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 as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is 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 Body-Moving Activities (81–90)

[Physical Play] Hopscotch

[PE Tips] Build your body with hopscotch! Develop a sense of rhythm and jumping power!

[Physical Play] Hopscotch

Hopscotch is probably a game that everyone has tried at least once.

You jump on one foot to move from circle to circle, then land with both feet—repeating this motion.

It’s said that these movements help develop various physical abilities, such as a sense of rhythm, jumping power, and expressiveness.

One of its appeals is how easy it is to enjoy—just draw circles on the ground.

It’s also perfect for two-year-olds who are starting to manage one-foot jumps.

Without getting hung up on form, start by letting kids jump freely on one foot wherever they like, or quickly open both feet to the rhythm.

Through play, it’s great if they can enjoy discovering new ways to move their bodies!

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gomudan

Gomdan

gomudan

Here’s how to play Gomu-dan (rubber band jumping).

First, prepare a flat elastic band, and have two people hold the ends.

Let’s start with a simple jump-over game.

Hold the band at ankle height and jump over it.

Even if your feet catch on the band, it’s a success as long as you make it through to the other side.

Try different ways of jumping, like two-footed jumps, backward two-footed jumps, and cartwheel jumps! You can also raise the height to increase the difficulty and excitement.

Be sure to keep the band pulled tight—if it’s slack, it can be dangerous.

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Rock-Paper-Scissors Balance Game

[Kids’ Exercises You Can Do at Home] Rock-Paper-Scissors Balance & Power Challenge (For Preschoolers to Lower Elementary)

Rock-Paper-Scissors Balance Game

Here’s a rock-paper-scissors balance game that gets your whole body moving.

Play rock-paper-scissors with your friends.

If you win, do a one-legged balance for 5 seconds.

If it’s a tie, spin around twice and then do a one-legged balance for 5 seconds.

If you lose, spin around three times and then do a one-legged balance for 5 seconds.

For children who find one-legged balancing difficult, it’s recommended to hold onto something while balancing.

When playing the rock-paper-scissors balance game, secure a spacious area and keep a safe distance from one another to ensure safety.

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beast hunting

[You can also see childcare in action] Ms. Rio’s active play [Big Game Hunting]

beast hunting

A fun indoor adventure game: Monster Hunt.

First, everyone sings the Monster Hunt song along with the teacher.

In the song, it says you’re carrying lots of weapons needed for the hunt, so try adding gestures that match the lyrics.

At the end of the song, the teacher says the name of the beast that’s been found.

Make groups with the same number of people as the number of characters in that beast’s name and sit down—that’s a success! For example, if the beast is “raion” (lion) with four characters in Japanese, you form groups of four.

It’s also fun to make it harder by choosing beasts with longer names as you go.

See how many different beasts you can find!

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circuit play

"Circuit Play" | Gakuenchō Yūiku-en [Nursery/Kindergarten Event]

circuit play

A circuit play activity that’s fun not only for sports day but also on rainy days.

As children go around tackling obstacles, their excitement is likely to keep rising.

If you set up a course and include several movement patterns—crawling and climbing over it, jumping, and crawling under—it can make it even more enjoyable.

It’s also nice that, as they keep going around, they start wanting to go faster.

For sports day, it’s a good idea to set a goal—such as how many laps to complete—and encourage them by saying things like, “Only a few more laps to go!”

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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