Parent-Child Events for Sports Day: Recommended Ideas for Nurseries and Kindergartens
Parent-child events at kindergarten and nursery school sports days are a great way for families to have fun together and get everyone excited! Here, we’ll share ideas for parent-child competitions at sports days.
From classics like sprints and beanbag tosses to obstacle courses and quirky games, there’s a wide variety to choose from.
It’s also wonderful for children to see their parents getting really into it.
You can easily adapt the activities to fit your space and number of participants, so use these as a reference and brainstorm fun ideas with your fellow teachers.
Imagine the children’s smiles as you prepare, and make it a joyful sports day!
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[Parent-Child Events for Sports Day] Recommended Ideas for Nursery Schools and Kindergartens (71–80)
Caterpillar race
It’s a race where you make a large caterpillar track big enough for one or two people using long cardboard or mats, then crawl inside and move forward.
You can’t see ahead and it’s hard to move, so it’s tough—but a lot of fun! A parent and child can get in together and race as a team, too! If you’re going solo, doing forward rolls as you go can be a viable strategy.
After the race, you’ll probably become friends with the people you ran with in the caterpillar, regardless of who won or lost!
Cute fisherman
A cute fisherman whose appearance running with a big net is sure to excite the crowd.
Parent and child hold the fish-catching net together and run to the spot where the fish are.
The guardian holds the net, the child catches the fish and puts them into the net, then they hold the net together again and run to the next spot.
The next spot is the fish wholesale market—here, unload the fish you caught and line them up on the platform.
After that, carry the now-empty net and head for the finish line.
You could also split teams by net color—red team and white team—and make it a parent-child relay for even more excitement!
Carry the ball on a cone
For a cute-feeling event, we recommend a relay where participants carry a ball on a cone.
In this activity, you place a ball on an ice-cream cone made by attaching construction paper to newspaper and carry it.
If you decorate the ball with construction paper or similar materials, it will look even more like ice cream.
The adorable appearance is sure to liven things up.
First, try finding a ball that’s a good size.
If it’s a vinyl ball, you can decorate it simply by applying thin paper.
Cardboard Car Race
A cardboard car race where parents and children ride in cars made of cardboard and compete while overcoming obstacles.
Because you have to move in sync like playing “pretend train,” it’s a competition that tests parent-child teamwork.
Obstacles themed to match the cardboard cars—such as police cars and fire engines—also appear, so both children and adults are likely to enjoy it.
In addition, having the preschoolers make the cardboard cars themselves makes the preparation stage exciting, making it a fun event for kindergartens and nursery schools to organize.
Dekapan Torch Relay
Footraces and relays are the star events of a school sports day.
Watching children run their hearts out is adorable on its own, but let’s add a creative twist to make the event even more exciting.
If there’s a race where kids run in pairs with friends or parents, prepare an oversized pair of pants that both can wear at once.
If the pair runs wearing a handmade jumbo pair of pants, it’s sure to become a crowd-pleasing highlight of the sports day.
It’s like a pants version of a three-legged race.
Let’s steal the show with laughter and applause as pairs synchronize their steps and run together in one big pair of pants.
