Lovely childcare

[Childcare / Physical Play] Fun Activities to Get Moving

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.
Nursery Teacher Mom Writertsukada moe
After working for five years at an after-school childcare club and three years at a nursery school, I began working as a freelance writer. I’m a mother of two children. Inspired by playing the flute in the school wind ensemble in elementary school, I joined a jazz club at university. I’ve also incorporated ukulele and piano performance into childcare. Playing, laughing, feeling sad, feeling frustrated—through all kinds of experiences, I want children to grow.

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 Activities to Get Moving (101–110)

Jungle GuruguruTsubasa Suzuki

[Full-body Play / Pair Play] Jungle Guruguru / Tsubasa Suzuki & Hitomi Kudo [Action Song / Animals / Touch-and-Play / Parent-Child / Childcare / Kindergarten / Parenting / Children’s Song]

Jungle Guruguru Tsubasa Suzuki

Let me introduce Jungle Guruguru, a game where you can enjoy moving your whole body to a lively musical tempo.

You’ll enter the jungle while moving your body to the song.

Snakes, rhinos, tunnels, and more appear, so the children work together, using their bodies to get past each challenge.

In pairs, they can hold hands and spin around, and of course, it’s also a body-movement game that one person can fully enjoy on their own.

It’s the kind of play that will get everyone excited just by copying the teacher or friends.

At the end, you make it out of the jungle and finish with a high five! Be sure to have fun and get your body moving.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Mochi pounding

Hoiku Magazine Hiroba, January 2018 Issue: “It’s Time for Movement Play! ~ Mochi Pounding”

Mochi pounding

“Omochi Petchan” starts with a hand-play song while standing.

Have the children imagine mochi and express it.

Once they’re used to expressing it, develop it into a full-body movement activity.

At the cue “Let’s become mochi,” have them show mochi puffing up and shrinking by bending and stretching their bodies.

It’s okay if they don’t do it perfectly! We want to value each child’s desire to express themselves.

At the end, the teacher says “Itadakimasu” and chases the children.

Let’s enjoy a lively game of tag.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Dance “Ebi Kaniks”

Ebi Kanix / Keropons [Official Music Video]

Dance “Ebi Kaniks”

“Ebikanics” is famous as a dance in early childhood settings! If you’ve just started teaching, why not practice with this catchy, easy-to-dance number that kids love? Every pose is easy to express, and even just hopping along to the rhythmic music is fun, so you can use it with one-year-old classes.

Strike the shrimp and crab poses big and bold.

Teachers are the children’s role models—master the dance and enjoy it together with them!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Big American bullfrog cup touch

[Older Class] Big Bullfrog Cup Touch_Yanagisawa Exercise Program_Motor Therapy

Big American bullfrog cup touch

Pretend to be a big bullfrog and touch the cups placed on the floor! The key is to move your hands and feet independently.

Stand with your legs wide apart, then first place your hands on the floor in front of you.

Next, hop so that your feet land as far forward as possible past your hands, and keep moving your hands forward while touching the cups.

By placing the cups closer together and increasing their number, you can boost the intensity.

It’s a movement you don’t often do in daily life, and it will help you build strong core strength.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Let’s clap our hands

Hiroba April 2019 Issue: “It’s Time for Movement Play!” ‘Let’s Clap Our Hands (1)’

Let's clap our hands

Let’s play “Let’s Clap Our Hands,” an easy and fun activity even for little kids! This game, which involves clapping hands, stomping feet, and expressing emotions like joy, anger, sadness, and happiness, is often used as a hand-play song.

This time, let’s try expressing with our bodies while copying the teacher.

It’s great because you can do it standing or sitting.

It’s also easy to arrange, so adding your own lyrics or movements gives it a fresh way to enjoy.

You can also add new actions based on the children’s requests!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

[Childcare & Physical Play] Fun Activities to Get Moving (111–120)

Long rope jumping

Hiroba November Issue: “It’s Exercise Playtime!” Long Rope Play!

Long rope jumping

When you want to be active but playing outside is difficult, try using a long jump rope.

You can get moving while having fun by jumping over a rope laid on the floor or moving around without stepping on a rope that wiggles like a snake.

Once you get used to the movements, you can add variations—throw in feints or lift the rope slightly off the ground.

The energetic children hopping around will be all smiles, and the watching teacher is sure to smile too.

If your preschool doesn’t use indoor shoes, please remove socks to prevent slipping and falling.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Hoop Tag

https://www.tiktok.com/@soramame.sensei/video/7269713021449047314

Let’s play by predicting the ogre’s moves! Here’s a fun idea for a hula hoop tag game.

Prepare nine small hula hoops and an easy-to-see marker for the person who’s “it.” On the count of “1, 2, 3,” jump to move into an adjacent hula hoop! You can move the length of one hoop vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

“It” also moves on the cue, so the key is to avoid landing in the same hoop as “it.” Predict the ogre’s movements and try to escape to the end!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem