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!
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- [For preschoolers] A collection of origami ideas to enjoy February, including Setsubun and Valentine’s Day
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- 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)
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.
Stick-removal game
There’s that game where you build a sand mound in a sandbox, stick a twig in the center, and then remove the surrounding sand without knocking the stick over—called “stick topple,” right? This is a very similar game, and also a bit like Jenga, called the “Stick Pull Game.” You only need items you have at home: ten or more pencils or pens, and a small tape core or a roll of masking tape.
Thread the pencils through the core and twist them so they radiate outward.
Then, take turns pulling out one stick at a time; the person who causes it to collapse loses.
Kariuta
It’s a karuta-style game where you grab cards printed with words that often appear in J-pop lyrics.
You lay out the cards and actually play music.
When words like “I” or “you” come up in the song’s lyrics, you take the card with that word on it.
It’s a fun game that lets you enjoy the music itself, too.
target practice
A game where you throw a ball at a target with numbers or pictures on it is called “target throwing.” The common rule is to add up the numbers you hit, and the person with the highest total wins.
But if you play in February, make the target an oni (demon) to match Setsubun! Just like driving the oni out of the house by throwing beans, throw balls at a target with an oni illustration to defeat it.
Of course, you can throw actual beans instead of a ball, too! By changing the target to suit the season, even a familiar target-throwing game can be enjoyed in new ways.
