Ideas for indoor activities, games, and group play that 5-year-olds enjoy
At age five, children deepen their friendships through play—cooperating with peers and becoming aware of others’ feelings—while developing social skills and teamwork.
In this article, we’re sharing indoor play ideas that are perfect for the developmental needs of five-year-olds.
We’ve gathered a wide range of activities: energetic games that get kids moving, activities that nurture thoughtful problem-solving, and simple DIY toy-making ideas that are easy to create and fun to play with.
We’re focusing on activities that encourage communication with friends during play, so use these ideas as a reference and enjoy meaningful time with the children.
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Ideas for indoor activities, games, and group play that 5-year-olds like (1–10)
Drop the handkerchief
Many of you probably played this when you were little.
In the game “Handkerchief Drop,” everyone first sits in a circle.
The person who is “it” walks around the outside and quietly drops a handkerchief behind someone’s back, then runs away.
The person it was dropped behind has to catch the “it” player before they complete a lap around the circle.
It’s a recreational game that lots of children can enjoy with pounding hearts.
big-game hunting
This is the “Mōjū-gari” game, which is fun with its familiar calls and gestures.
First, the teacher taps their knees and sings out, “Let’s go big-game hunting,” and the children imitate and repeat it.
After repeating the set phrases, the teacher calls out the name of an item in a loud voice, like “giraffe” or “chocolate.” Then the children form groups with the same number of people as the number of syllables in the word and crouch down on the spot.
It’s also fun to increase the number of syllables and end with forming a big group!
Gesture Game
A game where you express a prompt using only body movements without saying it out loud, and others guess the prompt, is called the “gesture game.” It’s recommended for preschoolers in the middle to senior age range who know lots of words.
Watching how children choose to express the prompt—their free and inventive ideas—makes it an enjoyable recreation for observers as well.
Indoor activities, games, and group play ideas that 5-year-olds like (11–20)
Fruits Basket
It’s a classic group game for children, a variation of musical chairs.
The children sit on chairs arranged in a circle facing inward, with one child standing in the middle.
Each child is assigned the name of a fruit, and the child in the middle calls out a fruit name.
The children with that fruit name must stand up and move to a different chair.
The child who can’t find a seat switches places and becomes the one standing in the middle.
The excitement peaks when the caller shouts “Fruit Basket!” and everyone has to stand up at once!
Handmade fishing
A fishing game that kids love.
Use handmade toys to make it even more exciting.
Crabs and fish can be made cute and easily by using googly-eye stickers sold at 100-yen shops.
Paste origami on empty yogurt or jelly cups to make crabs and turtles.
For fish, crumple origami paper and put it inside plastic to give them a 3D look.
Jellyfish made from toilet paper rolls are also adorable.
Lay out a blue tarp as the sea, arrange your creatures, and have a blast fishing them with magnets!
Target shooting game
Let’s play a target-shooting game you can make with a milk carton! You’ll need a milk carton, scissors, a stapler, rubber bands, and colored paper, etc.
Cut off the top and bottom of the milk carton and use only the side panels.
Take one panel and staple one end to make a launcher for the rubber band.
Take the other panel, cut it to any size you like, and decorate it with colored paper to make the targets.
You can also assign points to the targets and see how many points you can score to make it even more fun.
Card flipping
“Card Flipping” is becoming a staple event at nursery and kindergarten sports days.
It’s a game where children flip double-sided cards—each side a different color—to their own team’s color within a time limit.
The rules are very simple, but it’s one of those games kids get completely absorbed in.
Once you make the cards, you can enjoy it over and over, so it’s highly recommended! It’s also great because kids can really move their bodies to the fullest.