For elementary school kids! Fun riddles recommended for the middle grades

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.

Children in the middle grades of elementary school are growing rapidly.

It’s also a time when friendships deepen and play with friends becomes very active.

At this age, their thinking and expressive abilities develop, and their curiosity grows stronger.

They learn many things and absorb new knowledge.

Here, we introduce riddles perfect for middle-grade elementary school children to enjoy with their friends.

Riddles help nurture thinking skills while having fun, making them great for communication with friends and family, too.

By all means, let both kids and adults give them a try together!

For Elementary Students! Fun Riddles Recommended for Middle Grades (21–30)

What is a ball that’s square, even though it’s still a ball?

Speaking of balls, they’re one of the tools used in ball sports, right? When you picture a ball, most of you probably imagine a round sphere.

However, since the question in this quiz says “square,” we need to look for a square ball.

Let’s forget about balls used in sports for a moment and think of something square that includes the word “ball” (booru) in Japanese.

If you’re an elementary school student, you’ve probably seen it at home or used it for crafts.

The correct answer is “danbooru” (cardboard).

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What gets smaller the bigger it gets?

The bigger it gets, the smaller it becomes… What does that even mean? you might wonder.

“Getting bigger” and “getting smaller” are opposites, and something that gets bigger doesn’t become smaller.

What we need to consider when solving this riddle is how to interpret “bigger.” In this puzzle, “bigger” means “growing.” When you grow, isn’t there something that becomes smaller? You probably experience it often when the seasons change.

The answer is clothes! As your body grows and gets bigger, the clothes you wore last year become too small and no longer fit.

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What is the flower that shouts in the morning?

This is a riddle that asks for “a flower that roars in the morning.” The key to solving it is to first think of flowers that do something in the morning.

There’s a well-known flower that blooms in the morning, right? That’s right—the morning glory (asagao).

You might think, “Morning glories do act in the morning, but they don’t roar…” So why is the answer morning glory? Because it’s a pun on the sound of a roar—‘gaoo!’—which is contained in ‘asagao.’ Flowers usually bloom quietly and don’t roar, but if there really were a flower that roared, I’d love to see it at least once.

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What kind of shellfish is a shellfish that’s taking a bath?

Speaking of shellfish, many of you have probably eaten clams, turban shells, or abalone at least once.

Some of you may have gone clam digging, caught and eaten shells yourselves, or searched the beach for shells to use as craft materials.

Here’s a riddle about shellfish.

We usually think shells live in the sea, but apparently they’re in the bath, too.

However, since this is a riddle, thinking about the biology or types of shellfish won’t help.

Start by taking “kai” as the keyword and associating it with things or words related to baths.

The answer is attakai (warm)!

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Five people are playing hide-and-seek. Two have been found. How many are left?

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2 people

When five people are playing hide-and-seek and two are found, that means three still haven’t been found. But one of those three is the seeker, so only two are actually hiding. The seeker is the one who looks for others, not the one who gets found, so they’re not counted.

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What is something you use but cannot own?

Scissors, pencils, erasers, rulers… most tools you’re familiar with are basically things you hold in your hand to use, right? So let’s try a riddle: “What can be used but cannot be held?” You might think of various tools, but you won’t easily get the right answer if you only think in terms of “objects.” First, try considering things you can use that aren’t objects.

By the way, the answer is “your name.” You use it when introducing yourself or when you want friends to know about you, but you certainly can’t “hold” it.

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What time is it now?

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two characters

When someone asks, “What time is it now?” you’d normally answer with a time like three o’clock or six o’clock, right? But this riddle is different. If you focus on the phrase “What time is it now?” itself, it contains two words—“now” and “what time”—so together it makes ‘two characters’ (ni-moji).

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