Lovely childcare

Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for daycare and kindergarten

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 for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
9 years of experience as a nursery school teacherShibata Risa
I am an active nursery school teacher with 9 years of experience. After graduating from university, I worked at a daycare center. The time I spent happily with children—playing piano, singing songs, and doing finger-play—are priceless memories to me. Currently, while raising three children of my own, I work at an after-school day service, engaging with children and providing individualized developmental support. Drawing on my diverse experiences as a childcare worker and as a mother, I hope to express and convey my thoughts through writing.

Even on days when the weather is bad and the kids can’t go outside, they still want to move their bodies and play! At times like that, many teachers and parents wonder what indoor activities to do.

Here, we introduce indoor recreational activities that can be enjoyed at nurseries and kindergartens.

You’ll find lots of ideas that kids can dive into with sparkling eyes—full-body movement games, activities everyone can enjoy together, traditional games, and sensory play.

Have fun staying active with the children, even indoors.

These are also great as references for games at events!

Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for daycare and kindergarten (161–170)

Colorful Ninja

From Colorful Ninja: 'The Newest and Most Fun Recreation Games'

Colorful Ninja

The rhythm and association game “Color Ninjas.” After the call-and-response, “All good! Shoo-shoo shushushushu,” the first person gives a prompt like “a [color] [thing],” and the next person answers with something that fits.

Then the person who answered gives the next prompt and passes it on.

For example, if the prompt is “yellow foods,” the answers could be lemon or banana.

It’s a game that older preschoolers can enjoy, but it can be a bit tricky until you get used to it, so it’s okay if someone misses the beat a little or is slow with the prompt or answer.

However, if the same question comes up again and someone repeats a previous answer, they’re out.

During the “shoo-shoo shushushushu” part, you make a ninja motion as if throwing a shuriken—boys might especially love that!

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Animal Role-Playing Game

[Age 4] Animal Role-Playing Game — Body-Building Games for 4-Year-Olds | Torikai Yui-Kindergarten [Nursery School/Kindergarten]

Animal Role-Playing Game

This is a circuit-play activity where children pretend to be different animals as they move through a course and clear obstacles.

Use long benches, colored cones, and blocks to create the course and set up obstacles.

Since they crawl on all fours or jump while acting like animals, they can get plenty of exercise even indoors.

Imitating a flamingo by standing on one leg also helps develop balance.

It might be great for expanding children’s interests to have them try animals they don’t know, too.

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Sinking Game

[For Childcare Workers] Teacher Rio’s Active Play That Gets Kids Excited [The Sinking Game]

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!

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Let’s play with cornstarch slime

[Nursery/Kindergarten] Safe Potato Starch Slime for Toddlers [Paper Puppet/What Color Do You Like?]

Let's play with cornstarch slime

Let’s try making a slime-like substance using everyday items—potato starch and water—and have some fun! It’s very easy to make: just mix potato starch with water.

When you touch and knead it with your hands, it becomes solid, but once you let go, it returns to a smooth, flowing liquid.

Its texture is unique and squishy, so kids will probably love it.

You can also add food coloring and mix lots of colors for extra fun.

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Ninja Play

[Exercise & Gymnastics for Kids] Recommended Rule-Based Game for 4- and 5-Year-Olds: 'Ninja Play' / Rule-based active games, exercises, and gymnastics educational videos to improve motor skills together with Mom

Ninja Play

In the “Ninja Play” game, children follow the teacher, moving like ninjas.

From time to time, the teacher turns around and, saying “Let’s see,” looks at the children.

At the teacher’s cue, the children should freeze instantly.

As the game goes on, the movements to copy become more difficult, and they receive instructions for new actions.

Try playing as if you were real ninjas!

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In conclusion

We introduced some recommended indoor activities and recreation games for nursery schools and kindergartens. What did you think? It would be great to incorporate them while adapting the content to the children’s ages and developmental stages. By expanding the repertoire of play, children receive a wealth of stimulation for both mind and body, which in turn promotes overall development. On days when you can’t go outside, such as rainy days, make the most of indoor play to spend a meaningful and enjoyable time with the children, keeping everyone in bright spirits.