[Childcare] Easy! Make a DIY target game. Playful craft and fun game
When holding a mock street fair or summer festival at a nursery or kindergarten, it’s common to set up a game corner, isn’t it?
This time, we’re introducing handmade target-throwing games that are perfect for early childhood settings.
From creations using recycled materials like paper cups, chopsticks, and plastic bottles to decorated versions for special events, we’ve got plenty of target game ideas that will make participating children’s eyes light up with excitement!
Choose options that suit the children’s ages and developmental stages, and try making them together.
Target games have lots of benefits—they spark children’s curiosity and help cultivate concentration, thinking skills, and motor control.
Be sure to include them and have fun together with the kids.
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[Childcare] Easy! Let's make a DIY target game. Playful crafts and fun games (1–10)
Straw blow dart cup-target game
A simple and fun blow-dart game that children can play from age four.
You’ll need construction paper, a paper cup, and two straws—one thick and one thin.
Scissors, crayons, and tape are also helpful.
Since the goal is to hit a paper-cup target with the blow dart, making the target colorful makes it even more fun.
Cut small slits into the tip of the thin straw and attach a circular piece of cardstock to it.
Insert this thin straw into the thick straw to complete the blow dart.
Make the target with a paper cup.
Write colorful point values on construction paper, cut them out with scissors, and tape them onto the paper cup.
Your target is ready.
Aim at the target and blow hard through the straw to launch the dart—now you’ve got a fun game ready to play.
Exterminate ghosts in a target-shooting game!
In a target-shooting game, the design of the targets is important.
No matter how impressive your launcher is, if the targets are just plastic bottles, it can be disappointing.
That’s why we recommend a ghost-busting target game.
Preparation is simple! First, gather several toilet paper rolls.
Then decorate them with origami paper and stickers to make them look like ghosts.
Be careful not to make them too scary, though.
Also, if you cut two slits at the end of a toilet paper roll and hook a rubber band onto them, you can even make a simple launcher.
Setsubun: Oni Target-Throwing Game
This is a target-throwing game where you toss balls at an oni that keeps popping back up like a roly-poly toy, no matter how many times it’s knocked down.
It’s inspired by Setsubun bean-throwing: instead of beans, you throw balls.
Pack oil clay into a capsule, make a hole through the center for a bamboo skewer, and thread the skewer through.
Attach and secure a drawing of an oni to the skewer, and it’s done! Repeatedly aiming at a target that’s hard to topple helps improve control and boost concentration.
It’s a fun and safe target game that children can enjoy—give it a try!
[Childcare] Easy! Let’s make a DIY target game. Playful crafts and fun games (11–20)
Festival vibes at the shooting game!
If you want a shooting game setup that feels closer to a real festival, I recommend taking inspiration from “festival-style” target shooting.
First, prepare a rectangular piece of cardboard and cut out a rectangular opening around the area below the center.
Fold along the cuts to create a U-shaped base.
Then, use toothpicks to fix the piece you cut out earlier onto this base.
That way, when a shot hits the center portion, the target will topple—your falling target is complete.
It gives a much stronger festival vibe than a regular target.
There are also websites that share detailed blueprints, so be sure to check them out.
Target Game with Milk Cartons
An easy project you can try using items lying around the house is a target-shooting game made from a milk carton.
In fact, this game was invented by Masato Kubota, famous from the popular TV show “Tsukutte Asobo.” First, prepare one milk carton and cut off the bottom.
Then cut off the top as well, and open the carton so it lies flat.
Next, fold it into a mountain fold down the center and staple it to hold the shape.
It will look like the kanji character for “mountain.” Hook a rubber band onto it, pull back from the rear, and you’ve got a launcher ready to go.
Fruit guessing game
Some of you might be wishing for a more cute-looking target game.
For those people, I’d like to introduce a fruit-themed target game.
First, prepare a laundry net.
Fold the laundry net and attach fabric fruit patches to it.
Then sew on a string so it can hang, and it’s done.
Attach hook-and-loop (Velcro) to the ball as well, so when it hits the target, it sticks.
Since sewing is required, it will take some time to make.
But it will be sturdy, so you can play with it for a long time.
Strikeout
Strikeout is a game where you throw balls at a target labeled with the numbers 1 through 9 and compete to see how many targets you can knock out of the frame.
While it’s used for ball games and sports practice, it’s also perfect for childcare settings.
Cut out a large piece of cardboard to create nine openings, and reinforce the frames with the cut-out cardboard pieces.
Secure the targets with straws or similar supports so they don’t fall backward, and set it up so that they tip over when hit by beanbags or soft balls.
It’s a fun target-throwing game that can be enjoyed in a spacious indoor area and doubles as sports practice.