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Wall decoration ideas recommended for sports day at nursery schools and kindergartens

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
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.

Children eagerly look forward to the once-a-year sports day at their nursery or kindergarten.

They can’t wait to show their cool, confident selves to their parents.

To help boost their excitement even more, here are some wall decoration ideas for sports day.

From decorations inspired by ball-toss games and tug-of-war to motifs like international flags and gold medals, there are plenty of ideas.

It’s also a great idea to make the decorations together with the children while imagining the big day.

Decorate the room beautifully to create a fun atmosphere that builds the children’s motivation and excitement!

Recommended Sports Day wall decoration ideas for daycare centers and kindergartens (21–30)

red-and-white cap

Red-and-white caps have always been a timeless symbol of sports and physical education.

Why not incorporate them as wall decorations for your sports day? Since people often create decorations featuring children enjoying the event, adding red-and-white caps to those designs could be a great touch.

Even if you don’t include people, items like relay batons and sports day flags, along with the caps, instantly convey “It’s sports day!” Not only children but also parents will likely recall memories and stories about those caps.

Sharing those nostalgic stories can be a lot of fun, too.

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cavalry battle

Recently, due to safety concerns and other considerations, cavalry battles have become less common, but they’re still a quintessential sports day event.

Three people link arms to form the “horse,” with one person riding as the “rider” on top, and teams compete by trying to snatch the opponent’s hat or headband.

Rules vary—there may be time limits, victories decided by the last team remaining, or losses for falling off.

If you turn this once-iconic centerpiece of school sports days into a wall decoration, you can instantly create a lively display that captures the spirit of the event.

Instead of enjoying it as a competition, expressing it on a wall is also recommended.

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Recommended sports day wall decoration ideas for daycare centers and kindergartens (31–40)

bento (boxed lunch)

[Wall Decorations] Great for crafts too! Your very own rice-ball bento is ready!

bento (boxed lunch)

Many nursery schools and kindergartens that usually serve school lunches at noon have students bring packed lunches for sports day.

For some children, the bento might even be the highlight of the event! So, how about adding bentos to your wall decorations? Use small pieces of construction paper to make items like ham, corn, and green peas.

Cut white construction paper into triangles to represent rice balls (onigiri), then glue finely cut colored paper on top as the fillings.

It’s a great way to use up leftover scraps of colored paper, too.

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medal

[High-Quality Revised Edition] How to Fold a Gold Medal - Origami [Tokyo Olympics]

medal

Many of you probably remember how happy you felt as a child when you received a medal at your kindergarten or nursery school sports day.

Preparing medals for the children is great, of course, but turning them into wall decorations is also highly recommended.

Simply cutting out circular shapes already looks striking, but if you want something more festive, try making them with origami like in this video.

Gold and silver paper can be pricey, and the folding process can be quite labor-intensive, so these might work well as accents alongside other wall decorations.

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ball toss (traditional Japanese beanbag/ball-throwing game)

September 'Sports Day' wall display

ball toss (traditional Japanese beanbag/ball-throwing game)

If you want to create a lively, bustling atmosphere, beanbag-toss wall decorations are also recommended.

Since beanbag toss is typically played with a large group, some people might think making the wall decorations will require a lot of work.

It’s true you won’t be making just a single character.

However, if you prepare about three patterns, you can easily mass-produce the rest by making copies or using the same templates.

Depending on the poses, you can also reuse them for other wall decorations, so definitely give this technique a try.

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In conclusion

We’ve rounded up a bunch of recommended wall decoration ideas for sports day season. They range from items related to events like footraces and ball tosses to motifs that evoke “sports day,” such as international flags, award podiums, and lunchboxes. Try combining the ideas introduced in this article to create wonderful wall decorations.