![[Nursery Schools & Kindergartens] Liven Up Setsubun! Entertainment Ideas](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/B7EAv05K1YE/maxresdefault.webp)
[Nursery Schools & Kindergartens] Liven Up Setsubun! Entertainment Ideas
As Setsubun approaches, it’s the time when nursery schools and kindergartens start thinking about what performances to put on.
There are many ideas to liven up a Setsubun assembly, such as plays, dances, and finger plays that children can get absorbed in.
It’s also fun in ways unique to this season—cheers erupt when the ogres appear, and everyone moves their bodies to the bean-throwing song.
Here, we’ve gathered ideas for performances perfect for Setsubun events at nursery schools.
Please use them as a reference to make your Setsubun assembly full of children’s smiles!
[Nursery & Kindergarten] Setsubun Gets Exciting! Performance Ideas (1–10)
Panel Theater: “Let’s Defeat the Oni in Our Hearts”
This is a panel theater that also explains the origins of Setsubun! Why do we throw beans? What is “holly and sardines” for? It thoroughly answers those pure questions children have.
As the story unfolds, characters like the “Lazy Ogre,” “Grumpy Ogre,” and “Crybaby Ogre,” who live in the characters’ hearts, appear.
Let’s drive these ogres away one by one by throwing beans.
And after driving out the ogres, we invite in good fortune! You could also have the children think about what kind of ogres might live inside themselves.
Theater “Bikkuri Mamemaki”
This is “Surprise Bean-Throwing,” performed with paper cups decorated with illustrations.
The characters are Kitty-chan and Doggy-kun.
They were smiling happily, but a Crybaby Ogre and an Angry Ogre slipped inside their bodies! Kitty-chan starts to cry, and Doggy-kun gets angry—it’s a big problem.
Let’s scatter beans to drive out the ogres inside them! On each paper cup, attach two illustrations on the sides: one with a smiling face and one with the transformed face.
When you want to switch the expression, simply rotate the paper cup.
Demon Parent and Child
https://www.tiktok.com/@soiflhoiku/video/7463022728614874375Speaking of oni (ogres), they remind us of the thunder god, don’t they? In this hand play, a child oni, a father oni, and a mother oni appear.
Use both index fingers to make horns on top of your head, and use your hands and arms to represent the thunder god.
When the rumbling thunder starts, rotate both fists in front of your chest, and when it flashes, quickly open both hands in front of your face.
The basic movements are the same for all the oni, so change your tone and volume depending on the oni you’re playing.
Try making the child oni’s movements small and the father oni’s movements big.
Attention childcare workers! How to play the role of an ogre
https://www.tiktok.com/@nexus_official5/video/7327245954871053569If you’re going to do a full-on bean-throwing for Setsubun, you can’t go without an oni, right? At daycares and kindergartens, teachers may even dress up as an oni and appear in front of the children.
Here are some easy ideas to turn yourself into an oni! First, wear a matching tracksuit in the same color as an oni’s skin.
Then put on an oni mask, and top it with an afro wig with horns.
Pull tiger-print shorts over your tracksuit pants, and finish the look with black gloves and long black room socks.
You’re all set!
Hand play ideas perfect for Setsubun
https://www.tiktok.com/@nexus_official5/video/7457115397142170898It’s not about an oni itself, but a fingerplay song themed around oni horns.
You raise both index fingers and move your hands up and down to the lyrics that go “tsuno tsuno tsuno~.” Then you show one horn… two horns… by placing your index fingers on top of your head to represent horns, and you strike poses or change your facial expression to match the “◯◯ horns” part.
For example, for “stretching horns,” you fling both index fingers upward above your head, and for “sleeping horns,” you close your eyes.
Have fun thinking with the children about what kinds of horns you can express.
Sketchbook Theater: “Let’s Do Bean-Throwing!”
I want to briefly explain what Setsubun is! This sketchbook theater is perfect for that.
Setsubun is performed with wishes for everyone’s health.
We drive away oni—symbols of evil spirits—by throwing roasted soybeans, and we eat our age plus one bean.
This sketchbook theater conveys these important Setsubun customs with gentle illustrations and a simple story.
In the bean-throwing scene, flipping the paper shows the beans moving.
A gentle Setsubun for infants
This is a sketchbook theater featuring Usako-chan the crybaby and Miketa-kun the hothead.
If you look closely at the two of them, you’ll notice ogres hiding there.
Usako-chan has a Crybaby Ogre, and Miketa-kun has a Hothead Ogre hiding inside.
Now, let’s all throw beans together and drive the ogres away! Once the ogres are gone, both of them are smiling, aren’t they? When you realize there are ogres, try asking the children once, “What do you think we should do?” I’m sure you’ll hear all sorts of interesting solutions.