Lovely childcare

[Childcare] Recommended indoor activities and recreation games for April

20 years of experience as a nursery teacher / kindergarten teacherhiyoko sensei
I’m Hiyoko-sensei, a former nursery school teacher from Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since I was five, my dream was to become a childcare worker, and before I knew it, 20 years had passed since I achieved that dream. Through singing and playing with the children, I kept working with the spirit of someone in their twenties, even as I increasingly felt my physical limits year by year (haha). From here on, I’d like to share helpful information carefully and thoughtfully, drawing on my on-site experience.
9 years of experience as a nursery school teacherShibata Risa
I am an active nursery school teacher with 9 years of experience. After graduating from university, I worked at a daycare center. The time I spent happily with children—playing piano, singing songs, and doing finger-play—are priceless memories to me. Currently, while raising three children of my own, I work at an after-school day service, engaging with children and providing individualized developmental support. Drawing on my diverse experiences as a childcare worker and as a mother, I hope to express and convey my thoughts through writing.

April marks the start of a new chapter.

Children who are entering or moving up a grade may feel excited about their new environment, or a little anxious—there are many different reactions.

Many teachers are probably wondering, “What should we do?” as they look for ideas that everyone can enjoy and that naturally help children make friends through play.

So this time, we’re introducing recommended games and activities for April.

We’ve focused on games you can start right away indoors, so please give them a try.

You’ll find yourself with more wonderful moments filled with smiles!

[Childcare] Recommended Indoor Activities and Recreation Games for April (21–30)

Color water play with spring flowers

Spring is a season when all kinds of flowers are in bloom, and just looking at them is delightful, isn’t it? How about using those colorful flowers to play with flower-dyed water? Crush the petals finely with a pestle and mix them with water to make colored water.

You can enjoy mixing the colors to see how they change, soak white paper or fabric to watch the colors spread and create patterns, or use a dropper on water-repellent materials to draw like a painting.

With a bit of creativity and imagination, there are all sorts of ways to play with colored water.

Putting it in cups and pretending to run a juice shop sounds fun, too!

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after-the-fact rock-paper-scissors

EDAMAME TV #66: A showdown to keep losing at after-the-fact rock-paper-scissors

after-the-fact rock-paper-scissors

This is a reverse version of rock-paper-scissors called “late-response rock-paper-scissors,” where you must play after your opponent and follow the given instruction.

For example, if the instruction is “Please lose,” and your opponent plays scissors, you must respond with paper.

Since we usually focus on trying to win at rock-paper-scissors, you might instinctively throw rock without thinking.

If you don’t respond quickly and keep the rhythm, you’re out!

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The Little Bird’s Move

[Exercise & Gymnastics Kids Enjoy] “Little Bird Moving House” Recommended from Age 3 / Rule-based movement games and exercise/gymnastics educational videos from ‘Okaasan to Issho’ to improve motor skills

The Little Bird’s Move

Kids love chase-and-run games, and many of them can’t help getting excited.

“Little Birds Moving House” is a chase-style game, too.

Players claim walls (or similar spots) as their home base and try to reach the wall on the opposite side without getting caught by the tagger, moving along while staying seated in their “territory.” At the tagger’s signal—“We’re moving!”—everyone moves.

The tagger gradually powers up into stronger and stronger creatures, changing the sounds they make each time as they give chase.

The tagger can also throw in feints to make the game more exciting.

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Hana Ichi Monme

Hana Ichi Monme

Hana Ichi Monme

Its history is long, and even your grandparents likely played it when they were children: “Hanaiichimonme.” The players split into two teams, each forming a straight horizontal line, holding hands and facing the other team.

While singing the Hanaiichimonme song, each side names someone from the opposing team that they want.

Then the team leaders play rock-paper-scissors, and the winner gets the child they nominated.

The team that loses a member loses that round, but you can repeat the game several times; another way to play is that the team with more players remaining at the end wins.

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Gesture Game

Kids Game | Animal Gesture Quiz (fun for children: toddlers, preschool, daycare, indoor play, popular, cute)

Gesture Game

It’s the familiar “gesture game” you often see on TV variety shows.

It’s a game where you guess what someone is doing using only gestures.

Since you don’t need to prepare anything in particular, it’s a recreation you can enjoy anytime, anywhere, with any number of people.

The basic rule is to have others guess using gestures only, but if it’s difficult or for small children, it might be fine to give verbal hints.

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