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
- [Childcare] Recommended for March! A Collection of Craft Ideas to Enjoy with 4-Year-Olds
- 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
For 4-year-olds! Introducing recommended indoor activities, group games, and crafts (71–80)
sensory play
Sensory play is a recommended activity that stimulates children’s five senses.
When you put a cooling sheet in water, it swells and feels like slime.
For play with shaving cream, try putting the cream into a paper cup and mixing it, or adding color to the cream and applying it.
Doing this alongside crafts helps nurture their imagination.
For scratch art, draw a picture underneath with crayons, then layer black crayon on top and scratch it away.
It’s exciting to see the black crayon scrape off and the colors underneath appear.
It’s also great to mix water with flour or potato starch, knead it, and enjoy the gooey texture.
Using pulp clay to create shapes from one’s imagination also sounds like a lot of fun.
Handmade microphone
Let me introduce a cute original microphone craft.
Prepare a plastic wrap tube, a capsule toy container, origami paper, and yarn, and let’s make it.
Wrap the origami paper around the plastic wrap tube so that a bit of the paper sticks out on either the left or right side.
On the side where the paper sticks out, tape on the yarn, crumple the extra paper to make it small, and tuck it into the center of the wrap tube—this completes the microphone handle.
Next, place the capsule toy container on top of the wrap tube and tape it so it won’t fall off, and your microphone is complete! Draw a switch on the handle, and add illustrations or stickers as you like to create your very own original microphone.
Number Touch Game
Let me introduce a number-touch game where you touch numbers posted on the wall.
Prepare by writing numbers on pieces of paper and sticking them randomly on the wall.
Have the children memorize the positions of the numbers on the wall.
The teacher calls out a number, and the children touch that number—this is the game.
It also helps train memory and reaction speed by remembering where the called number is.
Adjust the height of the numbers to match the children’s reach and give it a try.
You can also make the numbers easier to remember by using different colors of paper or other creative touches.
A game using clothespins
Let me introduce a game that uses everyday clothespins.
Get a cardboard tube from plastic wrap, a paper plate, and some clothespins, and give it a try.
Place the paper plate on top of the cardboard tube, then gently place clothespins on the plate one by one.
The key is to place them carefully so they don’t fall.
The player who drops a clothespin loses.
It also sounds fun to clip the clothespins onto the edge of the paper plate! Drawing on the cardboard tube or the paper plate might make the game even more exciting.
Give it a try!
chimney game
You’ll need a bit of open space to play this game, but I think the kids will love it—so give it a try! For preparation, stand a mat (or something similar) upright and roll it into a cylinder to make a “chimney.” An adult goes inside the chimney while the children wait around it.
At the starting signal, the children throw balls, aiming to get them into the chimney.
The adult should block the balls so they don’t go in, and push any that do get in back out.
It’s a fun active game that will warm up your whole body if you play it in winter.
Bomb Game
A simple “Bomb Game” you can play with a rubber ball.
The rules are like a preschool version of dodgeball: set up areas in advance using tape lines or mats, and have the children move from mat to mat while avoiding the ball.
First, explain, “The ball is a bomb, so you mustn’t get hit.” Start by tossing the ball gently with an easy arc, then raise the difficulty as they get used to it by changing the ball’s trajectory or throwing faster shots off the wall or floor.
The kids will love the thrill—guaranteed excitement!
Stacking paper cups
Let me introduce a fun stacking game with paper cups.
Stack 15 paper cups into a pyramid shape, starting from the bottom.
Time each round and compete to see who can finish their pyramid the fastest.
Because you have to think about the best way to stack the cups as you go, it trains both concentration and problem-solving skills at the same time.
Plastic cups are smooth and glossy, so for children, paper cups are recommended.
Give it a try!