Childcare: Ideas for activities to enjoy in July
July brings alternating bouts of the rainy season and summer.
At nursery schools and kindergartens, you want to play a lot with the children, but there are surely days when the unpredictable weather makes preparation difficult.
So here, we’ve gathered ideas for games you can enjoy in July.
From activities related to Tanabata to fun water play, you can enjoy the season of July while feeling its atmosphere.
There are also games you can do indoors, so be prepared for rainy days, too.
Please use this as a reference to expand your repertoire and spend a fun time together with the children!
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[Childcare] July Play Ideas (1–10)
OK even in the rain! Newspaper pool
Whether it’s outdoors on a sunny day or indoors on a rainy day, each offers its own ways to play and enjoy.
Here are some indoor activities using newspapers and balloons, as well as ideas that are perfect for rainy days.
With newspaper play, you can simply tear it, twist the torn pieces, or turn them into confetti—there are countless ways to have fun.
The same goes for balloons: not only can you inflate them and bat them around, but you can also combine them with newspaper for games or tie a string to them for different kinds of play.
On rainy days, it’s also fun to jump in puddles and listen to the sound of the rain.
sensory toy play
Fun for all ages! Here are some sensory toy play ideas.
You’ll need: food storage bags, colored water, oil, adzuki beans, erasers, toy goldfish, beads, bells, hair gel, and tape.
Put the materials you prepared into the bag along with the hair gel! Changing up the colors and textures makes the feel different and more interesting.
Sensory toys are recommended not only for infants but also for preschoolers—they’re engaging to look at and touch, and kids will be totally absorbed.
Balloon Whack Game
Here’s a game using balloons that kids love: the Balloon Smack Game.
It’s basically the summer watermelon-smashing game, but with a balloon instead of a watermelon.
One designated player wears a blindfold and swings a plastic bat toward the balloon.
Spectators should keep a safe distance and guide the player with their voices: “To the right!” “A little farther back!” and so on, helping them find the balloon.
It also works well as a warm-up when you’re planning to do a real watermelon-smashing activity at an overnight camp or summer festival.
[Childcare] July Play-Based Childcare Ideas (11–20)
July fingerplay “Tanabata”
A fun summer event, the Tanabata Festival.
People tie paper strips with their wishes to bamboo leaves and decorate them beautifully.
The Tanabata festival, where you can enjoy the stars in the night sky, is surely something children look forward to with excitement.
To make the Tanabata mood even livelier, let’s sing Tanabata songs with hand-play motions.
The choreography includes gestures that express sparkling stars and hand movements that represent the Milky Way, so children can enjoy doing hand-play while singing.
Singing together makes the Tanabata feeling even stronger.
The pill bug fell over!
If you look carefully in parks and plazas, you can find pill bugs.
The way they curl up into a little ball when you touch them is amusing, and they’re a familiar insect that children know well.
Let’s play by imitating those pill bugs.
It’s a game you can play indoors even when it’s raining.
Since you sit and roll over, it’s also easy to incorporate as an indoor activity.
There are lots of fun motions: flapping arms and legs and rolling in time with a teacher’s or adult’s cue, doing finger plays, or crawling.
Let’s all become pill bugs together with your friends.
Not bad, hoi! A children’s song
Traditional children’s songs (warabe-uta) handed down through the ages are still loved today as play that children can fully enjoy, from their rhythms and melodies to the ways they’re played.
With their relaxed, simple tempo and short length, warabe-uta are perfect for a quick moment of fun, whether alone or with friends.
You can also play along with finger games and gestures.
It’s nice to try using handmade props, too.
There are many possible arrangements, so there are countless ways to play.
Another charm is that they can be enjoyed together with older adults as well.
All ages welcome! Colored water play
Let’s play with colorful fruit juices made using food coloring (edible dye) that’s safe and gentle on the body for cooking.
Just add your favorite food coloring to a plastic bottle filled with water and mix—it instantly turns into a beautiful “juice.” It’s easy to make and fun to watch the color appear in a flash.
If you add handmade fruits like oranges or apples to match the colors, you’ll have an even more realistic juice.
There are lots of elements kids of various ages can enjoy—watching colors change, decorating with fruit, and playing pretend juice shop with friends.