[Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
We’ve gathered a bunch of fun recreational activities that will make lower elementary school kids want to get moving! From active indoor games that offer plenty of exercise to brain-teasing games you can enjoy while thinking, these ideas are perfect for rainy days and cold seasons.
Kids can naturally deepen their communication skills by competing with friends or working together as a team.
Preparation is simple, and you can start right away—so make recess at school or time at home even more rewarding!
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Games that engage the five senses, physical abilities, and balance, enjoyable solo or in small groups (1–10)
Finger Catch
It’s a game played around the cue “Catch.” Make a tube with your left hand, and with your right hand point your index finger downward and place it inside your partner’s tube.
At the call of “Catch,” your left-hand tube tries to grab your partner’s finger, while your right index finger tries to pull out of your partner’s tube.
In short, it’s a reflex game where, on the “Catch” cue, you try to avoid being caught while catching your partner.
Ball arranging game
This is a game where everyone works together to line up balls and aim for bingo.
Because the number of balls is limited, you have to prevent the opposing team’s bingo while completing your own, making it a perfect game for building teamwork and broadening players’ awareness.
As you get used to it, you can adjust the difficulty and level of activity by increasing the number of bingos.
Games that can be enjoyed individually or in small groups, focusing on the five senses, physical abilities, and balance (11–20)
Cross clap
Let me introduce a lively hand game with big movements called “Cross Clap.” The nice thing is that you can play it easily without any props.
First, choose one person who will cross their arms.
The rule is simple: the children watching should clap at the exact moment when both hands overlap.
It can be fun to suddenly freeze or speed up the movement after a sequence of rhythmic claps.
The key is to make them let their guard down by making them think it’s the same movement.
Clapping to a 3-3-7 rhythm is also recommended.
Mecha Ginton Game
The variety show Mecha-Mecha Iketeru! had a game called Mecha Ginton.
It starts with the shout, “Mee-cha Ginton!” The first player announces a topic.
The next player answers with an onomatopoeia that fits that topic, then gives a new topic to the following player.
For example, if the topic is “light,” you respond with an onomatopoeia that matches a light, like “pika pika pika,” keeping to the rhythm.
If you give an onomatopoeia that doesn’t match the topic or fail to keep the rhythm, you’re out.
You’re also out if you give a topic for which there’s no fitting onomatopoeia—one that even the person who set it can’t answer.
Fruits Basket
This is the game “Fruit Basket,” where players are divided into teams named after fruits.
Prepare one fewer chair than the number of participants.
Arrange the chairs in a circle, and have one person (the “it” player) stand in the middle.
The “it” player calls out the name of a fruit, and everyone assigned that fruit must change seats.
The person who fails to sit becomes the next “it.” When the call “Fruit Basket!” is made, everyone must move.
Towel Balance Game
A game we hope parents and children will enjoy is the Towel Balance Game.
In this game, one person stands on one leg while the other throws a ball made from a towel at them to try to upset their balance.
All you need is a standard face towel that you likely already have at home.
Fold the towel in half lengthwise twice, then tie two knots to make a ball.
You’ll use this ball for the game.
When throwing the ball at your child, start by tossing it gently.
The Towel Balance Game is an easy way to develop balance even indoors.
Balloon lifting
When we talk about juggling, we mean the skill of keeping the ball from touching the ground using parts of the body other than the hands, like the feet or head.
It’s pretty hard to do with an actual soccer ball, isn’t it? But if you use a light, floaty balloon, juggling becomes much easier.
Competing individually to see who can get the most juggles is fun, but if you set rules that use a big balloon and have everyone take on the challenge together, it becomes a game a large group can enjoy.
It’s also a game where everyone can cooperate and build camaraderie.
