Traditional Games: Fun Old-Time Play. Popular Activities Useful in Childcare
Traditional folk games that have long been loved in Japan are packed with timeless charms that captivate children across generations.
Because folk games let us experience old cultures and local traditions, we want to pass many of these games from adults down to children.
In this feature, we’ll introduce a wide variety of such time-honored folk games.
We’ve gathered many activities kids can truly get absorbed in—everything from physical games, to ones using traditional toys like ohajiki (small playing pieces) and stilts, to word- and song-based games like karuta and chachatsubo.
We hope you’ll incorporate them in nursery schools and kindergartens and enjoy them together with the children.
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[Traditional Games] Fun Old-Time Play. Popular Activities for Childcare (21–30)
Fun for New Year’s! Spinning Top Play
https://www.tiktok.com/@heknsb2/video/7455657628275035400Let’s make original spinning tops and have a contest to see whose spins the longest.
Prepare paper plates, plastic bottle caps, colored pens, and glue.
Draw illustrations on the paper plate using colored pens or crayons.
If you use a variety of colors and draw pictures or patterns, you’ll enjoy how the colors and designs change when the top spins.
Glue two plastic bottle caps together, one on top of the other, and it’s done.
Hold the cap part with your fingers, give it a strong twist, and it will spin very well.
Perfect for New Year’s events! Mochitsuki (rice cake pounding) fun for parents and children
Speaking of New Year’s, it’s all about mochi, isn’t it? Freshly pounded mochi is something every child should experience at least once.
Traditional mochi pounding with a mallet and mortar takes strength, so it’s mainly a job for adults, but if possible, let the kids have a few turns—thump, thump—and give it a try.
Flipping the mochi quickly as the helper, tearing the soft, steaming mochi into pieces, and preparing the soy sauce, kinako, or walnut sauce will all feel novel to children and become precious memories.
How to make a flapping toy
@taniguchi_s_y_d Japanese traditional toy #diycrafts#tutorial#NewYearGamesTradition
Original Music – Taniguchi Shoyudo Co., Ltd. (Taniguchi Matsuosho-do)
The flip-flop toy, where connected boards topple over in a chain with a flapping motion, is fun to watch and makes satisfying sounds as it falls.
Let’s get glue, scissors, mat board, and origami paper ready and make one.
After preparing several pieces of mat board cut into rectangles, connect them with paper strips.
The key when connecting them is to attach the strips straight.
Be careful not to stick the strips in the wrong positions when linking the boards.
It’s also recommended to draw faces on the boards so their expressions change as they flip back and forth.
Have fun with a hula hoop! Karuta game
Karuta isn’t just fun—it also helps kids learn the names of things and letters, and it builds concentration, listening skills, and reflexes.
Plus, playing with friends offers chances to teach one another, cooperate, and develop communication skills.
There are many kinds of karuta, from sets with cute illustrations to ones with quirky themes, so choosing a set can be fun too.
It could also be great to make your own karuta using pictures you draw yourselves!
Easy Karuta That Kids Can Make Too!
@hoiku.labo New Year’s craft activity: Easy DIY karuta with construction paper that kids can make!ChildcareNursery teacher / Childcare workerKindergarten TeacherChildcare job openingsChildcare Column#NurseryTeacherThings#IWantToConnectWithChildcareWorkers#Nursery School Craft#DaycarePreparationNursery School PracticumChildcare studentAspiring childcare workerChildcare Job LabNursery teacher skillsJob change activities#JobChange#nursery_teacher_job_changeNursery teacher employmentProduction#CraftworkProductiondrawing paper#ConstructionPaperCraftsPoster Board CraftNew Year’s craftKaruta
Year-end Song from 12/26 Onward – [Alexandros]
It looks like making easy-to-create karuta together with children would be fun.
Prepare glue, construction paper, illustrations, and felt-tip pens, and let’s get started.
Once you decide on the first letter for each karuta card, draw illustrations that match the letter.
It might be easier if you split up the illustration work.
After coloring, paste the drawings onto the construction paper that will be the base of the cards.
Stick a small circle of paper in the upper right corner and write the letter on it to finish.
Lay out the completed karuta cards, divide into a reader and players, and try playing.
If you choose a theme like animal karuta or food karuta, it may be easier to come up with ideas for the illustrations you want to make.
Easy Craft! Let’s Play with the Zodiac Sugoroku
An animal zodiac-themed sugoroku game, perfect for New Year’s play, is also a great opportunity to learn about the zodiac of the new year.
Prepare construction paper, colored pens, scissors, milk cartons, paper clay, and paints to make it.
Cut the construction paper into a circle, come up with squares featuring sentences related to that year’s zodiac sign, and lay out the board.
Use a milk carton to build the sugoroku base, attach the construction paper, and write the numbers.
The key is to make the squares equal in size so the board forms a neat square.
For the playing pieces, shape paper clay and paint them.
Sugoroku is ideal for learning numerical concepts and practicing the rules needed to move pieces forward.
From infants and toddlers! Traditional games everyone can enjoy together
Since it’s the New Year, a traditional Japanese holiday, it’s a great time to try out various classic games.
Kagome Kagome remains a popular game even today.
It’s fun to sing the song with its unique atmosphere, and guessing who is sitting directly behind you is thrilling and exciting.
Hanai-chimonme is also enjoyable, with the hand-holding, leg-lifting poses and the song.
And with soap bubbles, take your time to watch them gently float and drift far away.