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[Childcare / Physical Play] Fun Activities to Get Moving
Physical activity play is essential in early childhood education, isn’t it?
Here, we introduce ideas for outdoor play and activities you can do indoors.
Use these examples to incorporate a variety of movement games and help children grow strong in both mind and body.
Many of the activities don’t require special equipment, so you can feel at ease even without preparation.
When adults join in the fun, everyone can enjoy a great time together.
Create joyful moments filled with laughter.
Let both children and adults move their bodies a lot and play with energy!
[Childcare & Physical Play] Fun Body-Moving Activities (1–10)
Morning Noon Night game
Here’s an introduction to the Morning-Afternoon-Night game.
You can play it anytime, anywhere, with any number of people, so it’s perfect for filling small gaps of time! When the teacher says “morning,” the children stand up.
For “afternoon,” they sit in seiza (kneel with legs folded under).
For “night,” they lie down right where they are.
The fun is in doing each action as quickly as possible.
Once they get used to it, try adding twists like “duck” or “monkey.” How will the children respond? Will they imitate the animals, get confused, or tell you, “Teacher, that’s wrong!”? That uncertainty is part of the fun of this game.
Thunder Game
Kids love thrilling games that make their hearts race—especially ones where they might get chased or caught.
This “Thunder Game” is all about protecting your belly button so the thunder god doesn’t take it.
Children lie on their backs on the floor, looking up.
The person playing the thunder god wanders around them, saying “rumble, rumble, rumble…” The cue is the word “BOOM!” to signal a lightning strike.
As soon as they hear it, the children must quickly flip onto their stomachs to hide their belly buttons, or they’ll get taken.
You can also have fun by faking them out with other words that start with the same sound as “BOOM,” or by speeding up the tempo!
Ninja Training! ~Circuit Play~
This is a circuit play activity where kids become ninjas and complete a course! Sprinkle full-body movements throughout the course—like the “Jump Technique,” where they leap down from a step, the “Tightrope Technique,” where they walk along tape on the floor, and the “Wall-Climb Technique,” where they scramble up a mat—and children will dive in with enthusiasm, feeling just like real ninjas.
To draw them in even more, you can spark their interest beforehand with picture books featuring ninja protagonists, or make simple handmade masks so they can fully get into character and enjoy the ninja world even more.
Range ogre
Here’s an introduction to “Range Oni,” a variation of the familiar kids’ game freeze tag.
“Range” refers to a microwave oven, and this version turns the classic freeze tag into a cooperative game.
The rule is the same up to the point where a player tagged by the chaser freezes on the spot.
In Range Oni, when you find a frozen friend, two teammates surround them and hold hands.
While saying “Range de chin” (like the microwave’s beep), they lower their joined hands, and the frozen friend is “defrosted” and can move again.
Of course, if the chaser tags them before the defrost is complete, everyone freezes—making it a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat game of tag!
Clapping game until you drop
It’s a game you can play casually in a compact space, with no special preparations or large area required.
The rules are simple: first, each person takes a sheet of tissue paper and holds it.
Next, raise your hand above your head, drop the tissue, and compete to see how many times you can clap before it falls.
You’ll stretch your body to drop it from as high as possible and move quickly to pick it up, so it becomes a full-body exercise.
The lively clapping sounds fill the room, and it’s great to see everyone smiling and having fun!
Hat-taking game
If you’re looking for an active outdoor game, how about the “Hat-Grab Game”? It’s a simple game of tag where you run to avoid having your school hat taken.
It’s also a game where you can enjoy a variety of children’s reactions—feeling frustrated when their hat is taken, or not even noticing it’s gone.
Teachers or guardians playing the tagger should watch over the children so they can run away safely and skillfully.
When playing, be sure to share safety tips to keep it fun, such as tucking away the hat’s elastic strap and avoiding the action of holding the hat down.
Eurhythmics (immediate response)
Here’s an introduction to “Eurhythmics,” an activity that develops bodily responses, listening skills, and reflexes.
Children enjoy movements that match changes in the music, such as running, stopping, dropping down with a thud, clapping on high notes, turning the opposite way, jumping, swinging, hopping on one foot, and skipping.
Make sure there are no obstacles or tripping hazards around, and move your body rhythmically.
Because children must listen closely for musical cues, their concentration is put to the test.
Enjoy the activity while watching how the children respond.
Sinking Game
The “Sinking Game” is a slightly thrilling activity.
First, pretend the room is the sea, set up some islands, and have an adult play the role of a shark.
At the signal “It’s sinking!”, the children run away from the shark.
Divide the game into timed rounds, and if the children manage to escape to another island without being caught by the shark before time is up, they win.
If they can’t get away, they get eaten by the shark.
Since the kids run around freely, you’ll need a space with a reasonable amount of room, but it’s a great way to get lots of physical activity even indoors!
Banana Tag
An arranged version of tag where anyone touched by “it” freezes.
Help your friends who’ve turned into bananas! When someone is tagged, they raise both hands and press their palms together above their head, then freeze in a banana pose.
A person who’s become a banana must wait for friends to peel them.
When two friends each loosen one of the raised hands—peeling from left and right—the banana is freed and can move again! Try fun variations like saying “banana” when you tag someone or chasing while hopping on one foot.
Daikon Game
This is the “Daikon Game,” where children pretend to be daikon radishes and are pulled out of the “field” like real radishes.
The children lie face down in a circle on the floor and hold hands tightly.
The adult “pulls out the radishes” by tugging on the children’s legs while saying they’re pulling.
If a child lets go of hands, it means they’ve been pulled out and they lose.
To avoid being pulled out, they should hold hands firmly and hang on tight.
A great point of this game is that it’s fun regardless of how many children are playing.