Lovely childcare

[Sports Day] Let's Become Olympic Athletes! Parent-Child Events for 2-Year-Olds

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
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.

How about incorporating Olympic events into your sports day?

Here, we’re sharing ideas for parent-child events themed around the Olympics, designed for 2-year-olds.

There are lots of simple races and games you can enjoy together.

Through play, children can discover the fun of exercise and learn the importance of cooperating with friends and parents.

Let’s create a wonderful sports day filled with smiles, where parents and children cheer each other on!

Enjoy a great time with events that capture the excitement of the Olympics!

[Sports Day] Let's Become Olympic Athletes! Parent-Child Events for 2-Year-Olds (21–30)

A circuit for jumping over cardboard boxes

[You can do this at home too ✨] Circuit movement play 🎶 Let’s use things you have at home and move our bodies together!

A circuit for jumping over cardboard boxes

You can prepare this with materials you have at home or in your classroom! Here’s an idea for a cardboard jumping circuit.

You’ll need cardboard, scissors, a pen, a long floor cushion, and masking tape or vinyl tape.

Draw large illustrations on the cardboard and cut it in half.

Jump over the cut cardboard pieces and make your way to the goal.

With repeated actions like squatting and jumping, your whole body will warm up nicely.

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Cart-pulling relay

Parent-child basket-pulling relay #Childcare #Kindergarten #Daycare #ChildcareWorker #SportsDay

Cart-pulling relay

The basket-pulling relay, which is popular for parent-participation events, is one of the classic sports day activities at many preschools.

It’s especially great for infants who aren’t ready to run yet—by sitting in a box and being pulled by a parent, they can enjoy the exhilarating feeling of running themselves.

Even with simple rules—head toward the cone, turn around, and come back—it can be surprisingly demanding.

Children may feel the thrill of running, while parents may feel like they’ve run a long distance! It’s a really fun event, so definitely consider including it.

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Basketball ball-toss game

A 2-year-old taking on basketball #Shorts

Basketball ball-toss game

Speaking of sports days, tamaire (ball toss) is a classic, right? It’s one of those long-loved events that anyone can enjoy, regardless of age.

This time, let’s adapt it by imagining it as the Olympic sport of basketball! For two-year-olds, a real basketball hoop or a tall ball-toss basket is probably out of reach.

That’s where parents come in! Try lifting your child up to the hoop for a shot, or letting them shoot while riding on your shoulders—it sounds like great fun! Of course, adjusting the goal height to suit the children will really boost the excitement, so feel free to customize it to match your class’s theme colors.

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Mario’s World

2012 Rai-kun’s Sports Day (Mario)

Mario's World

Introducing a unique parent-child activity that expresses the world of Mario, which drew attention during the Rio Olympics closing ceremony.

Aim for the goal together with your child wearing a Mario cap! Avoid traps and enemy characters along the way, and reach the finish by collecting coins without getting caught by Piranha Plants! We also recommend crafting green pipes out of cardboard and putting effort into Piranha Plant costumes.

It’s an event that not only kids but also parents who’ve played the games can enjoy, so please use this as a reference.

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Perfect for water sports

Tomobe Kindergarten Sports Day Event Description No. 4 “Go! Go! Summer”

Perfect for water sports

Let me introduce a fun swimming game that uses swim rings.

Have the children wear swim caps and wait with their bodies through the swim ring.

At the start signal, they run and dive through a “sea” made of streamer tape! On the other side, fish are waiting—have them set down the swim ring and go fishing for a fish.

Once they catch one, they run to the finish line holding their fish! For a parents’ event, you can have the parent carry the child while the child pretends to swim, or make the fish smaller for the parents’ fishing part to increase the difficulty and excitement.

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