Fun summer activities for kids: ideas you’ll want to try in childcare and at home

Tanabata Play

Part 1: Making Tanabata Decorations & Tanabata Games [Ages 3–5] | Minami Senrioka Yui-en [Nursery/Kindergarten Event]

Here are some exciting Tanabata activities.

In the Tanabata relay, where you work together to carry summer vegetables and race to the goal, the key is to match your pace with your friends and cheer each other on so you don’t drop the veggies.

For the star hunt, children attach magnets to the stars they made, then find and fish them up.

Let’s decorate the Milky Way with the sparkly stars we find.

Hop over obstacles that represent the Milky Way, make little bamboo-leaf boats, and race to the finish! Through these games, kids just might learn about Tanabata in a fun way.

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Tanabata Eurhythmics

[July Eurhythmics 🎵 Tanabata Rhythm Play ☆彡] For ages 3–5 ✨ Let’s play with the rhythms of Tanabata! ✨ Parent-child eurhythmics, also usable in childcare settings

Here’s a Tanabata-themed eurhythmics activity you can enjoy even in a limited space.

Walk along to the Tanabata song while preparing hula hoops, scarves, bells, and colored construction paper.

Along the way, move your body freely to the music and gently sway the scarves to enjoy the eurhythmics.

By changing the size of the colored paper, children can visually enjoy the differences in stiffness and also vary their movements, which may make the activity more engaging.

Adding castanets or maracas is also recommended.

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Summer Memory Pretend Play

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

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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Evening Cool-Off Gathering and Bon Odori

[Bon Odori] Pokémon Ondo - FY Reiwa 5 Evening Cool-off Party - Chidori Nursery School: Chiba City Licensed Nursery School #BonOdori #PokemonOndo #NurserySchool #dance

Speaking of summer, it’s got to be Bon Odori! You often see it at summer festivals, right? So how about hosting an evening cool-off event in hot July and trying Bon Odori with the kids? Put on cute yukata, hold fans in your hands, and dance like it’s a fun routine.

There are surprisingly many Bon Odori songs for children, including ones themed around popular characters.

If you prepare cold drinks and snacks, it’ll become one of your wonderful summer memories.

And starting the event in the evening might feel fresh and exciting for the kids, too.

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Playing aquarium

[Ages 0–2] “Let’s Play Aquarium”

Here’s a fun pretend-aquarium activity that lets you feel cool during the hot and humid days of July.

Use blue plastic bags as a stand-in for the ocean and make your fish swim through it.

Create your favorite sea creatures—like whales, fish, starfish, and jellyfish—and you’ll encounter all kinds of ocean life.

If you also hang plastic bags from the ceiling and stick the sea creatures on them, the whole space will feel like an aquarium.

The best part is that people of any age can enjoy it!

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