Lovely childcare

Enjoyable in December childcare! A collection of fun event and play ideas

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.
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.

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)

An event in observance of Human Rights Week

Wakokai Group Okinobashi Certified Kodomoen Vol. 84: “Human Rights Festival☆Rehearsal” [Gifu City]

An event in observance of Human Rights Week

Because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948, the Ministry of Justice designates the period from December 4 to December 10 as Human Rights Week.

In today’s world, where diversity is emphasized, it is important for adults to think about children’s rights and for children to recognize the differences between themselves and their friends.

There is no need to overcomplicate human rights just because it’s being made into an event.

It would be great if teachers could choose content that children can enjoy together and learn alongside them.

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spring cleaning

Full coverage of the year-end big clean-up in the nursery school’s 4-year-old class!! / Ogakie Nursery School – Kuma (Bear) Class

spring cleaning

When it comes to the end of the year, many families do a thorough house cleaning.

At the kindergarten as well, we want to tidy up the environment before welcoming the new year.

Teachers can handle the dangerous or large-scale areas, but let’s have the children clean the items they use every day, such as shelves and chairs, by themselves.

It’s good to develop the habit now of wiping things clean with a cloth and tidying up unnecessary items or messy areas.

Please welcome the new year feeling refreshed in a nicely cleaned kindergarten.

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Making New Year’s Eve soba

December Food Education: “New Year’s Soba”

Making New Year's Eve soba

Because toshikoshi soba noodles are thin and long, they are considered good luck, symbolizing wishes for longevity and enduring bonds.

It would be nice if they could be served at the nursery school as well.

However, since buckwheat allergies can easily cause severe symptoms, it is essential to carefully confirm whether the children have eaten soba before and whether they are not allergic to buckwheat.

Many children may not mind the place where soba is boiled or the smell of soba when eating it at home.

In the nursery, it would be good if the children could observe the soba-making process while ensuring safety.

You could also have the preschool class take charge of cutting the condiments.

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Fun for December Childcare! A Collection of Enjoyable Event & Play Ideas (11–20)

Santa fell down

Everyday Play: Did Santa Fall Down? Red Light, Green Light Christmas Ver. — Maa-chan [5 years old] & Oo-chan [3 years old]

Santa fell down

Let’s all try playing “Santa Says Freeze,” a fun game to enjoy with children.

It’s the Santa version of “Daruma-san ga koronda” (Red Light, Green Light).

To make it feel like a special event, you could prepare small gifts to hand out after the game.

It’s also fun for the teacher and children to create Christmas-themed costumes together and dress up before playing.

In this game, freezing perfectly still when the leader turns around is surprisingly tricky.

It would be great if everyone can laugh and get excited, saying, “I moved!” while playing.

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Roasted sweet potato party

Ishigure Nursery School Roasted Sweet Potato Party

Roasted sweet potato party

After enjoying digging up sweet potatoes, here’s a fun roasted sweet potato party you can have using the ones you harvested.

Build a ring with stones and put dry fallen leaves and twigs in the center, then light a fire.

Place sweet potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil into the fire.

We recommend using dry leaves and branches.

Keep the fire going by adding small twigs so it doesn’t go out while the potatoes are baking, and it sounds fun to have everyone gather twigs together during the roasting.

The taste of sweet potatoes you roast yourselves is exceptional! Why not hold a roasted sweet potato party as a school or daycare event?

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children’s song

[Warabe-uta] 9 Traditional Children’s Songs to Enjoy in Winter [Perfect for Cold Days, Snowy Days, and New Year] — Hand-play, Cloth Play, and Skinship Play

children’s song

Some of you may not know this, but December 3 is “Warabe-uta Childcare Day.” It’s an anniversary recognized by the Japan Anniversary Association to promote incorporating traditional children’s singing games (warabe-uta) into early childhood care.

Why December 3? In the famous warabe-uta that goes “Sesse sse—no yoi yoi yoi,” the word “yoi” is rendered as 4-1-4-1-4-1; then 4×3=12 and 1×3=3, giving December 3.

Here, we introduce nine warabe-uta games you can enjoy in winter: hand-clapping games, cloth play, the skin-to-skin fun of oshikura manju, beanbag (otedama) play, and more.

Try incorporating them into your winter childcare activities and have fun with the children!

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Let’s make a Christmas cake!

Kokudo Daiichi Security Service: Making Christmas Cakes with the Children of Jonan Nursery School

Let's make a Christmas cake!

How about making a must-have Christmas cake with your kids this holiday? Here are some fun ideas for making a Christmas cake together.

All you need are a Swiss roll cake, whipped cream, and cake decorations.

Have the kids decorate the cake with whipped cream and add their favorite decorations—then it’s done! Depending on their age, it’s also great to let them enjoy making the whipped cream from scratch.

Using the kids’ favorite candies as decorations makes it extra cute, too.

Let’s all have fun making a Christmas cake together!

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