Indoor games that different ages can enjoy! Ideas for fun everyone can get excited about together
Games that children of different ages can enjoy together, creating opportunities for interaction between older and younger kids.
Here, we introduce games that make everyone smile, even when there’s an age gap.
With thoughtful handicaps and rule adjustments, these activities will captivate both little ones and their older peers.
From easy-to-understand balance games that get everyone excited, to cooperative team activities like hoop relays, there are plenty of safe indoor games to enjoy.
Through play that makes the most of the unique benefits of mixed-age care, help nurture warm relationships among the children!
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Physical activity play (11–20)
Inside-Outside Game
@kyojifukushikai_staff Inside-Outside Game! Train your judgment and concentration!ExercisePlayChildcare#Nursery schoolNursery teacher / Childcare workerchild
♬ familie – Mrs. GREEN APPLE
Listen carefully to the instructions and get moving! Here are some ideas for Inside-Outside games.
The great thing is that people of all ages, from kids to adults, can enjoy them! It’s unique and fun to have children move around while following instructions.
Since you can play both indoors and outdoors, the weather won’t get in the way.
These games help develop reflexes, concentration, and teamwork while you play! The rules are simple and easy to understand, so take this opportunity to give them a try.
Rock-Paper-Scissors Balance Game
Let me introduce a Rock-Paper-Scissors balance game that gets your whole body moving.
Play Rock-Paper-Scissors with your friends.
If you win, hold a one-legged balance for 5 seconds.
If it’s a tie, spin around twice and then hold a one-legged balance for 5 seconds.
If you lose, spin around three times and then hold a one-legged balance for 5 seconds—great for getting your body moving.
For children who find one-legged balance difficult, it’s recommended to hold onto something while balancing.
When playing the Rock-Paper-Scissors balance game, make sure you have a spacious area and keep a reasonable distance from others, paying attention to safety.
Skip tag
It’s said that skipping is closely linked to a sense of rhythm and is often used in music-and-movement activities and eurhythmics for young children.
“Skipping tag” is, as the name suggests, a game of tag played while skipping.
In regular tag, fast runners have a big advantage, but skipping tag feels a bit different.
As a way for children of different ages to all enjoy it, how about adding a rule that the older kids must stop once after every 10 skips? The time spent teaching how to skip is likely to be a big hit as well.
Dodgeball (line dodgeball)
Here’s an introduction to “Nakaa-te,” a game that’s great fun with a large group.
Many of you may have played it when you were little.
While the finer rules can vary by age and experience, the basic idea is simple: players are divided into those inside and outside a boundary, and the people on the outside throw a ball to try to hit the people on the inside.
You can tweak it endlessly—make the boundary a square or a circle, use a larger or smaller ball, and so on.
If any children are afraid of getting hit, try using a soft ball so it doesn’t hurt.
You can play with as few as three people, so give it a try!
ball toss (traditional Japanese beanbag/ball-throwing game)
Tamaire is a classic event at sports days.
The two teams, red and white, throw balls into a basket set up high, and the team that gets more balls in wins.
It’s an event you’ll find from preschool and kindergarten all the way through middle school.
Competing simply as two teams is fun, but it gets even more exciting if you add a “blocker” role to play defense and stop the other team from getting balls into the basket!
Animal and Imitation-Themed Expression Play (1–10)
Copycat Game
It’s a mimic game where you imitate animals and have others guess—an animal copycat game.
Without making any sounds, try to mimic the animals by showing their characteristics.
Animals are easy for little kids to understand, right? It also sounds fun to take turns giving the questions as a group.
Especially with small children, you’ll need to remind them not to get so into the impersonation that they end up making animal sounds by accident (lol).
big-game hunting
Get the fun going! Here are some ideas for the game “Mōjūgari” (Wild Beast Hunt).
It’s a great way to explore number concepts while playing, so we highly recommend it! The call-and-response is done by having children repeat the teacher’s or caregiver’s lines, so keeping it simple and easy to understand is key.
Rules: The teacher or caregiver tells the children the name of an animal.
The children then form groups and sit down in numbers that match the number of letters in the animal’s name specified by the teacher or caregiver.
Start with animals that have fewer letters, and once they get used to it, switch to animals with more letters so they won’t get bored.