Lovely childcare

[Childcare] DIY tunnel ideas that shine at sports day

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.
Nursery Teacher Mom Writertsukada moe
After working for five years at an after-school childcare club and three years at a nursery school, I began working as a freelance writer. I’m a mother of two children. Inspired by playing the flute in the school wind ensemble in elementary school, I joined a jazz club at university. I’ve also incorporated ukulele and piano performance into childcare. Playing, laughing, feeling sad, feeling frustrated—through all kinds of experiences, I want children to grow.

We’ve gathered ideas for handmade tunnels that are perfect for tunnel races at nursery and kindergarten sports days.

If you’re unsure about designs or materials that bring out the children’s cuteness, take a look at these DIY ideas for inspiration!

Using familiar materials like colorful fabrics and cardboard to create animal or flower shapes is lots of fun.

By making an original tunnel, you’ll get to see the kids crawl through it with energy and excitement.

We hope you create wonderful memories at your sports day!

[Childcare] Handmade Tunnel Ideas That Shine at Sports Day (11–20)

A circuit that’s fun to crawl through

A circuit that works on various movements.

One action I’d love you to include is “crawling through.” There are many kinds of obstacles kids can enjoy crawling through.

For example, stand a folding mat upright in a V shape, set out an arch-shaped play structure, or build a tunnel with blocks.

Arrange a variety of crawl-through setups so children can enjoy the differences in width and appearance.

It’s also a good idea to add height differences before and after the crawl.

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Crawling through a spider web

This is a spiderweb crawl where kids slip through a web of crisscrossed strings! Wrap packing tape or similar around a horizontal bar at random, and let children crawl through the gaps.

They’re free to choose which part of the body goes in first and which gap to thread a foot through.

Flexible kids might wriggle through in amazing positions that adults could never imitate.

Please supervise closely so they don’t get carried away and strain themselves with awkward postures.

And teachers, be careful of your backs—watch out for things like sudden back strain when demonstrating!

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Hungry Caterpillar Tunnel

The picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar is beloved by children and adults all over the world! Let’s try making a tunnel boldly decorated with characters from the book.

All you need is cardboard sized to fit children’s bodies.

Connect the pieces with packing tape to create a tunnel, then add character decorations.

If you’re good at drawing, hand-draw them; if not, you can paste enlarged photocopies from the book.

You can also open small windows, set up sound-making instruments, or add streamer tape to create a curtain-like look—the customizations are endless, so give it a try!

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Maze Tunnel

“I wonder where this tunnel leads?” It’s a maze tunnel that gets kids excited and full of anticipation.

Basically, you just connect cardboard boxes and reinforce them with colored tape and the like.

If you get creative and connect them to create a few branching paths, it adds to the game-like fun.

Cutting small windows in the sides or ceiling of the cardboard reduces any feeling of being cramped.

You can also install doors with openings in parts of the ceiling, or decorate dead ends with streamer tape for an extra touch—kids are sure to love it.

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balloon arch

How to make a cute balloon arch♪

balloon arch

This balloon arch, made by combining large and small balloons, brings out your child’s cuteness.

First, use a pump to inflate the balloons evenly.

Tie two balloons together and combine the pairs to create the base of the arch.

Build the arch portion by connecting individual balloons one by one.

Adding mini-sized balloons makes the arch more festive! Finally, set the arch onto the base to complete it.

Once you learn how to make it, you can use it for a variety of events, so give it a try.

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Colorful Trick Tunnel

Decorate a cardboard box cutely and turn it into a colorful activity tunnel! If you cut out the sides and the ceiling to add little windows, kids can have fun peeking their faces through.

You can decorate the windows with balloons, a sun, a rainbow, and clouds to evoke the sky, or add seasonal touches for an extra charming look.

Attach hook-and-loop fasteners to the bottom of the tunnel to make assembly easy.

Since it won’t stand on its own as is, you might also secure it to the floor with tape to improve stability.

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[Childcare] Handmade Tunnel Ideas That Shine at Sports Day (21–30)

Hoop diving

Sample edition of hoop-through (hula hoop)

Hoop diving

This is a hula-hoop event that builds a sense of unity—not only between parents and children, but among everyone on the same team.

First, each team lines up in a single file, alternating parent and child, and holds hands.

Without letting go, they pass a hula-hoop from toe to fingertip, threading it over their bodies and on to the next person.

Teams race to see who can pass it all the way to the end the fastest.

It’s surprisingly tough—and it’s actually harder for adults to get through the hoop than for kids, which is part of the fun.

Cheer hard for your own team, of course, but for the opposing team too, and let’s all get excited and enjoy it together!

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In conclusion

We introduced ideas for circuit play at the sports day and tunnels used for infants’ entrance.

As one of the items that express the children’s cuteness, we’d love to craft them with care.

Try adjusting the colors and motifs to suit your nursery.

We hope it will be a sports day where everyone can have a wonderful time!