[Parent-Child Rec] Recreational activities and games for parents and children to enjoy together—also great for sports days.
We’re introducing recreations, games, and crafts that are perfect for parent–child activities at sports days and for quality time at home!
If you’re a teacher unsure which parent–child events to include in your sports day, or a parent looking for fun activities to enjoy with your child, please feel free to use this as a reference.
If you’re not fond of active movement or don’t have much space, crafts are a great option.
Crafts also leave you with something tangible, making for a wonderful keepsake.
Work together to take on challenges, or create memorable pieces, and strengthen your bond while enjoying parent–child activities!
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[Parent-Child Rec] Recreations and games for parents and children to enjoy. Also great for sports days (31–40)
5 super fun activities
We’ll be introducing five activities: “Irregular Play,” “Swirly Tail Chase,” “Receive & Catch,” “Ball Rolling Play,” and “Cross Rubber Jump Tail Chase.” They mainly use a ball—putting it into a basket, catching it, and combining movements like hopscotch and forward rolls to get the body moving.
In “Swirly Tail Chase,” attach a jump rope instead of a string and run away from the tagger, changing directions between clockwise and counterclockwise.
For “Cross Rubber Jump Tail Chase,” stretch elastic bands across the room and escape from the tagger while jumping over the bands.
Jump according to the leader’s instructions!
Everyone holds hands to form a circle and jumps according to the leader’s commands and instructions.
If the leader says “forward,” jump forward; if they say “right,” jump to the right, all together.
Gradually increase the speed and raise the difficulty—for example, by jumping to the opposite direction of what is said!
Domino with toys
Dominoes is a game you can easily enjoy even without special toys.
You can use toys you have at home, like LEGO bricks or building blocks, and gathering household items that might work can be part of the fun, too.
Lining them up without knocking them over is thrilling for both kids and adults! Let’s get excited with this action-packed, suspenseful game.
Plastic Bottle Bowling
Here’s a popular indoor activity: plastic bottle bowling.
Prepare 10 empty plastic bottles and add a small amount of water to each to stabilize them.
Wrap construction paper around the bottles to decorate them.
Once ready, line up the bottles and get a safe rubber ball.
Let the children roll the ball and enjoy plastic bottle bowling.
Count how many bottles fall to determine the winner.
Adjust the rolling distance based on the children’s age by making it longer or shorter.
Rock-paper-scissors Guriko
A game where only the person who wins rock-paper-scissors gets to move forward.
Scissors moves 6 steps for “chocolate,” paper moves 6 steps for “pineapple,” and rock moves 3 steps for “Glico.” Draw several lines in a wide area and have teams compete to see who can reach the other side first—it really livens things up! You might find that an unexpected child is great at rock-paper-scissors.
It’s a game that even gets parents playing seriously without thinking.
[Parent-Child Rec] Recreations and games for parents and children to enjoy together. Also great for sports days (41–50)
Exercise play you can enjoy at home
Even when you can’t play outside, you still want to move your body! In times like that, let’s enjoy some active play at home.
For infants and toddlers, try baby massage or touch-and-play activities.
For preschoolers through elementary school kids, how about a spy game with a treasure hunt or a round of table tennis on the table? For the spy game, setting up obstacles around the room and preparing a treasure map can really liven things up.
For table tennis, you can substitute household items: a tissue box for the net, a pot lid for the paddle, and a super ball for the ball.
Parent-child cooking
Working on cooking together as a parent and child is a very meaningful time.
The process of making delicious dishes while the guardian and child cooperate provides a wonderful opportunity to deepen their communication.
It is heartwarming to see the guardian carefully teach the tasks and the child engage earnestly.
By enjoying the finished dishes together, they can also share a sense of accomplishment.
Through cooking, children can cultivate independence while strengthening family bonds.