For 4-year-olds! Introducing recommended indoor activities, group games, and crafts

Balloon Play

Balloon Play for 4-Year-Olds

Balloons floating softly in the air are very safe, so kids can play with them with peace of mind.

Here are some indoor games using balloons.

The “keep it off the floor” game naturally encourages kids to cooperate, calling out to each other to keep the balloon from touching the floor and getting excited together.

In the balloon passing game, form groups of about six and split into teams.

Enjoy sending the balloon from front to back, or passing it under the knees.

The team that can pass the balloon the fastest wins.

You can also stick a strip of plastic tape across the middle of the room and enjoy balloon volleyball or soccer.

Please choose and enjoy games suited to the children’s ages.

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mayumi

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Storm, storm—oh, great storm.

[Indoor Play] Even MatsuJun was shocked?! Indoor play!!

A game that seems great for developing children’s listening skills: “Arashi Arashi Oo-Arashi.” First, the children split into Trees and Squirrels.

The Tree children pair up, face each other, hold hands, and make a tunnel.

Each Squirrel child stands inside one of these tunnels.

Next, the caller says, “Arashi, arashi, oo-arashi,” and then calls one of the following: “Ookami ga kitazo” (A wolf is coming), “Kikori ga kitazo” (A woodcutter is coming), or “Oo-arashi ga kitazo” (A big storm is coming).

If “A wolf is coming,” the Squirrels move and run to a different Tree.

If “A woodcutter is coming,” the Tree children run, form new pairs with different partners, and go to the Squirrels.

If “A big storm is coming,” everyone runs: form new pairs with different partners and become Trees, or become Squirrels and go under a Tree.

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sasashina

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Come-here game

[Toddler Play] “Come here, come here” game — a play activity that even 3-year-olds can do!

Even though the rules are super simple, let’s try playing the “Come Here, Come Here Game,” which kids are guaranteed to love! Divide into a teacher and children.

The teacher gently beckons to the children, saying “Come here, come here.” While the teacher is saying it, the children move slowly toward the teacher without running.

When the teacher suddenly says, “Come here, come here…

It’s a ghost!” the children have to run away so they don’t get caught.

Once everyone gets used to it, you can make it even more exciting by faking them out with similar-sounding words to “ghost,” like “pot” or “mother.”

Treasure-Grabbing Game

[Peripheral vision] [Decision-making] Train while playing! Fun for everyone from toddlers to adults!

Let’s play with excitement! Here’s an idea for a treasure-grabbing game.

This unique activity can be enjoyed by both kids and adults, so teachers and guardians should join in with the children and have fun together.

It’s a simple game where you spread two colors of hula hoops around the room and move markers into the hula hoops of your team color.

The key rule is that only one marker can be placed inside each hula hoop! Give it a try!

Morning Noon Night game

Indoor games for large groups starting from age 3! Even elementary school kids can have fun while practicing moving quickly!

Here’s an introduction to the Morning-Afternoon-Night game.

You can play it anytime, anywhere, with any number of people, so it’s perfect for filling small gaps of time! When the teacher says “morning,” the children stand up.

For “afternoon,” they sit in seiza (kneel with legs folded under).

For “night,” they lie down right where they are.

The fun is in doing each action as quickly as possible.

Once they get used to it, try adding twists like “duck” or “monkey.” How will the children respond? Will they imitate the animals, get confused, or tell you, “Teacher, that’s wrong!”? That uncertainty is part of the fun of this game.

UFO Tag

@kidschallengeclub♬ UFO – Pink Lady

Spin around and protect the captain! Here’s an idea for a UFO tag game.

It’s a unique game that really tests teamwork! Form teams of three, hold hands, and dodge the tagger so your captain doesn’t get caught.

Choose a captain among the three and have them wear a bib number so the tagger can easily tell who it is—highly recommended.

The key is to hold hands firmly so no one lets go!

Rock-Paper-Scissors Sugoroku

@kidschallengeclub♬ EMA – go!go!vanillas

Turn your room into a sugoroku board! Here’s an idea for a Rock-Paper-Scissors Sugoroku game.

Sugoroku is a traditional Japanese board game where you advance squares using dice.

However, in this version, you don’t use dice—you move forward by playing rock-paper-scissors.

The rules are simple: win to advance, lose and go back to the start.

Kids can join in easily.

Set up items like mats, balance beams, or vaulting boxes in the room to represent the squares.