Traditional Games: Fun Old-Time Play. Popular Activities Useful in Childcare

Let’s make and play! New Year’s Hanetsuki

[New Year’s Games] Battledore and shuttlecock play at the nursery! Let’s make a hagoita! [January Craft] #shorts

Let’s make a handmade hagoita (traditional Japanese paddle) and enjoy New Year’s games.

Prepare a milk carton, wooden chopsticks, vinyl tape, origami paper, glue, and scissors.

Open up the milk carton, draw fold lines for the hagoita, and shape it into the paddle.

By sandwiching a chopstick along the central axis, you can reinforce the core and keep it sturdy.

After applying vinyl tape to the handle and the top part of the paddle, glue origami paper onto the paddle face to finish.

Give it a try!

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

mayumi

Report a problem

Red Light, Green Light

[Age 3] Daruma-san ga koronda♪

Let’s play by adding new rules! Here are some ideas for Daruma-san ga Koronda.

Daruma-san ga Koronda is a traditional Japanese game played with one child as “it” (the oni) and the other children as players.

The oni turns around while saying, “Daruma-san ga koronda.” The participants can move forward until the oni finishes saying “Daruma-san ga koronda,” but the moment the oni turns around, the participants must freeze.

By customizing this rule with elements like balance beams, hula hoops, or balls, you can keep the game fresh and fun.

Mukkuri Kuma-san

[Group Game] “Mukkuri Kuma-san” | How to Play “Mukkuri Kuma-san”

Let’s enjoy traditional nursery rhymes! Here’s an idea using “Mukkuri Kuma-san.” Warabe-uta are traditional Japanese children’s songs that are fun because adults and kids can sing and play together.

They have a good rhythm, simple lyrics and melodies, and are easy for children to remember.

For Mukkuri Kuma-san, choose one child to be the bear, and have the other children hold hands and walk in a circle around the bear.

When the song ends, the bear chases everyone.

The person tagged by the bear becomes the next bear.

Rokumushi

Rokumushi

Are you familiar with the traditional playground game called “Rokumushi”? It has simple rules, but it’s a thrilling, heart-pounding ball game.

Draw a circle at each end of a space about 20 meters apart, and have one person stand inside each circle.

These two are “it.” The other children gather in one of the circles, and while the two “it” players are playing catch with the ball, everyone else tries to run to the other circle.

Each successful crossing counts as “ichimushi” (one), and if you go back and forth until you reach “rokumushi” (six), you win.

If you’re hit by the ball while running back and forth, switch roles and become “it.” Because it’s a folk game, the rules can vary a bit by region, but it sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?

Tonton Sumo

[For 5-year-olds] We tried making easy DIY toys at home! (Paper Cup Block Knockdown & Milk Carton Tap-Tap Sumo)

Sumo is said to have begun as a Shinto ritual.

As for paper sumo—where paper dolls modeled after wrestlers are made to wrestle—there are various theories about its origins, but since there are no clear written records, it seems to have been a pastime from quite a long time ago.

So let’s enjoy paper sumo using milk cartons, which are sturdier than construction paper.

Cut a piece of paper into a square, fold it in half, and draw whatever you like on the front and back.

It’s fun from the moment you start preparing your own wrestler doll even before you play.

After that, just tap-tap on a box serving as the ring and enjoy.

For children who’ve never tried paper sumo, it will surely feel fresh and new!

Don Janken

After-school Children’s Classroom Physical Activity Program: “Don Janken”

Let’s try playing Don-Janken, a quick and exciting game you can enjoy anywhere! The rules are very simple: split into two teams and line up at opposite ends.

At the signal, the first person from each team runs forward, and when they meet, they play rock-paper-scissors.

If you win, you keep going; if you lose, the next teammate starts running.

You continue advancing by playing rock-paper-scissors, aiming to reach the opponent’s side.

It’s called Don-Janken because when you meet, you both stretch your hands forward, touch with a “don!” and stop.

Play carefully to avoid injuries.

Pyramid Rock-Paper-Scissors

Pyramid Rock-Paper-Scissors: Guaranteed to be a hit! A recreational activity

Guaranteed to be a blast—let’s play Pyramid Rock-Paper-Scissors! First, split into a defense team and an offense team.

Draw pyramid-shaped lines on the ground and place the defenders on the lines.

For example, if there are 15 defenders, put 5 people on the longest bottom line, then 4 on the next, and so on, ending with a single person at the top—that person is the King! The offense team starts by challenging anyone among the 5 at the bottom to rock-paper-scissors; if they win, they move up.

At the end, they play rock-paper-scissors with the King, and if they win, they clear the game.

If they lose at any point, they go back to the starting point.

Losing to the King also sends you back to start.

It’s a fun game where luck is put to the test!