[Childcare] Perfect for June! Indoor play ideas to incorporate into childcare
June brings the rainy season, when outdoor play tends to decrease in childcare settings.
With so many days of unfavorable weather, teachers often struggle because the children can’t play to their hearts’ content.
So, we’ve gathered ideas for indoor activities here! We’ll introduce a variety of games, from ones that get kids moving to quieter activities they can enjoy calmly.
The more play options you have, the more smiles you’ll see from the children! Please use this as a reference so both children and adults can enjoy fun times together.
Children’s creations are treated as “works,” so we refer to them as “seisaku (制作)” in the text.
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[Early Childhood Education] Perfect for June! Indoor play ideas to incorporate into childcare (61–70)
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?
Towel play
If you want to get plenty of movement indoors even when it’s raining, games using a towel are recommended.
Prepare a long, narrow towel.
You can rub your body vigorously as if doing dry brushing, jump with it like a jump rope, or play tug-of-war—one long towel lets you enjoy all kinds of activities.
It’s also great to roll the towel into a ball and play catch.
Just be careful not to slip on a towel that falls on the floor and get injured while you play!
Handmade toy: fishing
A fishing game that kids love.
Use handmade toys to make it even more exciting.
Crabs and fish can be made cute and easily by using googly-eye stickers sold at 100-yen shops.
Paste origami on empty yogurt or jelly cups to make crabs and turtles.
For fish, crumple origami paper and put it inside plastic to give them a 3D look.
Jellyfish made from toilet paper rolls are also adorable.
Lay out a blue tarp as the sea, arrange your creatures, and have a blast fishing them with magnets!
Sinking Game
This is the “Sinking Game,” where you pretend the room is the ocean and run around to escape from a shark.
The teacher plays the role of the shark to liven things up.
Lay out mats in the indoor ‘ocean’ to serve as ‘boats.’ When the shark shouts, “We’re sinking!” the children must jump onto the boat mats to escape.
You can also change the rules—for example, prepare ‘islands’ made from hula hoops.
If the shark shouts another word that starts with the same sound (chi) but isn’t “sinking” (chinbotsu), the children don’t have to move, which helps them practice careful listening.
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.
In conclusion
We introduced play activities for childcare to try in June! June’s weather can be unpredictable, so it’s reassuring to expand your repertoire of indoor games to handle sudden rain.
The children might also look forward to the day, wondering, “What are we doing today?” Let’s brighten the gloomy rainy season with fun ideas.