For 4-year-olds! Introducing recommended indoor activities, group games, and crafts
At age four, children’s vocabulary grows, they start expressing their feelings and thoughts in words, and they can find their own favorite play activities and things they want to try.
This time, we’ve gathered play ideas that are perfect for the development of four-year-olds.
In addition to easy-to-implement indoor physical activities and group games, we also introduce many DIY toy-making ideas that let children freely enjoy expressing themselves while expanding their imagination.
We’ve collected many activities that, through playing with friends, help children experience the importance of following rules and the joy of sharing feelings.
Use these as a reference to find play ideas that match the children’s interests.
- [For 4-Year-Olds] A Collection of Indoor Play and Game Ideas That Get Everyone Excited
- [For 4-year-olds] Ideas for group games and craft activities that can be done indoors
- For 4-year-olds! A collection of indoor home play ideas that make time inside fun
- Craft activity ideas for 4-year-olds
- Age 4: Simple and Fun! Handmade Toy Ideas
- For 3-Year-Olds! Indoor & Outdoor Physical Play and Game Ideas
- Ideas for indoor activities, games, and group play that 5-year-olds enjoy
- Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
- [Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Play ideas everyone can enjoy
- [Age 5] Exciting and fun! A special feature on ideas for at-home play
- Exciting for 4-year-olds! A collection of sports day event ideas for preschoolers (middle class)
- [Childcare] Fun for October! Craft ideas recommended for 4-year-olds
- Recommended for 3-year-olds! Fun indoor activities and group game ideas
For 4-year-olds! Introducing recommended indoor activities, group games, and crafts (61–70)
Color Touch Game

Move your body while training your memory! Here’s a color touch game idea.
All you need are hula hoops and color markers.
It’s a simple and fun game that kids as young as three can enjoy! Using the hula hoops and color markers, the rule is to touch the color specified by the teacher and then return to your base.
It’s great because kids can move their bodies while memorizing colors.
Start with one color, and as they get used to it, increase to two or three colors to naturally boost memory and reaction speed.
Give it a try!
The ‘It fell, it fell’ game

Let me introduce a quick-reaction game called “It Fell, It Fell.” The teacher says, “It fell, it fell,” and the children ask, “What fell?” The teacher names what fell.
For example, if the teacher says “an apple,” the children should pose as if they’re catching an apple.
If the teacher says “a fist,” the children should protect their heads with their hands so they don’t get bonked.
If it’s “thunder,” they should hide their belly button with their hands.
It might be more fun if you teach the poses to the children beforehand and then start the game so they can join in easily.
Once they get used to it, it’s also recommended to have fun by changing up what “falls.”
Clapping game until you drop

It’s a game you can play casually in a compact space, with no special preparations or large area required.
The rules are simple: first, each person takes a sheet of tissue paper and holds it.
Next, raise your hand above your head, drop the tissue, and compete to see how many times you can clap before it falls.
You’ll stretch your body to drop it from as high as possible and move quickly to pick it up, so it becomes a full-body exercise.
The lively clapping sounds fill the room, and it’s great to see everyone smiling and having fun!
Rock-paper-scissors is fun even in the rain

Here are some rock-paper-scissors games you can enjoy indoors with kids even on rainy days.
“American Rock-Paper-Scissors” reverses winning and losing, so it makes you think.
“Body Rock-Paper-Scissors” is a game where you use your whole body to show rock, paper, or scissors.
It’s recommended to decide in advance what movements will represent rock, scissors, and paper before you start.
In “Newspaper Rock-Paper-Scissors,” you stand on a sheet of newspaper while playing; if you lose, you fold your newspaper once and make it smaller each time.
In “Rock-Paper-Scissors Train,” the loser lines up behind the winner, and the train of players gradually grows longer.
Try these and find your favorite rock-paper-scissors game!
Hiragana Collection Challenge
https://www.tiktok.com/@cocoskip/video/7286789916544044289Here’s a Hiragana-collecting challenge that’s fun both solo and with friends.
Spread out cards on the floor, each with a single hiragana character.
Give a prompt, then collect the hiragana cards that fit the prompt to form words.
Get a stopwatch ready and time how many minutes it takes to complete each word.
Start with just one prompt at first, then gradually increase the number of prompt words to make it more exciting.
It’s also a great game for building concentration and critical thinking, so give it a try!
stop ball throw
@secondhouseayumu “Stop Ball Throw!” devised by an occupational therapist. As practice for stopping actions, it helps children develop the ability to look at letters and make decisions 💪🏻 ̖́- We design activities so that the children can enjoy playing every day while also receiving therapeutic support ✨Second House SaiyuyuAfter-school Day Service (for children with disabilities)Child Development SupportFun workplaceNow hiring / Looking for people who want to workRecreationSpeech-Language-Hearing TherapistOccupational therapistPhysical therapistNursery teacher / Childcare workerChildcare WorkerFun Play# developmental support (ryōiku)Shall we work together?
♪ Original song – Second House Saiyu-Yui – Second House Saiyu-Yui
Thinking while moving is fun! Let me introduce a stop-ball throwing activity.
You’ll need colored balls and cards with signs on them.
Place the colored balls on the floor and throw them into a basket.
When a “Stop” card is shown, everyone must freeze—even if they’re in the middle of throwing a ball.
Once kids get used to the rules, it’s fun to add similar-sounding words like “tomato” along with “stop.” Try adapting it while observing the children’s responses.
Touch-in game
https://www.tiktok.com/@bear_kids_official/video/7472713563929349394Let’s develop tracking skills and a sense of force! Here are some ideas for a touch-in game.
These are perfect for nurturing visual concentration and control of force.
Children can aim to improve their physical abilities while having fun by keeping a balloon from falling and collecting colored balls from the floor into a basket.
Simple yet effective for building concentration, this idea lets kids play by controlling balloons and colored balls—making it a fun game that can be used in after-school day services!


