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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[February] Liven Up Your Childcare! A Collection of Indoor Play & Physical Activity Ideas (41–50)
Sand play with handmade moon sand
When it’s cold, kids inevitably end up playing indoors more.
Even if they want to play at the park or in the sandbox, the weather can make everything muddy, or it’s just too chilly to go out.
But with homemade moon sand, they can easily enjoy sand play indoors! Also known as kinetic sand, it has a mysterious, satisfying texture perfect for indoor play.
The ingredients are very simple—just flour and baby oil.
If you want to add color, prepare some food coloring.
Since all the materials are safe to touch, kids can play with peace of mind.
Snow play eurhythmics
Here’s a recommendation for a “Snow Play Eurhythmics” activity that’s perfect for chilly January days.
Let’s enjoy it together with the children using pretend play set to the classic winter song “Yuki” (Snow)! By moving their whole bodies, kids will warm up both physically and mentally.
First, tear newspaper into pieces to pretend it’s snow.
Next, play with the newspaper snow to the melody and rhythm of the song “Yuki.” Just like playing outside in real snow, you can have a snowball fight or make snowmen using the newspaper! It’s also great for helping children relieve stress, so why not give it a try?
Plastic Bottle Bowling
Plastic-bottle bowling: knock down pins made from plastic bottles with a ball.
You can play even in small spaces, so it’s great for at-home fun.
It’s easy to adjust the difficulty by changing the pin arrangement or increasing the distance to the pins.
You can also put water in the bottles to make them harder to knock over.
Balloon Play
Balloons floating softly in the air are very safe, so kids can play with them with peace of mind.
Here are some indoor games using balloons.
The “keep it off the floor” game naturally encourages kids to cooperate, calling out to each other to keep the balloon from touching the floor and getting excited together.
In the balloon passing game, form groups of about six and split into teams.
Enjoy sending the balloon from front to back, or passing it under the knees.
The team that can pass the balloon the fastest wins.
You can also stick a strip of plastic tape across the middle of the room and enjoy balloon volleyball or soccer.
Please choose and enjoy games suited to the children’s ages.
Come-here game
Even though the rules are super simple, let’s try playing the “Come Here, Come Here Game,” which kids are guaranteed to love! Divide into a teacher and children.
The teacher gently beckons to the children, saying “Come here, come here.” While the teacher is saying it, the children move slowly toward the teacher without running.
When the teacher suddenly says, “Come here, come here…
It’s a ghost!” the children have to run away so they don’t get caught.
Once everyone gets used to it, you can make it even more exciting by faking them out with similar-sounding words to “ghost,” like “pot” or “mother.”
Morning Noon Night game
Here’s an introduction to the Morning-Afternoon-Night game.
You can play it anytime, anywhere, with any number of people, so it’s perfect for filling small gaps of time! When the teacher says “morning,” the children stand up.
For “afternoon,” they sit in seiza (kneel with legs folded under).
For “night,” they lie down right where they are.
The fun is in doing each action as quickly as possible.
Once they get used to it, try adding twists like “duck” or “monkey.” How will the children respond? Will they imitate the animals, get confused, or tell you, “Teacher, that’s wrong!”? That uncertainty is part of the fun of this game.
Thunder Game
The indoor play game I’m introducing this time is the “Thunder Game.” Here’s how to play: the children lie on their backs on the floor while the teacher makes a rumbling thunder sound.
At the cue “BOOM,” the children quickly flip onto their stomachs to protect their belly buttons.
It’s up to the teacher when to give the “BOOM” cue! The kids will be on the edge of their seats, wondering when they’ll hear it.
It sounds like a fun activity to enjoy with children indoors during winter, and it can help boost their reaction speed, too.
Be sure to add it to your play repertoire!
