Enjoyable in December childcare! A collection of fun event and play ideas
Winter at preschools and kindergartens is full of heartwarming, fun events! December gets colder, but there are plenty of activities to enjoy both indoors and outdoors.
Try creating memorable seasonal events with the children—like traditional nursery rhymes, rice cake pounding, and homemade Christmas cakes.
Outdoors, activities like mandarin orange picking and marathon races are perfect for shaking off the cold with lots of energy.
Indoors, we introduce lively games that are great for both daily care and Christmas parties—fun events and games that will fill the room with children’s smiles!
Enjoyable in December childcare! A collection of fun event and play ideas (1–10)
Solstice Games
Let’s prepare solstice-themed activities at the preschool and have fun together.
For a yuzu bath, fill a basin with lukewarm water, float some yuzu, and set it up so the children can touch and enjoy them.
It’s also said that eating foods with the “n” sound on the winter solstice is good, so you could make carrots (ninjin) and daikon out of plastic bottles, set them up in the playground, and play a harvesting game.
The porridge eaten on the solstice, “toji-gayu,” typically contains adzuki beans, so a spoon-based adzuki bean relay is another fun idea.
By connecting the reasons behind solstice items with the games, children can learn while having fun.
New Year’s decoration making
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm2x_X7JnFG/How about making New Year’s decorations and getting ready to ring in the new year? If you have large sheets of paper used as packing material, you can make a shimenawa rope.
Carefully fold the paper into a stick shape, twist it, and form it into a ring.
Then try making items like a fan, a mandarin orange, or next year’s zodiac animal using methods suitable for your children’s class.
If they take them home at the end of the year, they can enjoy them there as well.
While saying, “Let’s have a fun year ahead,” please join together in wishing for a wonderful year to come.
rice cake pounding
Mochi-pounding is a must-have winter event for children to experience! Many kids have probably only ever eaten mochi bought at supermarkets or traditional sweets shops.
Watching glutinous rice being turned into mochi using a mortar and pestle will surely fascinate them and get them super excited.
For older kindergarteners, actually trying the mochi pounding or rolling the mochi into balls could be a lot of fun.
Eating mochi they made themselves can also be a great food education experience.
When serving mochi, please proceed with great care, as there is a risk of choking.
Pumpkin nutrition education guidance
The winter solstice, which falls around December 21–22 each year, is said to be the day with the shortest daylight and the start of the true cold season.
A food considered good to eat on the winter solstice is kabocha (Japanese pumpkin)! Rich in beta-carotene and vitamin C, kabocha is believed to warm the body and help prevent colds.
Because the winter solstice is thought to be a time when luck declines and people are more prone to poor health, eating kabocha is recommended.
Including the stages of kabocha’s growth, why not incorporate kabocha-based food education on the winter solstice day in December?
Mikan picking
Winter mandarins are sweet and tender, and before you know it you’ve eaten so many that your skin starts looking yellow… maybe you’ve had that experience, too.
You often see mandarins at the supermarket, but going mandarin picking as a December activity is highly recommended! Just seeing mandarins growing on trees, instead of packed in a bag, sparks your curiosity.
Fruit you pick with your own hands is sure to taste many times better than usual.
It’s definitely something you’ll want to try during the winter season.
Christmas party
For December events, a “Christmas party” that you can enjoy with children is highly recommended.
A Christmas party is not only fun, but also a great opportunity for kids to learn about Christmas culture.
Teachers can dress up as Santa to enhance the festive mood, and it’s also nice to make children’s costumes using plastic bags.
Don’t forget to come up with Christmas-themed games and activities so teachers and children can have fun together! The end of the year is a busy time, but let’s share joyful, smile-filled moments with the children while having fun!
Marathon race
When it comes to winter PE events, a marathon is the classic choice! Even kids who are used to sprints and relays may not have much experience running long distances.
Running for a long time is tough and tiring.
But everyone can feel a sense of accomplishment when they finish.
Marathons are said to help improve endurance and concentration, so why not consider including one as a December event? That said, don’t push them too hard—start by letting the kids try a distance they find enjoyable!