Indoor recreation for children: A roundup of exciting games
We’ve put together recreational activities, games, and indoor play ideas that bring out children’s smiles.
You’ll find plenty of large-group games and activities perfect for preschools and schools, as well as lots of options families can enjoy at home.
They’re ideal for rainy days or any time it’s hard to go outside.
If you’re looking for recreations, games, or indoor activities to enjoy with kids, be sure to check these out.
Even if kids start out feeling, “It’s a shame we can’t play outside…,” by the end they’ll surely be saying, “That was fun!”
- Play ideas kids can enjoy from 1st to 6th grade [indoors & outdoors]
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- Popularity ranking of recreational activities for children
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- [For Kids] Today's Recommended Recreation Idea Collection
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- [For Kids] Indoor Fun! Large-Group Recreational Activities and Games
- A big hit at after-school childcare! A special feature on group games and activities you can play without any equipment
- Elementary School Fun Day a Big Hit! Indoor Game Idea Collection
- [For Kids] Fun Indoor Game Ideas for After-School Day Services
- Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for daycare and kindergarten
- Indoor Games for Small Groups: Exciting Recreational Activities
Indoor recreation for children: A roundup of exciting games (61–70)
Ball games you can play with two people!
Balls are very familiar playthings for children, and the ways to enjoy them are limitless! This time, we’re introducing eight ball games for lower-grade students.
In addition to balls, items like hula hoops are used to help kids improve their physical abilities while having fun.
Basically, children pair up in twos and play by throwing or rolling the ball, or dodging a bouncing ball.
There are also games with sport-like elements—such as Copycat Dribble, Hoop Pass Tennis, and Marker Hockey—so we hope even kids who feel uneasy about ball sports will take this opportunity to get interested.
Exercise play you can enjoy at home
Even when you can’t play outside, you still want to move your body! In times like that, let’s enjoy some active play at home.
For infants and toddlers, try baby massage or touch-and-play activities.
For preschoolers through elementary school kids, how about a spy game with a treasure hunt or a round of table tennis on the table? For the spy game, setting up obstacles around the room and preparing a treasure map can really liven things up.
For table tennis, you can substitute household items: a tissue box for the net, a pot lid for the paddle, and a super ball for the ball.
Solo play you can really get into!
A handy item for enjoying a quick game at school is the math blocks.
Many schools probably purchase them in bulk for first graders.
Try a stacking game using those math blocks to see how many you can stack within a time limit.
You could also compete to see how many seconds it takes to stack 10 blocks.
Because it requires fine finger movements and focused engagement, it can also serve as practice for staying calm during lessons.
Just be careful not to lose any blocks if the stack collapses while you play.
Jump into a rock-paper-scissors game!
The “Rock-Paper-Scissors Jump Game,” which combines rock-paper-scissors with jumping, is a playful activity that helps children learn how to use their bodies while potentially improving their athletic ability.
Create waiting spots on the left and right, and have participants play rock-paper-scissors with the person next to them.
The winner then jumps while moving from their current waiting spot to the one on the opposite side.
It’s a simple game that repeats this process, so any child old enough to play rock-paper-scissors can join.
For the jumping styles, start with a “rock” jump keeping both feet together, then move to a “scissors” jump.
After that, switch to a gallop and finally to a “paper” jump.
10-second stopwatch challenge
Anyone can easily enjoy this with a stopwatch! Many of you have probably tried it before.
The rules are simple: close your eyes, count to 10 in your head, and stop the stopwatch when you think 10 seconds have passed.
It’s a game to see who gets closest to exactly 10 seconds.
Even adults find this challenging.
It’s simple, yet it really gets everyone excited.
play sword-fighting (make-believe)
Little kids love playing pretend sword fights.
Since you can play it indoors, it’s perfect as a rainy-day recreation game.
It’s easy to make the swords using newspaper, and these days you can also buy soft foam sticks made for pretend sword fighting, which might be a good option to use.
Fun boredom-buster ideas for kids you can make with 100-yen store items!
Set a writeable, stick-on whiteboard into a file folder you can get at a 100-yen shop.
Next, cut a frame out of cardboard, cover it with OPP tape or similar so it can be adhered, and stick it onto the file.
I also recommend adding a lid made from a clear file to the frame—this prevents whatever you’ve stuck on from falling off or getting in the way.
Attach a pouch that can hold origami paper and washi tape, and finally add a pen.
Now you’ve got a portable boredom-buster file you can take anywhere!
Drawing Shiritori
Let’s play Drawing Shiritori, a game that combines everyone’s favorite drawing and shiritori! You look at the picture drawn by the previous person and then draw a picture of a word that follows from it, passing it on to the next person.
For example, if you’re shown a picture of a “neko” (cat), you draw something that starts with “ko,” then show it to the next person.
If someone misunderstands the picture and draws something unrelated, they lose.
Since some kids are good at drawing and others aren’t, you can offer hints if it’s too difficult.
Target shooting game
How about trying a target-hitting game like the ones you see at food stalls or festivals? When you think of target games, things like balls or shooting games might seem a bit difficult for small children, and you might need to prepare lots of balls.
But in this version, you aim at the targets with an easy-to-use “extendable sword.” The extendable sword can be made easily with just a straw, disposable chopsticks, and copier paper.
It would be fun for everyone to make their own original sword, too.
For targets, you can reuse materials like plastic bottles.
Saying the same things, doing the same things.
This is a game that develops the ability to listen carefully and follow instructions—and it’s fun, too.
First, several people hold hands and line up side by side.
When the leader says, “Say the same, do the same: right,” everyone jumps to the right.
When the leader says, “Say the same, do the opposite: right,” this time you do the opposite, so you jump to the left.
You can also jump forward or backward! It builds a sense of unity, so it seems perfect as a recreational activity with new students.