Fun summer activities for kids: ideas you’ll want to try in childcare and at home
In the hot summer, children spend more time indoors both at daycare and at home.
For those wondering, “What can we play indoors with the kids?”, here are some perfect summer activities.
Games using water and ice are especially popular this season.
Cool sensations and hands-on activities are exciting for children.
It’s also a great experience to help them feel connected to nature or to incorporate traditional summer events—these memories really stay with kids.
Try these ideas at home, in daycare, or in kindergarten.
Through summertime activities, let’s help children create lots of fun memories!
- [Nursery/Kindergarten] Water play ideas that kids will love
- Let’s enjoy summer-only fun! Cool and refreshing play ideas
- Handkerchief and Towel Play! A Collection of Fun Play Ideas
- [Nursery/Daycare] Recommended for Summer Festivals! A Collection of DIY Game Ideas
- Perfect for summer: Fun at the pool and water spots! Water play games
- Fun activities with newspaper! Recreation games kids will love
- [Childcare] Fun craft ideas and craft activities perfect for summer
- [Childcare] Recommended for summer and winter! Ice play ideas
- [Childcare] August activities: sensory play to enjoy summer, crafts, songs, and hand play (fingerplay), etc.
- [Childcare] Perfect for June! Indoor play ideas to incorporate into childcare
- [Childcare] Summer wall display ideas: fun summer craft activities
- Childcare: Ideas for activities to enjoy in July
- [Childcare] A roundup of summer craft ideas to enjoy with 2-year-olds
Fun summer activities for kids: ideas you’ll want to try at preschool and at home (21–30)
Underwater Coin Drop Game
How about trying the “Underwater Coin Drop Game” you often see at summer festivals? Fill a large fish tank with water and sink a cup inside it.
Then drop coins from above, aiming to get them into the cup.
It sounds easy, but the coins flutter around in the water and rarely go in.
It’s so frustrating that you end up trying over and over again.
Use light coins like 1-yen pieces.
If you don’t have a fish tank, you can probably find a substitute at a 100-yen shop, so give it a look!
Snow play in midsummer
In the scorching summer, we can’t help but miss the cold winter snow, right? So, let’s give kids the gift of snow in the middle of summer! With a kit called “Gelli Snow,” you can touch snow anytime, anywhere—let’s play in the snow in midsummer! All you need besides the kit is water.
If you chill the water well, it feels even more like real snow! Just mix these two and your snow is ready.
It’s made to be safe for people and the environment, so you can play with peace of mind.
Let’s enjoy cool, comfortable playtime with midsummer snow!
Toys at 100-yen stores that promote development
First is the “Blow-Up Basket.” Playing blowing games engages the muscles around the mouth and stimulates the abdominal muscles.
Tracking the ball with the eyes also helps practice eye control.
Next, the “Takoyaki” toy is perfect for developing fine motor skills.
It can also lead into pretend play.
Lastly, there are the “Soft Color Blocks.” They’re simple, safe, and highly versatile—the key points.
They’re great for activities like gripping and pinching.
All of these toys are available at 100-yen shops, so if you see them, be sure to give them a try!
Handmade triangle puzzle
This is an indoor activity where you use colorful construction paper to make triangles of various sizes and combine them to complete pictures and shapes.
Children can work at their own pace and freely, which helps them enjoyably develop concentration, spatial awareness, and creativity.
Because there are few chances to fail and it’s easy to experience success, it’s also effective for boosting self-esteem.
The materials are simple and you can start right away, which is a big plus.
With a little ingenuity, kids can create their favorite animals, vehicles, or even story worlds—so adults, too, should dive in and enjoy it together!
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.
Pool play
When it comes to classic summertime recreation, you can’t beat playing in the pool! Kids love being active, so just taking them to a pool will have them excited all day long.
Compared to rivers or the ocean, pools tend to have fewer water-related accidents, so you can feel a bit more at ease.
Of course, you still need to be careful—make sure you never take your eyes off them.
flowing somen (nagashi-somen)
In summer it’s often too hot to feel like eating, but many people find they can still manage somen noodles because they go down so smoothly.
With recent summers being extremely hot, even kids can suffer from heat fatigue, so let’s build stamina while having fun with nagashi-somen.
Eating together in a lively atmosphere is sure to lift your spirits and restore your energy.