Recreation for daycare centers and kindergartens: fun activities for children
Children in daycare and kindergarten are full of curiosity and energy! Still, some teachers might struggle to come up with play ideas.
There are also days when the weather keeps you indoors.
Here, we introduce a variety of activities that children in kindergarten and daycare can enjoy! We’ve gathered fun activities—from dance, exercise, and games to crafts—that are suitable for babies through toddlers.
Active, movement-based play is a big hit, too.
Let children and adults play together and enjoy a wonderful time!
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- Indoor games for parents and children: fun activities that use the body and the mind
Recreation for nurseries and kindergartens. Fun children's games (151–160)
ball play
Let’s try playing freely with safe, soft balls.
Throw them, bounce them, or kick them.
If you have something to use as a target—like a basketball hoop—kids will find it easier to enjoy.
They say ball play is a fun way to boost motor skills!
Exercise play on a mat
When we think of mat exercises, many of us remember using them in PE class for things like forward rolls.
Let’s use those mats for various movement games! Try having a few people hold opposite ends of a mat and pull against each other, or flip the mat over and play a relay race.
Mat sumo, where you push against each other with the mat between you, also looks fun.
All of these are movement games that use the whole body.
10 popular hand games
When we were kids, both boys and girls played hand-clapping songs, right? These hand-play songs have changed over the years—what used to be “Ton ton ton ton Hige Jiisan” is now about Anpanman.
You sing while moving your hands, and even very young children who don’t quite understand yet seem to have fun just by moving their hands to the song.
There are lots of different songs, too.
Hand Play ‘To the Sun in Our Palms’
A very famous song that people of any generation likely played with as children—or played together with their own children—“Tenohira o Taiyō ni” (Palms to the Sun).
Written in 1961, this now-popular children’s song has lyrics by Takashi Yanase, the creator of Anpanman.
It’s a very bright and energetic song that teaches important lessons.
Let’s try expressing the lyrics using our hands and enjoy it as a hand-play song.
You can also stomp your feet where you are or move your whole body like doing exercises, not just use your hands.
Instrument Play: Pretend Bus Ride
Let’s play along with the hand-play song ‘Bus Gokko’ by hitting and ringing instruments.
It’s often sung on NHK children’s programs, so I think it’s a popular song among kids.
Since it originally is a hand-play song, it’s perfect for singing and playing with simple instruments like tambourines and triangles.
The lyrics are easy to remember, and although it’s a short song, it has up to the third verse.