Gesture Game

[For 5-year-olds] Can you really get into character?! Gesture game!

Move your body to match the theme! Here are some gesture game ideas.

Gesture games are a great way to have fun while staying active indoors.

Imitate gestures based on a theme to act out animals, vehicles, everyday actions, and more! Through play, kids can develop communication skills and creativity.

Once they’re comfortable with simple gestures, try making the themes a bit more complex.

You can just picture children laughing and playing together with friends, teachers, and parents.

chimney game

Chimney Game! Ball Play (4- and 5-Year-Olds)

Let’s work hard so we don’t lose to the chimney sweeper! Here’s an idea for a chimney-themed game.

It’s a unique game that uses balls and a mat.

If your center doesn’t have a mat, you can use connected cardboard pieces instead.

Inside the chimney, a teacher transformed into a chimney sweeper will go in.

The children will try to put balls into the chimney so they won’t lose to the sweeper.

They’ll develop their ability to strategize and be inventive by making plans and watching for the teacher’s openings.

Give it a try!

Rock-Paper-Scissors Sugoroku

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.

Chick Sumo

Indoor play! Chick Sumo for toddlers and up. Try it with a big group☆ Build ankle flexibility while you play.

People from preschoolers to adults can join! Here’s an idea for “Chick Sumo.” It’s a perfect game for training ankle flexibility while playing.

While squatting, hold your ankles and move forward.

If your hands or bottom touch the floor, you lose—simple as that.

Move carefully so you don’t lose your balance.

Once you get used to it, try battling in groups of five or six in class.

A tournament format, where the last person remaining advances, also sounds fun!

Anything Basket

[5-year-olds] Anything Basket!

Listen carefully, think carefully, and move! Here’s an idea for a “Anything Basket” game.

Are you familiar with Fruit Basket? In this game, participants are assigned the names of fruits like apple, banana, and orange.

The facilitator calls out, “○○ fruit!” and the children who have that fruit name quickly move to the seats designated for that fruit.

As a variation of Fruit Basket, let’s try “Anything Basket.” It’s a great way to develop good listening skills!

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!

Bug-catching game

[For 3-year-olds] We played pretend bug catching!

Once you’ve got your very own original bug cage and butterfly net, it’s time to head out! Here are some ideas for pretend bug catching.

Bugs are familiar friends to children—whether it’s spotting pill bugs on a walk or chasing butterflies.

This time, let’s make a one-of-a-kind bug cage and net.

We’ll use recycled materials like milk cartons and plastic bags.

Decorate them with pens, stickers, and cutouts of your favorite motifs from construction paper.

Once you’re done, let’s go out to the schoolyard or park!