Recommended for childcare! Game and activity ideas to liven up a summer festival
The once-a-year summer festival that the kids look forward to is here! At nursery schools and kindergartens, you’ll want to make the special time with friends even more exciting.
Here, we’ll share recommended ideas for games and activities you can do together with the children.
Enjoy the preparation time together, too.
Classic activities like target tossing and yo-yo fishing can be even more fun with a few simple twists.
Choose ideas that fit the size and atmosphere of your school, and make it a summer festival that thrills both children and adults!
Recommended for childcare! Game and performance ideas that will liven up a summer festival (1–10)
Candy scoop
Make your own poi! Here are some ideas for a candy scooping game.
Activity corners like this are always a big hit with kids.
This time, let’s try setting up a handmade candy scooping booth.
You’ll need origami paper, pens, scissors, tape, and so on.
A “poi” is the tool used for goldfish scooping, typically a plastic frame with washi paper attached.
The key to this idea is that you can easily make one with origami paper! It could also be fun to make your own candy bags and create a fully original candy scooping corner.
Paper cup target practice
An exciting game! Here’s an idea for a paper-cup target game.
It’s perfect for a summer festival game corner! It’s easy to make, so give it a try.
You’ll need paper cups, origami paper, scissors, a craft knife, and vinyl tape.
Cut out the bottom of a paper cup with the craft knife, stretch a balloon with its mouth tied over the opening, and tape it in place to make a pop gun.
Prepare rolled-up origami pellets and paper-cup targets decorated with illustrations, and you’ll be ready to enjoy the paper-cup target game!
Curling Bingo Game
https://www.tiktok.com/@motoseisakujo/video/7491625674868821256Make it with paper cups! Here’s an idea for a curling bingo game.
Curling is the sport where you slide heavy stones across an ice rink and try to place them as close as possible to the center of a target area called the house to score points, right? This time, let’s use paper cups as the stones and set the house as a 3×3 grid to enjoy a bingo-style game.
Split into two teams and, like tic-tac-toe, adjust your force and control your direction to line up three in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
string lottery
Let’s create an exciting, heart-pounding corner! Here are some ideas for a string lottery.
Raffles get both kids and adults excited, don’t they? This time, let’s make a festival-style string raffle.
You’ll need cardboard, twine, a screwdriver, a utility knife or scissors, origami or construction paper, masking tape, a bold marker, stickers, toilet paper rolls, clothespins, and prizes.
If you bundle the twine and thread it through the inside of the toilet paper roll in advance, it seems to help prevent the strings from getting tangled!
smart ball
Let’s make a retro game! Here’s an idea for a “smart ball” game.
Smart ball is a type of pinball where you shoot balls into winning holes on the board.
This time, let’s try making a handmade smart ball.
Hammer nails into a board to set up winning and losing zones.
If you add a spinning mechanism, the ball’s movement becomes unpredictable and exciting.
It’s also a good idea to build a small-scale version using materials like cardboard.
Give it a try!
[Can Stacking] How many can you stack?
![[Can Stacking] How many can you stack?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YlXqYKrfPJ4/sddefault.jpg)
Although the can-stacking game looks simple, it’s surprisingly challenging, so both kids and adults get excited.
The key preparations are to gather plenty of cans and cover the rims and edges with vinyl tape or construction paper to prevent cuts.
The winner is whoever stacks the most cans, so the kids get really serious! They’ll likely come up with all sorts of stacking techniques.
Another fun point is that store-bought cans vary slightly in size depending on the beverage they originally held.
Let’s cheer on the kids as they give it their all.
Watermelon splitting
https://www.tiktok.com/@hoikushi_bank/video/7257835514336644360It’s great that you can play it over and over! Here’s an idea for a watermelon-splitting game.
Many people have probably experienced traditional watermelon splitting at the beach, river, or a barbecue in summer.
This time, let’s enjoy a pretend version using milk cartons.
What you’ll need: milk cartons, scissors, paper plates, thumbtacks, newspaper, permanent markers, colored construction paper, glue or double-sided tape, and so on.
It’s a wonderful idea that will let children feel a sense of achievement and fulfillment—like “I did it!” Be sure to give it a try.