[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 together. Also great for sports days (41–50)
piggyback race
Let’s liven up the sports day with a piggyback race, where adults carry children on their backs and compete to see who finishes first.
The more participants, the more exciting the piggyback race becomes.
It’s a simple activity in which a parent or guardian plays the “horse,” carrying a child on their back and racing, but it actually takes more stamina than you might expect to make it to the finish.
It’s also a game that’s great fun for spectators to watch.
Be careful not to get so caught up in running that the child you’re carrying falls off.
Wearing helmets and protective gear will make it safer and more reassuring for everyone.
[Parent-Child Rec] Recreations and games for parents and children to enjoy together. Great for sports days, too (51–60)
pretending to be animals
It’s a game where you mimic the movements of various animals.
You can jump, crawl, run, or balance on one leg—it’s a great way to use many parts of your body.
You can suggest an animal and try imitating it, or take turns guessing which animal someone is doing—both are lots of fun.
Shiritori Dance Game
This is a game that adds a movement element to the word-linking game shiritori, making the thinking process more complex.
The rule is to express the connected words with movements as well, so words that are hard to express through movement are out—that’s the challenging part.
While traditional shiritori proceeds with names of things, since this version emphasizes movement, it might work well to play using verbs.
It could also be fun to proceed rhythmically to music, or to have everyone present perform the movement whenever a word is called out.
Balloon Trampoline
Only two materials! Here’s an idea for a balloon trampoline.
The bouncy, springy feeling of a trampoline excites both kids and adults, doesn’t it? This time, let’s play with a DIY trampoline.
All you need is a large vacuum/compression storage bag and balloons.
Inflate the balloons and pack them into the storage bag.
Seal the bag, compress it, and you’re done! A balloon-made trampoline is colorful and sure to capture kids’ attention!
Teacher Quiz
It’s a Teacher Quiz where parents and children team up to answer questions posed by the teacher! You might often do quizzes during recreation time, but the excitement of solving them together with a parent is sure to feel extra special for the kids.
Let’s get everyone excited with a wide variety of questions—like quizzes about beloved animals and characters, riddles, picture-based counting questions that draw out children’s thinking skills, and even questions related to preschool and kindergarten teachers!
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.
Anything Basket
A game similar to Fruit Basket that parents and children can enjoy is “Anything Basket.” For example, it’s OK to call out anything like: people wearing sweaters, high school students, people who have younger sisters—whatever you like.
It seems that anyone who gets left without a seat twice has to do a penalty game, but I think the penalty can be anything.
This game sounds like it would get lively and exciting with lots of kids and adults!
