Recommended Indoor Activities and Recreation Games for July
July is a time when heatstroke is a concern, so it’s not ideal to spend long hours outside.
So, here we’ll introduce activities you can enjoy indoors! We’ve gathered games and activities that people of all ages can enjoy.
From drawing and board games to crafts, there are plenty of ways to have fun inside.
There are lots of recreational activities that both kids and adults will love.
Spend a fun time with your family and friends.
Be sure to give them a try and make cool, refreshing memories in a comfortable place!
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Recommended Indoor Activities and Recreation Games for July (11–20)
Indoor dodgeball
For those who feel like getting active during the hot days of August but find it too hot outside, this is for you.
This is a video of indoor dodgeball using rubber balls.
The rules are basically the same as regular outdoor dodgeball.
To avoid hitting anything, please play in a room with minimal furniture or objects.
Indoor water play
Let’s play a color-water game using baking parchment and colored water.
As preparation, draw several cups in different colors on the baking parchment.
Use a waterproof marker.
Next, make a few kinds of colored water and drop them onto the parchment with a dropper.
Touch the dropped colored water with a chopstick and move it gently—like magic! The colored water moves.
The goal is to keep moving the colored water and gather it into the cups.
Because this involves fine motor work, it isn’t suitable for large groups in childcare.
Why not try it as a special treat when there are fewer children, such as in the late afternoon or during extended care?
Making ice cubes
Because summer is hot, we crave something cold.
At times like that, why not make some beautiful, icy-cold cubes? It’s even more fun if everyone makes them together.
In this video, they add berries so you can eat them after they melt, creating cubes that look and taste lovely.
It’s fun to drop them into your drinks, too.
Make ice cream
When you think of summer, you can’t help but crave an ice-cold frozen treat, right? Ice cream is easy to buy, so making it yourself might not even cross your mind.
But there’s actually a fun, simple way to make delicious ice cream—even kids can do it.
All you need is a food storage bag.
Just put the ingredients for the flavor you want inside the bag.
For example, for a yogurt-kiwi ice, add yogurt, kiwi, lemon juice, and honey to taste into the food storage bag, then squeeze and mash it with your hands.
Pop it in the freezer, and you’ll be amazed at how easily you can make a tasty ice treat! Try it with whatever flavors you like.
It’s a safe and fun indoor activity—and delicious, too.
Highly recommended.
Matching the number of straws
Prepare round cutouts of cardboard in large and small sizes.
Label each one in order starting from 1, using kanji for one set and alphanumeric characters for the other, and lay them out on the table.
Using a straw to suck and lift the pieces, stack matching numbers on top of each other.
Whoever matches them faster wins.
Take a deep breath and give it your best!
Ball arranging game
This “Ball Line-Up Game” is an indoor recreation that requires not only physical ability but also intelligence and teamwork.
In the video, children are playing it, but older adults can enjoy it too.
It doesn’t require much preparation and can be played almost anywhere, so it’s highly recommended.
Fishing game
On rainy days, it’s hard to go to nearby seas or rivers to catch or even watch fish.
At times like that, enjoy homemade indoor fishing.
One way is to attach magnets to fish cut out of construction paper and to a fishing rod made from a chopstick; the magnets stick together so you can “catch” the fish.
Another way is to make fish out of origami, punch a slightly larger hole in them, and hook them with an origami fishing rod.
You can also cut milk cartons into fish shapes and float them in water to enjoy a scene that’s a bit closer to real fishing.
Try indoor fishing in whatever style you like!
agar play
Enjoy a cool, jelly-like agar play using gelatin, perfect for indoor fun! You can safely add color with food coloring to create agar in a variety of hues.
The clear, jelly-like agar looks as beautiful as gemstones.
Then, tear it apart, press it into molds, and play! You can put it in a cup to make it look like a parfait, or place small clay creations inside—both are lovely ideas.
It’s also nice that you can display your creations and keep enjoying them afterward!
Drawing with ice
There are many ways to draw, but if you’re doing it in summer, we recommend this ice painting activity! Put various colors of paint into an ice tray and mix them.
Then cover the tray with aluminum foil and poke holes aligned with each compartment.
Insert a straw into each hole to use as a handle.
This way, you’ll make ice sticks you can draw with.
It’s a cool and super fun way to paint.
If you have children in daycare or kindergarten, give it a try!
Badminton with balloons
Energetic children naturally want to play outside, but when it’s extremely hot, things like heatstroke and photochemical smog become a concern.
In such cases, here’s an indoor activity that lets them play to their heart’s content.
Make rackets out of paper plates and chopsticks, and play balloon badminton by batting a balloon back and forth.
It’s safe even in small spaces and highly recommended for kids.