Indoor Games for Small Groups: Exciting Recreational Activities

Hide-and-seek

[At-Home Hide-and-Seek] When we played seriously with our 5-year-old, it turned into a big deal at the end?! Surprisingly fun for parents and kids even in a small home ♪ Hide and Seek

Hide-and-seek is a game where you look for family and friends hiding inside the house.

You can hide in spots where no one will find you, and searching for the hidden players helps develop thinking skills.

Decide on rules such as “Hide while I count from 1 to 10,” and split into a seeker and hiders.

After counting, the seeker looks for those hiding around the house.

You can also add rules like setting a time limit or giving hints when it’s difficult.

Both the seeker and the hiders can enjoy the thrill!

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mutō

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gomudan

Gomdan

Here’s how to play Gomu-dan (rubber band jumping).

First, prepare a flat elastic band, and have two people hold the ends.

Let’s start with a simple jump-over game.

Hold the band at ankle height and jump over it.

Even if your feet catch on the band, it’s a success as long as you make it through to the other side.

Try different ways of jumping, like two-footed jumps, backward two-footed jumps, and cartwheel jumps! You can also raise the height to increase the difficulty and excitement.

Be sure to keep the band pulled tight—if it’s slack, it can be dangerous.

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hiyoko sensei

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Churippu sharippu

tulip sheriff

Hold hands with your friends and play while calling each other’s names! Let me share the idea for “Churippu Sharippu.” There’s nothing to prepare, so just hum the song together and play.

There are moments in the song where you call out names, which makes it great for learning your friends’ names.

It’s especially recommended for classes with new or transferring children! You can adapt the way you play, so it’s an idea that children from infants to preschoolers can enjoy.

Be sure to try it in your activities.

Pon-kotsu Paint with Everyone

“Ponkotsu Paint,” a game where you convey prompts using only circles and straight lines, gets insanely hype lol [Analog Game]

This is a game where you draw the prompt written on a card using only combinations of circles and straight lines to convey it to the guessers.

Since the rules have players reveal their drawings in order from the fewest strokes, focus on drawing concisely with as few strokes as possible.

If you think the key features of the prompt can be captured with few strokes, it’s recommended to explore ways to reduce the stroke count even further.

It could also be interesting to adopt a strategy of making a higher-stroke illustration that serves as a hint if you predict others won’t be able to extract the answer from earlier drawings.

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kappamaki

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beast hunting

[You can also see childcare in action] Ms. Rio’s active play [Big Game Hunting]

An indoor adventure game: the “Beast Hunt Game.” Everyone sings the Beast Hunt song along with the teacher’s lead.

The lyrics say you’re carrying lots of weapons needed for the hunt, so try adding gestures that match the words.

At the end of the song, the teacher will say the name of the beast they found.

Form groups with the same number of people as the number of characters in the name, then sit—if you can do that, you’re all set! For example, if the animal found is “ライオン” (lion) with 4 characters in Japanese, you would make groups of four.

It’s also fun to make it harder by using beasts with more characters as you go.

See how many beasts you can find!

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SAKI

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