Lovely childcare

Recommended for childcare! Game and activity ideas to liven up a summer festival

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.
Nursery Teacher Mom Writertsukada moe
After working for five years at an after-school childcare club and three years at a nursery school, I began working as a freelance writer. I’m a mother of two children. Inspired by playing the flute in the school wind ensemble in elementary school, I joined a jazz club at university. I’ve also incorporated ukulele and piano performance into childcare. Playing, laughing, feeling sad, feeling frustrated—through all kinds of experiences, I want children to grow.

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 activity ideas that liven up summer festivals (21–30)

Summer Shop

@mammybear_
We had so much fun at our pretend summer festival, playing all kinds of games and running little shops!Summer Memories Summer Festival Pretend Play #Nursery school
♬ Kawaii! ♡⋆*॰ Electro Pop!(1439948) – SK MUSIC

Here are some ideas for a summer-themed pretend shop that kids can enjoy indoors.

Have the children wear happi coats or put on masks of their favorite characters to join in.

The shop themes are up to you.

You could set up a seashell hunt using strips of cellophane tape that evoke the summer ocean, a quiz where kids guess sea creature silhouettes, or festival-style stalls like shaved ice and yo-yo fishing—so many fun ideas! Try transforming the usual classroom atmosphere completely and prepare lots of wonderful little shops.

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Goldfish Scooping: Fishing Corner

[Summer Festival at Home] Easy and Fun! Fishing Game [Daycare/Kindergarten]

Goldfish Scooping: Fishing Corner

At festivals, the goldfish scooping booth is where children’s eyes light up.

But many families can’t keep real goldfish at home.

So, for your preschool’s summer festival, let’s create a fishing corner where kids can enjoy the feel of goldfish scooping.

If you make the fish using large envelopes or bags, they’ll be easy for children to catch.

Have the kids draw the fish’s eyes, fins, and scales together so they can enjoy making unique goldfish.

For the inside of the fish, stuff them with scrap paper—eco-friendly and worry-free.

It’ll be great if the children can catch lots of fish and take them home!

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Goldfish scooping made with construction paper

[WakuWaku-san’s Craft Workshop] Make an easy “Goldfish Scooping” game and have fun playing it!

Goldfish scooping made with construction paper

Let’s make it with simple steps! Here are some ideas for making a goldfish scooping game out of construction paper.

Wouldn’t it be fun to recreate the goldfish scooping you see at festivals and food stalls at your preschool or at home? This time, let’s try making a goldfish scooping game using construction paper and paper plates.

You’ll need long, thin strips of colored construction paper, paper plates, a stapler, scissors, cellophane tape, glue, and stickers.

Make the goldfish out of colored paper and the poi (scooping paddle) out of paper plates.

Even without water, putting them in something like a kiddie pool should create the right atmosphere.

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Summer Memory Pretend Play

[For 2-year-olds] Summer memory pretend play! Pretend BBQ, pretend fishing, pretend bug catching

Summer Memory Pretend Play

Here are some pretend-play ideas for making summer memories indoors during the hot season.

Try handmade barbecues, bug-hunting searches, and goldfish scooping—create them together with the kids and have fun.

For the barbecue, talk with the children about what ingredients they want to make, then create them together.

For the bug-hunting search, the key is to think about where to stick photos or illustrations of insects at the children’s eye level and get creative with placement.

For goldfish scooping, rescue origami fish carefully so they don’t fall.

Competing to see how many you can catch also sounds fun! These are great activities for enjoying play indoors even on hot summer days.

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Summer festival pretend play

Introduction to Summer Festival Play for Ages 1–5 | Torikai Higashi Yūiku-en [Nursery/Kindergarten Event]

Summer festival pretend play

I think many teachers are planning pretend summer festivals in July.

There are so many fun booths: a beanbag toss shop, a mask shop, a doll scooping game, and an agar play shop where kids can enjoy sensory play.

Children take turns as shopkeepers, and they can collect stamps as they visit each booth—guaranteed to get them excited by the special festival atmosphere.

It’s also a great chance to learn social skills through the shopkeeper experience.

Finish off with shaved ice to really soak up the festival mood! Adding a French fries stand or yo-yo fishing is also recommended.

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Candy fishing

Fishing game [Candy fishing] I made a fishing rod with blocks ♪ I wonder if I can catch a lot!?

Candy fishing

A fishing game where you can catch candy will be a hugely popular corner for kids.

For preparation, attach S-hooks to the fishing rods and clip paper clips onto the candy.

Put the candy in a spacious container like a kiddie pool, and then just try to catch your target treat! You can also prepare rods with different difficulty levels to match different ages.

It’s surprisingly hard to snag the candy you’re aiming for, so it’s sure to get everyone excited! Enjoy the game together with lots of lively chatter.

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lottery; drawing lots; raffle

[Handmade] Easy for anyone to make! How to create an Ichiban Kuji!! #IchibanKuji #Handmade #Crafts

lottery; drawing lots; raffle

Raffles are also games that kids can enjoy casually.

Simply pulling a folded piece of construction paper can be exciting, but if you have time, why not make a raffle modeled after Ichiban Kuji? Prepare two sheets of construction paper in the size of the tickets; cut slits into one sheet so the pieces can be peeled open.

Since this involves fine work with a craft knife, an adult should handle it.

It might be a good idea to have the children take charge of preparing the prizes.

Let’s liven up the summer festival with a raffle that makes everyone excited to see what they’ll win.

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