Word games you can enjoy with your kids. Let’s learn through play with words!

Pun Quiz

[Quiz & Riddles] Pun Quiz / Take on the challenge with Mom! Quiz and riddle videos that 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds will love

It’s like a riddle and really fun! Here are some ideas for pun quizzes.

By using puns, you can create laughter while learning words—a unique idea.

For example, for the question “What card game is a tiger playing?” the answer would be “toranpu” (trump), a play on words in Japanese.

Try coming up with answers that work like puns.

Children will develop creativity by twisting words to produce funny answers.

It’s something you can enjoy with family and friends while experiencing the fun of wordplay, and it helps build vocabulary and a sense of humor too! Let’s think up questions together, from easy to a bit challenging, and find the answers while laughing.

Author intraoperative

The tongue twister “chosakusha shujutsu-chu” (author undergoing surgery) gives off a somewhat serious vibe.

It makes you wonder what happened to the author, doesn’t it? This tongue twister is simply composed of hard-to-say words lined up in a row.

However, it’s trickier than it looks, so be careful.

In particular, the “shujutsu” part is where many people stumble.

Also, because it’s short, you keep running into the tricky spots as you repeat it, which is one reason it’s so difficult.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

yamamoto

Report a problem

big-game hunting

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

Mōjūgari is very simple: at the end of the chant “Let’s go hunting for wild beasts,” the teacher says the name of an animal, food, or something similar.

Then the children form groups with as many people as the number of syllables in that word.

For example, if the teacher says “raion” (lion), the children form groups of four.

Before forming groups, there’s also a part where everyone has fun together—teacher and children do the chant with choreography while calling out various names.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

Ryo

Report a problem

greengrocer’s shop

Greengrocer Shop | A Preschool Teacher Demonstrates a Recommended Fingerplay Song Before Lunch

Let’s explore lots of words through a fun, rhythmic hand game.

The teacher asks about the names of various things in time with a song, and the children quickly answer “Yes, it is” or “No, it isn’t” while imagining whether each item would be found at a greengrocer’s.

You can expand the game endlessly by changing the setting—not just a greengrocer, but also a bakery, a zoo, a florist, a convenience store, and more.

It gets even more exciting if you gradually speed up the tempo or throw in some trick questions.

Doing it before lunch could even tie into food education.

There’s no preparation needed, and you can enjoy it like a quick game anywhere, so try it with the children!

Vegetable Song

[♪ Song Anime] Vegetable Song (Vocals: Itchy & Naru)

This song, whose lyrics directly express the names and traits of vegetables, is a hand-play activity that even very young infants can enjoy.

You can bump your fists together with a “ton-ton” or raise your index fingers with a “pi-pi,” and freely enjoy the gestures while keeping time with the pleasant rhythm of the words.

It’s also fun to arrange the song by having everyone find vegetables and fruits that don’t appear in the lyrics in picture books or field guides and adding them in.

As you sing it repeatedly, you’ll likely remember lots of vegetable names and their characteristics!

Word Sniper Kids

Word Sniper Kids: Show off your vocabulary in this audience-participation quiz game! #shorts

Word Sniper Kids is a card game that helps children enjoy getting familiar with words.

Each card has a prompt on the front and a letter on the back.

The rule is simple: whoever quickly says a word that matches the prompt and starts with that letter wins the card.

The difficulty changes depending on the prompt-letter combination, so if it’s tough, adults can offer hints as you play.

Unexpected or impressive answers often pop up, keeping everyone engaged and creating a warm, fun atmosphere.

It also supports broad vocabulary learning, so gather the kids and enjoy this game together!

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

miyabi

Report a problem

Word-Collecting Game

What’s a word that starts with “ka”? A word-collecting game!

If you want to get kids interested in letters, how about a word-collecting game? It’s a great activity for building vocabulary, and all you need is paper and a pen! Make cards with a single hiragana character on each, and play by asking questions like, “What words start with ‘ka’?” To build the habit of thinking, it’s important not to rush them or offer hints too quickly—wait patiently for your child to answer.

Also, writing down the words your child comes up with helps visualize them and connect what they hear with written characters.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

miyabi

Report a problem