February: Liven up childcare! A collection of ideas for indoor play and physical activities
February brings plenty of seasonal events—like Setsubun and Valentine’s Day—even at daycare centers and kindergartens.
But when the cold days continue, there are many days when you can’t go outside.
That’s when activities that let children move their bodies freely indoors and recreations that incorporate winter’s unique seasonal feel come in handy.
From exercise games with an oni-slaying theme and traditional “kenken sumo” to ideas that let you enjoy a snowy play mood indoors, we’ll introduce lots of games perfect for February.
The content is enjoyable for infants through preschoolers, so please use it as a reference!
- Play activities recommended for childcare in February: ideas to enjoy seasonal events
- [Childcare] Play and craft ideas to include in February events
- [Childcare] Fun February Indoor Play Ideas That Work for Both Small and Large Groups
- Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for daycare and kindergarten
- [For Kids] Indoor Fun! Large-Group Recreational Activities and Games
- [Quiz] A Collection of Quizzes You Can Use in February Childcare
- Useful for childcare! Today’s recommended recreational activities, including fingerplay and games!
- Indoor games that different ages can enjoy! Ideas for fun everyone can get excited about together
- Indoor Games for Small Groups: Exciting Recreational Activities
- [For preschoolers] A collection of origami ideas to enjoy February, including Setsubun and Valentine’s Day
- [Childcare] Play Right Now! Recommended No-Prep Games
- Ideas for indoor play, physical activities, and games suited to the development of 2-year-olds
- Make childcare more fun with winter quizzes! Seasonal ideas to get kids excited
[February] Liven up childcare! A collection of indoor play and physical activity ideas (71–80)
Forehead Biscuit
Did you know that February 28 is Biscuit Day? On February 28, a doctor from the Edo period named Shibata Hōan wrote a letter to his home domain of Mito, describing the biscuit-making method he learned from the Dutch in Nagasaki.
Also, because the word “biscuit” comes from Latin meaning “baked twice,” a wordplay led to February 28 being designated as Biscuit Day.
A perfect indoor game for such a day is the “Forehead Biscuit.” You place a biscuit on your forehead and, without using your hands, use your facial muscles and eyelids to move it down to your mouth.
If you can eat it without dropping it, you win!
hopscotch
The “kenpa” game where you go through rings with the hop pattern “kenpa-kenpa-kenpappa.” Since moving forward quickly eats up space indoors, we recommend trying this game in a slightly different way! For example, instead of moving forward, do the kenpa steps in place to the kenpa rhythm, or add handclaps to match your footwork.
You can also play in pairs and clap each other’s hands on the “pa,” or have everyone hold hands and do kenpa together.
This way, even in limited indoor space, you can have fun moving your body!
Daikon Game
The Daikon Game is a very unique indoor activity, so I hope you’ll give it a try! Here’s how it works: three children lie down in a circle holding hands, and the teacher pulls on their legs as if pulling up a radish.
The children brace themselves so their hands don’t come apart—if they do, the teacher wins; if they don’t, the children win.
It’s a simple game that warms you up while having fun, making it perfect for winter.
Teachers, join in and get moving together to beat the winter chill!
Rock-paper-scissors game
This is a rock-paper-scissors game where quick reactions are the key.
Two players face each other and play rock-paper-scissors.
The winner chases the loser, and if the winner tags the loser, the winner wins.
The loser is safe if they touch the wall; if they manage to escape and touch the wall, they win.
If the rock-paper-scissors round is a tie, the two players should shake hands.
For three or more players, divide into teams.
Each team discusses what to throw, then everyone plays rock-paper-scissors at the same time.
Decide the result based on the proportion of players who managed to tag someone or touch the wall.
Any team that throws something different from what they decided in the discussion is out—disqualified.
Panel Theater: Nikuman Anman
A panel theater, where you stick black construction paper on the wall and move characters on it to make it look like a movie, is a recreational activity that little kids will love! In particular, a panel theater that uses a play song with meat buns and sweet bean buns as motifs seems like it would warm you up just by watching.
Play that uses music and pictures is also extremely helpful for children’s cognitive development.
By all means, try a variety of winter-themed panel theaters in addition to the meat-bun and sweet-bean-bun one!
Hula hoop relay
This is a recommended recreational game for large groups.
First, divide into teams and line up holding hands.
Then, without letting go of the person in front of you, pass a hula hoop along the line by stepping through it.
The team whose last person passes through the hoop first wins.
Everyone can enjoy it.
human disentanglement puzzle
This is a game that 5 or 6 people can enjoy.
Everyone stands in a circle and holds hands with someone across from them.
Arms then stretch out in various directions, creating a tangle in the center.
From there, without letting go of hands, players twist their bodies and duck under arms to untangle themselves.
That’s the rule of the game.