[Childcare] Play Right Now! Recommended No-Prep Games
Curious and energetic kids love to play!
If you’re wondering what fun activities to do with them, this is a must-see.
Here are some recommended games you can play right away with no prep needed.
From fingerplay and quizzes to rhythm games and active play, we’ve got a full lineup to get kids excited!
Games that don’t use any tools help develop children’s imagination, thinking skills, and communication abilities.
Since no prep time is required, you can start anytime you have a free moment—that’s part of the appeal.
Try incorporating lots of these at kindergarten, daycare, or home, and enjoy fun times with the kids!
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[Childcare] Play right now! No-prep recommended games (11–20)
Gesture Game
The gesture game is a game that tests your expressiveness and boldness! The rules are super simple: just express the given topic using body movements.
It’s best to proceed with themes that both the child doing the gestures and the children guessing are familiar with.
Some children may get nervous and struggle to move well in front of everyone, or be shy and reluctant.
Forcing them to participate can even create a fear of standing in front of others, so be sure to provide solid support, such as the teacher moving together with them.
Storm Storm Big Storm Game
Let’s play using our heads and bodies! Here’s an idea for the Big Storm Game.
Depending on the age group, it’s helpful to prepare visual aids like sample diagrams or origami markers.
Assign one child as the squirrel and two children as the trees.
At the teacher’s cue, “A wolf is coming!” the squirrel moves to a different tree.
At the cue, “A lumberjack is coming!” the trees move to a different squirrel.
At the cue, “A big storm is coming!” everyone moves and pairs up with different friends.
To start, try playing while using the sample diagram or markers as guides!
Sinking Game
The Sinking Game is a fun game where you can feel the thrill of “the ship might sink!” Place several mats randomly around a large space like a hall or gym.
These mats are the ships, so divide the children into groups and have them stand on the mats.
The teacher becomes a scary shark living in the sea.
When the shark (the teacher) calls out, “We’re sinking!”, the children must get off their current ship (mat) and move to a different ship (mat).
If the shark tags them while they’re moving, they’re out! If they can move to another ship without getting caught, they’re safe.
Try mixing in other words that start with the same sound as “chinbotsu” instead of saying “We’re sinking!” to make it even more fun!
Animal Role-Playing Game
Let me introduce the Animal Role-Play Game, where you pretend to be animals.
The rules are simple: you become the animal given as the prompt and play by running around cones or avoiding obstacles.
Because you move your whole body, it can really liven up parties and gatherings.
Wearing animal masks or making animal sounds while you play is also recommended.
When you start the game, make sure to secure a spacious area and play safely to avoid injuries!
Rock-Paper-Scissors Train
Let’s play “Rock-Paper-Scissors Train,” a game where we make a long train! At first, everyone moves around freely while the music is playing.
When the music stops, you play rock-paper-scissors with the person in front of you.
If you lose, you connect by standing behind the winner.
The winner becomes (or stays) the train’s front and moves around with everyone attached behind.
Repeat this until there’s no one left without a partner.
The person who remains at the front until the very end wins.
Since the line will keep getting longer, play in as large a space as possible.
The pill bug fell over!
If you look carefully in parks and plazas, you can find pill bugs.
The way they curl up into a little ball when you touch them is amusing, and they’re a familiar insect that children know well.
Let’s play by imitating those pill bugs.
It’s a game you can play indoors even when it’s raining.
Since you sit and roll over, it’s also easy to incorporate as an indoor activity.
There are lots of fun motions: flapping arms and legs and rolling in time with a teacher’s or adult’s cue, doing finger plays, or crawling.
Let’s all become pill bugs together with your friends.
[Childcare] Play Right Now! No-Prep Recommended Games (21–30)
Cat and Mouse
If you’re looking for a game that lots of people can enjoy, we recommend “Cat and Mouse.” The rules are very simple—it’s a game similar to tag.
Each time the facilitator says “ne,” both the cat team and the mouse team take one step forward.
When the two teams get close enough, the facilitator calls out either “cat” or “mouse.” If they say “mouse,” the cat team chases the mice, and the mouse team tries to escape back to their territory without getting tagged by the cats.
It’s also fun to have the facilitator say unrelated words like “nezuko” to raise the difficulty a bit.
