Lovely childcare

For the daycare’s sports day! Fun and unique event ideas

9 years of experience as a nursery school teacherShibata Risa
I am an active nursery school teacher with 9 years of experience. After graduating from university, I worked at a daycare center. The time I spent happily with children—playing piano, singing songs, and doing finger-play—are priceless memories to me. Currently, while raising three children of my own, I work at an after-school day service, engaging with children and providing individualized developmental support. Drawing on my diverse experiences as a childcare worker and as a mother, I hope to express and convey my thoughts through writing.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

The sports day held every year at nursery schools and kindergartens.

It’s an event that not only the children, but also their parents look forward to.

Many teachers are probably thinking, “We want to make it a fun sports day that gets both participants and cheerleaders excited!” So this time, we’ve gathered ideas for fun events that are perfect for sports day.

From dynamic and unique activities you can only do at sports day, like rolling giant balls or breaking bell balloons, to ones that cleverly incorporate classic folktales and pretend play that children love—there are plenty of ideas for events that curious kids will adore and join with sparkling eyes! Use these as inspiration to plan a sports day full of humor that’s a little different from the usual.

For the daycare sports day! Fun and unique event ideas (81–90)

[Parent-Child Event] Gather, Little Sushi!

My daughter’s daycare sports day: “Gather, Little Sushi!”

[Parent-Child Event] Gather, Little Sushi!

This is a parent-child competition themed around sushi that kids love.

At the start, the child flips a card that shows a type of sushi topping.

They find the matching topping attached with hook-and-loop fasteners to a cardboard base and stick it on the child’s back.

The parent then carries the child on their back: the adult is the rice (shari) and the child is the topping (neta), making a “sushi,” and they run together.

Next, the child grabs a hanging piece of wasabi, goes around the set-up cones, and finishes by getting into the plate at the goal.

It’s also fun to plan your target topping together before starting—asking things like, “Which topping do you want?” or “Where’s the tuna?”

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[Parent-Child Event] Fishing Game

5 parent-child activities we want to do at kindergarten and nursery school sports days

[Parent-Child Event] Fishing Game

A parent-child event to build strength at the sports day: the Fishing Game.

In this game, the parent is the angler and the child plays the fish.

First, prepare a long towel and tie a knot at one end.

Have your child lie down, pinch the knot between their feet, and firmly hold the remaining length of the towel with both hands.

Once you’re set, the parent (the angler) pulls on the towel the child is holding and drags them along.

Be careful—if either of you loses your grip on the towel, you’ll come apart! If you’re doing this as a sports day event, we recommend a team relay format.

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Funny Relay

A recreation activity that people from ages 3 to seniors can enjoy. It’s also a great hit as a sports day event.

Funny Relay

How about trying a fun relay that’s a little different from a regular one? All you need are rings big enough for your child to fit both feet inside—hula hoops work too.

Prepare about three of them.

Line up the three rings in a row from the starting line.

Walk forward across them, and when you run out of rings, pick up the one behind you and place it in front to make a path.

Keep repeating this to reach the goal.

It’s fine to play alone, or in pairs as a team! Instead of rings, you could also use seat cushions or sheets of newspaper large enough for your child to stand on.

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playing horsey

Horsey play & balloon play

playing horsey

Incorporating Olympic equestrian events into a school sports day’s parent–child activities might seem difficult, but if the parent gets down on all fours as the “horse” and the child rides on their back, it instantly transforms into a proper equestrian event! You can adjust the difficulty by adding various obstacles along the course.

If you do it outdoors, using mats can enhance safety and reduce strain on the parent’s knees.

Wearing a horse mask or having the child wear a helmet can make it feel more realistic and safer as well.

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My First Errand

Tomobe Kindergarten Sports Day Event Descriptions No. 7 & 8: “My First Errand” and “Shopping as a Pair”

My First Errand

In the “First Errand” event, children run an errand as part of the activity.

Place a variety of foods along the course and have each child pick one they like.

Then they deliver it to the house that’s the same color as the food to reach the goal.

Make the foods and houses using materials like cardboard, newspaper, and construction paper.

Through the event, let parents watch their children successfully complete their errand and feel their growth.

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Hula hoop relay

Hula hoop relay

Hula hoop relay

This is a relay where two people run together inside a hula hoop.

Mark the start line and the turnaround point, divide into several teams, and at the starting signal, each team’s first pair runs.

They go around the turnaround point, return to the start, and pass the hula hoop to the next pair.

The team whose last pair gets back to the start first wins! If you don’t match your speeds, you might lose balance and fall, so go at the fastest pace you can manage together.

At the turnaround point, it helps to have the person on the inside act as the pivot to turn smoothly!

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For the preschool sports day! Funny & unique event ideas (91–100)

Perfect for water sports

Tomobe Kindergarten Sports Day Event Description No. 4 “Go! Go! Summer”

Perfect for water sports

Let me introduce a fun swimming game that uses swim rings.

Have the children wear swim caps and wait with their bodies through the swim ring.

At the start signal, they run and dive through a “sea” made of streamer tape! On the other side, fish are waiting—have them set down the swim ring and go fishing for a fish.

Once they catch one, they run to the finish line holding their fish! For a parents’ event, you can have the parent carry the child while the child pretends to swim, or make the fish smaller for the parents’ fishing part to increase the difficulty and excitement.

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