Lovely childcare

[Nursery/Kindergarten] Make Your Sports Day a Hit! A Collection of Fun Beanbag Toss Variations

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.

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.

[Nursery/Kindergarten] Make Sports Day Exciting! A Collection of Beanbag Toss Variations (11–20)

Tamaire with moving targets

Here’s a fun beanbag toss with a moving target that goes up and down.

Gather a trash bag, a hula hoop, and vinyl tape to make it.

Tape the trash bag onto the hula hoop.

Then attach vinyl tape to the hula hoop and hang it from a curtain rail.

After that, toss balls so they go through the hula hoop.

If an adult pulls on the vinyl tape to change the height or move it during play, it will get even more exciting! If you prepare several targets and use a large hall, many people can enjoy it together.

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Balloon Tunnel Ball Toss

https://www.tiktok.com/@nana_asobi/video/7505350561341000967

Let me introduce a colorful, spinning Balloon Tunnel Ball Toss.

Inflate the balloons and stick them together with double-sided tape to form a ring.

If you blow a hair dryer from below, the balloons will float in the air and spin around.

Try tossing balls through the gaps between the balloons and have fun! This might be perfect for small sports festivals or events held in limited spaces.

Since a hair dryer is used, please operate it under adult supervision and take care to prevent any risk of burns for children.

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Cleanup beanbag toss

Wanpaku-san Sports Day ~ Ball Toss Competition (Ball Cleanup Competition?)

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.

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Indoor beanbag toss

Tamaire (using a vinyl umbrella and badminton shuttlecocks) [indoor play]

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.

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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.

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Moving Tamaire

Reiwa 3 (2021) Matsuyama Minami High School Sports Day: “Running Tamaire (Ball Toss)”

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.

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[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.

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Hoshino Takashi

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