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)
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.”
[February] Get kids excited in childcare! A collection of indoor play and movement activity ideas (51–60)
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!
Red Light, Green Light
Let’s play by adding new rules! Here are some ideas for Daruma-san ga Koronda.
Daruma-san ga Koronda is a traditional Japanese game played with one child as “it” (the oni) and the other children as players.
The oni turns around while saying, “Daruma-san ga koronda.” The participants can move forward until the oni finishes saying “Daruma-san ga koronda,” but the moment the oni turns around, the participants must freeze.
By customizing this rule with elements like balance beams, hula hoops, or balls, you can keep the game fresh and fun.
Mukkuri Kuma-san
Here’s a game called “Mukkuri Kuma-san” that both kids and teachers can enjoy together.
The rules are very simple: the teacher plays the bear and pretends to sleep.
The children sing as they quietly approach the sleeping bear.
When the song ends, the bear wakes up and jumps to their feet, and the children run away.
The teacher playing the bear chases the children.
The child who gets caught becomes the next bear.
For children who don’t understand the rules, it may help to teach them slowly and carefully while demonstrating each step.
circuit
Here’s an idea for a circuit where kids can enjoy a variety of activities all at once.
Children move through the course while taking on different challenges, and it’s something they can play over and over.
Recommended elements include crawling through a tunnel made of mats, tossing balls into a basket, stepping over and dodging blocks, and hopping forward like in hopscotch.
It’s a great way to get lots of physical activity and have fun.
Decide on the content while observing what today’s kids are interested in.
Dance “Oni no Pants”
How about enjoying songs and dances that are unique to Setsubun? There are several Setsubun songs, but the most famous include “Oni no Pantsu” and “Ehomaki no Uta.” First, everyone can sing together to learn the songs, and then try the dances.
By the way, YouTube has videos that teach kid-friendly choreography for each song, so those are great to use as references.
It’s also recommended to dress up as an oni to match the music.
Cardboard Ogre
If you engage in a game themed around Setsubun bean-throwing, it won’t just be fun—it can also serve as a rehearsal.
So here’s an idea I’d like to share: the cardboard oni (ogre).
This involves attaching a paper-crafted oni face to a cardboard box.
Then, throw balls made from crumpled newspaper, pretending they’re beans, into the box and play.
The fun part is that sometimes the throws go in and sometimes they don’t.
Since everyone tends to crowd into one spot to retrieve missed balls, place several baskets filled with the “beans” in different locations as a preventative measure.