[Nursery/Kindergarten] Make Your Sports Day a Hit! A Collection of Fun Beanbag Toss Variations
Tamaire (ball toss) is a classic sports day event enjoyed at daycare centers and kindergartens.
By adding a few twists, you can spark new discoveries and excitement.
Here, we’ll introduce a variety of fun variations that will bring smiles to children’s faces, such as a partnered ball toss using a furoshiki cloth and a music-based ball toss that incorporates background music.
These events highlight teamwork and creativity, making sports day even more enjoyable! All of the activities can be adapted to suit your class’s atmosphere, so feel free to use these ideas as a reference and tailor them to your needs.
- [Dancing Tamaire] A fun song for the beanbag-toss game, perfect for sports day
- Fun Parent-Child Games! A Collection of Ideas to Liven Up Your Nursery School Sports Day
- A toddler sports day that gets everyone excited! A collection of fun parent-child game ideas
- Perfect for Sports Day! Obstacle Course Ideas Recommended for 2-Year-Olds
- [Get Fired Up!] Classic Sports Day Events: Ideas for Popular Races and Games
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- Exciting for 4-year-olds! A collection of sports day event ideas for preschoolers (middle class)
- [For Preschoolers] Get Fired Up at the Sports Day! Fun Parent-Child Activity Ideas That Everyone Will Enjoy
- Indoor Games for Small Groups: Exciting Recreational Activities
- [Unique] Fun sports day events that both kids and adults can enjoy
- Parent–child interactive play. Fun activities popular in childcare settings and at parent–child observation days.
- [Senior Class Events] A collection of game ideas to liven up a sports day for 5-year-olds
- [Nursery/Daycare] Recommended for Summer Festivals! A Collection of DIY Game Ideas
[Nursery/Kindergarten] Make Sports Day Exciting! A Collection of Beanbag Toss Variations (11–20)
Ping-pong ball toss game
Here’s a ping-pong ball toss game you can enjoy even at an indoor mini sports festival.
It’s a fun activity that really livens things up.
Fix a clothespin to a pair of chopsticks, attach them together, then glue a bottle cap to the front.
Set a ping-pong ball in place and try to shoot it into a goal made from a paper cup.
Count how many balls go in—the person with the most wins.
This ping-pong ball toss lets you enjoy that sports-day feeling even in a limited indoor space.
Give it a try!
Jama-Jama Ball Toss
A variation on the traditional tamaire game, where teams normally compete by tossing as many balls as possible into their own basket, but with added interference from the opposing team.
One member from each team stands around the opponent’s basket holding a stick or a plate to swat away balls and disrupt their attempts to score.
Because it’s not just about blindly aiming for the basket and you have to watch the opponent’s moves and time your throws, the game becomes more strategic.
It’s a great twist on a school sports day classic—perfect for when kids get bored—one that children and adults alike can enjoy.
Moving Tamaire
Putting balls into a basket carried by a person is a moving ball-toss game.
As you’d expect, since the target can run around, it’s harder than the version with a stationary basket.
But it really depends on how the basket carrier plays it.
Especially at preschool or kindergarten sports days, there’s also the reverse approach of moving closer so it’s easier for the kids to score.
That way, even little ones who can’t throw far can enjoy it.
Letting the children take turns as the basket carrier also sounds like it would be exciting and fun.
ball toss (traditional Japanese beanbag/ball-throwing game)
Tamaire is a game where teams such as the Red Team and White Team compete to see how many balls they can throw into a distant basket within a time limit.
It’s a classic event at sports festivals—simple yet exciting.
When incorporating it into a kindergarten sports day, it’s recommended to make adjustments like lowering the basket height.
Bringing the baskets closer to the children also makes it easier for the balls to go in.
Using fast-paced classical music or anime songs as background music is another great way to boost the excitement of the event.
Cleanup beanbag toss
A cleanup ball-carrying game where you compete to see who can tidy up scattered balls around the room the fastest.
In a regular ball-toss game you throw balls into a basket, but in this version you carry the balls directly to a box or net.
Because the rule is to place the balls without throwing them, even one-year-olds can participate safely.
Prepare colorful balls in various sizes, from small to large.
If you’re using it as a parent–child event, it’s also fun to cooperate in carrying a big, lightweight ball.
You can decide the winner by how many each team tidies up, making it a great way to liven up a sports day as a competitive event.
Indoor beanbag toss
Speaking of tamaire (ball toss), it’s a classic event at school sports days, right? Let’s try enjoying that ball toss game indoors! Have one person act as the “basket” by holding an umbrella or a cardboard box above their head.
Then use light balls, beanbags, or other soft items that won’t cause any harm if they hit something as the “balls.” Set a time limit and compete to see how many balls you can get in.
[Nursery/Kindergarten] Make Your Sports Day a Hit! A Collection of Beanbag Toss Variations (21–30)
Pretend-to-sleep ball toss
Also called “sleeping tamaire,” this is a variation on the popular “dancing tamaire” where participants move according to the background music.
It starts as a standard beanbag toss, then when the music changes everyone pretends to sleep; when it changes again, they go back to tossing, repeating this cycle.
The stark contrast between sudden stillness after energetic movement and then bursting back into action highlights the unique stamina and excitement of children.
It’s a visually delightful event, with their determined switch-ups adding an extra dose of cuteness.