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 Playful Childcare Ideas (41–50)
[Song Play] Little Bear in the Rain
![[Song Play] Little Bear in the Rain](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pfG4KWAGQJs/sddefault.jpg)
With its picture book-like storytelling, the song-play for the beloved children’s song “Amefuri Kumanoko” is perfect for the rainy season.
If the caregiver wears an apron with a bear illustration or uses a stuffed animal or a mask, it makes it easier for children to empathize.
Prepare scenes that match the lyrics, and hide little surprises—like the fish and leaf umbrellas mentioned in the song—in the apron pockets to spark the children’s excitement.
With a single song, let them experience the feeling of having watched a little play.
Production: wind chime
Let’s make a wind chime with a clear, ringing sound and enjoy a cool summer! Here’s how: First, prepare an empty pudding or jelly cup.
Make a hole in the bottom and thread a string, such as twine, through it so you can hang it.
You can freely decorate the cup by drawing your favorite pictures or adding stickers—anything is fine! Next, prepare a strip (tanzaku) and a small bell for the wind chime, and thread them so they hang down from the bottom of the chime.
For the tanzaku, use paper with a pattern you like or draw your own design—make it just the way you want.
And that’s it—your wind chime is complete.
Hang it by the window of a daycare or kindergarten classroom, or display it at home, and enjoy the cool sound and breeze!
[Production] Fishing
![[Production] Fishing](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ho52_w775I/sddefault.jpg)
Even if they’re interested in fishing, some kids get a little scared when it comes to touching real fish.
For those children, try a fully hand-made fishing game where both the fish and the rods are DIY! One way is to attach magnets to paper cut into fish shapes and “catch” them with a homemade fishing rod that also has a magnet.
If you want a more summery, refreshing version, cut water-resistant milk cartons into fish shapes, and make a fishing rod using a chenille stem (as the hook), twine, and a disposable chopstick.
Milk-carton fish float on water, so set them adrift in a kiddie pool and enjoy a more realistic fishing experience!
Where is the goldfish?
Are you familiar with the picture book “The Runaway Goldfish”? It’s one of the most popular books among children, and it’s fun like a game as you search for the goldfish hiding in various places.
This activity, “Where’s the Goldfish?”, is based on that book.
Everyone looks for the goldfish that has hidden somewhere in the daycare room and returns it to the aquarium.
It’s a fun game that engages both mind and body, and finding the goldfish is so exciting.
Returning the goldfish to the tank also seems like a great way to nurture children’s kindness.
lottery; drawing lots; raffle
Raffles are also games that kids can enjoy casually.
Simply pulling a folded piece of construction paper can be exciting, but if you have time, why not make a raffle modeled after Ichiban Kuji? Prepare two sheets of construction paper in the size of the tickets; cut slits into one sheet so the pieces can be peeled open.
Since this involves fine work with a craft knife, an adult should handle it.
It might be a good idea to have the children take charge of preparing the prizes.
Let’s liven up the summer festival with a raffle that makes everyone excited to see what they’ll win.
silky beach
Summer-themed art projects and activities not only let children enjoy the season, they also nurture their imagination! Let’s try expressing a beach atmosphere through art to boost those summer vibes.
Kids can color freely on construction paper shaped like a beach umbrella, or tear tissue paper to resemble beach sand and glue it onto paper.
With their free ideas, what kind of beach will they create? Both children and teachers will be excited to find out.
It would also be lovely to display the children’s drawings or photos under the umbrella!
clay play
Clay play, which kids love, makes time fly by because they get so absorbed in it.
Precisely because the rainy season brings so many wet days, it’s one of the activities you’ll want to let them spend plenty of time on.
Start by offering themes or ideas to help them expand their imagination.
For example, they can make animals using acorns and twigs, or create decorations for jars.
They can also mix in paint to make clays of different colors, add spoons to turn them into ice cream, or make vegetables and fruits—so much fun! If you later use what they’ve made for pretend play, it will open up even more ways to enjoy it.