Lovely Play & Recreation

Recreation Activities That Excite Kids’ Clubs! Plans and Ideas Children Will Love

Composition nerdmutō
Started performing in bands in junior high school. Influenced by Japanese rock and UK rock, spent over 10 years continuing band activities while creating original songs. Later began producing Vocaloid tracks using Hatsune Miku, with total plays of released songs surpassing 10,000. Has five years of experience writing for music magazines. Currently works as a music writer, director, and composer, keeping a ground-level perspective on the scene by attending live shows across Japan. Now performs at live houses in Tokyo, showcasing guitar playing centered on acoustic guitar and informed by knowledge of chord analysis and guitar scales. Also writes leveraging a broad knowledge of music genres.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

We’re introducing fun recreation activities that will get any kids’ club excited!

If you organize a community or school kids’ club, you probably struggle each time to find recreation activities that can involve a large group.

When you factor in the venue, number of participants, and children’s ages, it’s hard to decide what’s best.

In this article, we’ll share ideas and activities that kids will love—perfect for times like these.

We’ve gathered lots of options, including activities that let kids move their bodies to the fullest, games that children of different ages can enjoy together, and recreation ideas that work both indoors and outdoors.

Use them as a handy reference!

Recreational activities that excite children’s clubs! Plans and ideas kids will love (81–90)

Sinking Game

[For Childcare Workers] Teacher Rio’s Active Play That Gets Kids Excited [The Sinking Game]

Sinking Game

The Sinking Game is a fun game where you can feel the thrill of “the ship might sink!” Place several mats randomly around a large space like a hall or gym.

These mats are the ships, so divide the children into groups and have them stand on the mats.

The teacher becomes a scary shark living in the sea.

When the shark (the teacher) calls out, “We’re sinking!”, the children must get off their current ship (mat) and move to a different ship (mat).

If the shark tags them while they’re moving, they’re out! If they can move to another ship without getting caught, they’re safe.

Try mixing in other words that start with the same sound as “chinbotsu” instead of saying “We’re sinking!” to make it even more fun!

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Rock-Paper-Scissors Train

Rock-Paper-Scissors Train DVD

Rock-Paper-Scissors Train

The more people you have, the more exciting it gets—this is the “Rock-Paper-Scissors Train.” Play some music, and while it’s playing, everyone can move around freely.

Walk, run—move however you like.

When the music stops, play rock-paper-scissors with someone nearby.

The person who loses goes behind the winner and places their hands on the winner’s shoulders.

Then the music starts again, and you repeat.

With each round, the line gets longer, connecting like a train.

In the end, the person at the very front who remains is the champion!

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Catch

[Hand Play That Elementary School Kids Can Enjoy] Catch

Catch

This game, called “Catch,” can be played using only your hands, with no equipment.

Players form a circle; make your right hand into a tube shape, and place your left hand inside the right-hand tube of the person on your left.

When the caller shouts “Catch!”, you squeeze the fingers of the person next to you with your right hand, while your left hand tries to escape so it doesn’t get caught.

It’s a very simple, easy game, but making your right and left hands do different things is trickier than you’d think.

It’s the kind of game that even adults can’t help but get hooked on.

Can you succeed with both hands?

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Gesture Game

Age 5 Gesture Game

Gesture Game

A classic that’s exciting and gets you thinking is the “gesture game.” You convey the assigned item or action to others using gestures instead of words, but you need to be creative in how you express it so they can figure it out quickly.

As for how to answer, the person who answers correctly can become the next presenter, or you can split into teams and compete on how many items you can guess.

For example, making prompts more complex—like “a person doing XX” or similar—raises the difficulty, so how you decide on the prompts becomes an important point.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Drawing Shiritori

The result of trying Pokémon drawing shiritori...!

Drawing Shiritori

A classic for rainy-day lunch breaks—many of us probably played it back in our school days.

It’s a simple game where you connect shiritori using only drawings, but even if you know the word in your head, putting it into a picture is tough.

From hilariously odd to impressively skillful entries, it’s a game that’s sure to produce plenty of memorable masterpieces.

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Murakami Shinpei

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In conclusion

We introduced some recommended recreational activities for children’s groups! Did you find any that the kids are likely to enjoy? If it’s hard to narrow it down to just one, try including multiple activities—such as one game everyone can play together and one tailored to each age group.

Let’s make it a fun event for everyone!