[Childcare] Recommended for Entrance Ceremonies! A Collection of Fun Performance Ideas
As the season of cute cherry blossoms arrives, it’s finally time for the entrance ceremony.
Children come to the ceremony with all sorts of feelings—excitement and nervousness, and sometimes a little anxiety.
We want to create a warm, wonderful ceremony that supports those feelings and conveys how fun the kindergarten is.
In this article, we’ll introduce fun performance ideas recommended for the entrance ceremony.
We’ve gathered ideas for songs, dances, paper puppet shows, and short plays—performances from teachers and current students that share the gentle message, “It’s okay” and “Let’s have fun every day.”
We hope you find them helpful.
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[Childcare] Recommended for Entrance Ceremony! A Collection of Fun Performance Ideas (21–30)
Sketchbook Theater
The entrance ceremony comes with a mix of excitement and nerves: while everyone is eager for what’s about to begin, both children and their guardians often feel anxious because it’s all new.
That’s why I recommend a sketchbook theater for teachers! By using a sketchbook, you can introduce the kindergarten or nursery school in a way that feels like enjoying a picture-story show.
You can make items like a soccer ball, crayons, scissors, or tulips from the flowerbed out of construction paper, then stick them onto and peel them off the sketchbook as you go—making it easy to understand and visually fun for the children.
Hand play ‘Musunde Hiraite’
“Musunde Hiraite” is one of the popular and simple hand-play songs.
It’s been sung for many years, so people of all ages can enjoy it.
The motions are easy, and it’s fun just to watch.
Children who already know it—and even those who don’t—can have a great time together.
Give it a try!
Hand play ‘The Flower Smiled’
How about enjoying a hand-play activity with the children’s song “Ohanaga Waratta,” which is perfect for spring entrance ceremonies? You can make flowers with your hands and open them with a pop—it’s a very simple and cute choreography.
Playing it together with children who may be nervous in a new place, or having teachers perform it, could help ease some of that tension.
This song might also convey that kindergarten or nursery school is a fun place.
Please consider it as a performance idea.
Puppet show board “Cute Hide-and-Seek”
“Kawaii Kakurenbo” is a fairly minor paper puppet theater piece, so I imagine many people don’t know it.
As the name suggests, “Kawaii Kakurenbo” is a paper puppet show with the theme of hide-and-seek.
Just by watching, you can sort of understand the rules of the game.
It’s a relatively short story, so it’s easy to perform—that’s a nice advantage.
Dance with everyone
A dance performed by older kids who already attend the kindergarten or nursery brightens up the atmosphere of the entrance ceremony.
In a setting where everyone except them is an adult, even very young children can get tense due to shyness or wariness.
But seeing slightly older children like themselves dancing can help ease that tension.
By dancing together to the music, they can feel, “This isn’t a scary place—it’s a fun place,” which makes it perfect for an entrance ceremony that marks the start of a new chapter.
It’s an activity that builds excitement and anticipation for the children who are about to enroll.
Introduction to the kindergarten’s events from current pupils
It’s recommended to have all the current preschoolers introduce the event together, as it makes it easier for prospective students and their guardians to feel how fun the school’s activities are.
Children who might get nervous presenting alone can join in happily without feeling shy when they’re with everyone.
It’s also easier for the audience to listen, so this approach is recommended.
Fingerplay ‘It’s Fun’
Hand play activities performed by current preschoolers are also recommended.
For children who are about to enroll, it helps them easily imagine themselves as preschoolers, making it a great activity from that perspective as well.
After the current preschoolers put on their performance, it might be nice to try the hand play together with the incoming children.