[For Kids] Indoor Fun! Large-Group Recreational Activities and Games
Spending time with children, indoor fun time is important, isn’t it?
Even when the weather is bad or when you can’t go outside due to coordinating spaces with other classes, kids can refresh and have a fulfilling time if you enjoy doing recreations and games indoors.
Here, we’ve gathered ideas for indoor recreations and games that work well with large groups.
We’ve divided them into activities for preschoolers and for elementary school children, so you’re sure to find ideas that suit the kids who will be playing.
Please use this as a reference!
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[For Kids] Indoor Activities! Large-Group Recreations and Games (31–40)
Vinyl Umbrella Ball Toss
When you think of tamaire, you picture a sports day with red and white balls and a big basket, right? This time, let’s play an easy version using things around the house.
Use an open, upside-down umbrella as the basket, and badminton shuttlecocks as the balls.
If you don’t have shuttlecocks, you can make balls by crumpling up newspaper!
Rock-Paper-Scissors Basketball
Players form a circle around the person in the middle (the “oni”), and the game proceeds with rock-paper-scissors between the oni and the surrounding players.
At the oni’s signal, everyone plays rock-paper-scissors.
Anyone who loses to the oni must leave their current spot and move to a different place.
If someone fails to move and gets stuck, they become the new oni.
The fun lies in quick movement and strategic feints to avoid becoming the oni.
It also works well if the surrounding players sit on chairs, since it makes the spots for the oni and the losers to move to easier to see.
Fun for elementary school kids too! The Rule Game
The “Think With Your Head” rule quiz is a game that even elementary school students can enjoy.
It’s a game where you listen to connected parts like “This is 1,” “This is 2,” “This is 3,” and answer accordingly.
You might feel tempted to say the number shown by the fingers when someone makes a number pose with their hand, but try to listen carefully to the connecting words and give the correct answer.
Once you grasp the key, you can create endless questions.
Keep your mind flexible as you figure out the right answers.
It could also be fun to play with more people and compete to see who can get the most correct answers.
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.
Catch
An indoor game called “Catch” that’s fun for groups from two people to many.
The rules are very simple! Point the index finger of your right hand downward, and make a tube with your left hand.
Put your right index finger into the tube made by the person next to you with their left hand.
When the leader—such as a preschool or school teacher—calls out “Catch,” quickly pull your index finger out so it doesn’t get caught, while the hand making the tube squeezes to try to catch the neighbor’s finger.
You win if you manage to pull your finger out in time or successfully catch your neighbor’s finger! If everyone stands in a circle, large groups can enjoy it.
The leader can also make it more fun by occasionally faking people out with words that start with “ca-” before saying “Catch.”
