen!
Recommended for classes that love vehicles! Here are ideas for Shinkansen GO! GO! GO! Many children are likely interested in bullet trains and working vehicles.
How about planning events centered on the Shinkansen this time? Start at a gate where you tap a card.
Seat the child in a cardboard Shinkansen and have their guardian run while pulling or pushing it.
After passing through a “waterfall” made of plastic tape streamers, they receive a souvenir and head to the goal.
If you package the souvenir like a station bento (ekiben), it will add to the excitement.
Give it a try!
Competitions that parents and children can enjoy (1–10)
Lick of ice cream
Aim for the goal while keeping your balance! Here’s an idea for the “Ice Cream Lick” game.
It’s a fun relay that’s perfect for sports day, featuring eye-catching, quirky ice cream props.
Place a big ice cream made from colored plastic bags on a giant cone and carry it to the destination while maintaining balance! It’s great as a kids-only relay, but we also recommend adapting it as a parent-child event.
Work together and head for the finish line!
shopping relay
If you want to add a twist to a relay, we also recommend the “Shopping Relay.” This event combines elements of a relay with a beanbag toss.
Runners on each team carry a basket on their backs, collect beanbags in their team color, return to the start, and pass off to the next runner.
The team that retrieves all of its beanbags first wins.
It keeps the cooperative appeal of a relay while boosting the game-like fun.
Urashima Taro
Many people are familiar with the folktale Urashima Taro.
How about trying a parent-child event inspired by that story? First, the child wears a loincloth like Urashima Taro.
Then the parent carries a turtle shell on their back, and together they take on an obstacle course while holding hands.
Preparing obstacles based on the story—such as “obtaining the treasure box”—will make it even more exciting.
Wearing a mask with a beard could be fun, too.
The Hero’s Grand Adventure
Kids are sure to join in with excitement! Here’s an idea for a Brave Hero’s Grand Adventure.
In this event, parents and children work together to overcome activities like mats and balance beams, defeat a big monster, and then reach the finish line.
Using a crown or a cape as the baton helps create the right atmosphere—highly recommended! Adjust the number and type of activities based on your venue size, and try incorporating it into your sports day.
Mikoshi race
Let’s have the teachers and children make an original portable shrine (omikoshi) and use it like a relay baton for a race! If you divide the parents evenly among the teams carrying the omikoshi, it becomes a fun parent-child event that encourages cooperation.
Teams that move in sync are faster, so you won’t know which team will come in first until the very end—so exciting! Since falling could lead to contact with other children, keep practicing to carry it carefully and steadily.
It will be a sports day where the children’s earnest efforts leave a lasting impression.
obstacle course
A parent-child event where parents and kids participate together in an obstacle race—the kind that’s a staple at school sports days and athletic festivals, and one almost everyone has seen at least once.
Parents and children clear the same obstacles side by side, or the parent supports the child as they get over them, working together toward the finish line.
The rules make it fun for both generations.
Because adults and children differ in size and build, it presents challenges unlike competing alone, letting not only the kids but also the adults feel like children again.
It’s a simple yet profound event where synchronized teamwork determines victory.
