Play ideas kids can enjoy from 1st to 6th grade [indoors & outdoors]
Looking for games everyone from first to sixth grade can enjoy together? In response to those requests, here are activities that bring excitement across grade levels.
From escape-room style games where teammates work together to solve puzzles, to chase games where everyone holds hands to flee from the tagger—there are plenty of options you can enjoy in the classroom or the gym! Build teamwork and share lots of smiles.
From active, movement-based games to brain teasers, you’ll find a wide variety of activities that support children’s growth.
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- Indoor and outdoor activities that avoid crowding. Enjoyable for students from first to sixth grade.
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- No worries even in the rain! Fun recreational activities you can do in the gym
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- Elementary School Fun Day a Big Hit! Indoor Game Idea Collection
- [Elementary School Rec] Recommended Games and Performances for a Fun Party
- [For Kids] Indoor Fun! Large-Group Recreational Activities and Games
- Liven up your children’s club event! A collection of ideas everyone can enjoy
- Recreation Activities That Excite Kids’ Clubs! Plans and Ideas Children Will Love
- [For Kids] Exciting Class-vs-Class Games: Team Competition Activities
- Recommended outdoor games and recreational activities for lower elementary school children
Indoor activities you can easily do (71–80)
Pocket Coloring Book
Pocket Coloring: print your favorite drawings on small sheets of paper and take them anywhere.
Kids can easily enjoy them while out and about or during wait times, like on the train.
Coloring with their fingertips helps develop fine motor skills and pencil control, which leads to better handwriting.
Choosing colors nurtures imagination and a sense of color, and the sense of accomplishment when they finish builds confidence and self-esteem.
Prepare a variety of illustrations kids love, and keep them together with colored pencils in a pouch so they’re easy to carry.
As children naturally build the habit of focusing, both kids and adults can enjoy coloring together!
Team versus game (1–10)
Pudding Game
A pudding game that’s easy to enjoy with small or large groups.
Since it’s played in pairs, it’s also perfect for helping kids build friendships.
Players face each other and place an eraser in the middle of the table.
When the caller says “yakisoba,” raise your right hand and say “ya,” and when they say “karaage,” raise your left hand and say “ka.” When they say “onigiri,” raise both hands and say “o.” When the caller says “pudding,” the player who grabs the eraser in the middle first wins.
Try changing the types of foods or adjusting the difficulty of the prompts to keep it fun!
How many people can fit? game
The “How many can fit?” game played in teams.
Place a sheet of newspaper or something similar on the floor that’s just big enough for the team to barely fit on, and have players step onto it one by one.
If everyone on the team manages to get on, they must stay still and count to 10 without stepping off the newspaper.
If anyone steps off, they have to start over.
Dice Cone Relay
The die has faces numbered 1 to 6.
In the Dice Cone Relay, you run only the number of cones matching the number you roll.
Six cone markers are placed in a straight line, so you roll the die, run around that many cones, and come back.
This relay isn’t one you can win just by being fast.
The key to victory is how well you can roll low numbers!
Newspaper Battle
For the “Newspaper Ball Battle,” first roll up sheets of newspaper and place the same number in each team’s court.
At the start signal, throw the rolled newspapers into the opponent’s territory.
Don’t throw them in bunches or kick them with your feet.
Throw them in one at a time.
The team that throws more newspapers into the other team’s court wins.
It’s a simple game, but it gets pretty heated!
ladder rock-paper-scissors
Ladder Rock-Paper-Scissors, which is almost the same as the so-called “Don Janken,” is a game that requires teamwork and speed, so it seems like something elementary school kids would really enjoy.
You lose if your opponent breaks into your territory, so the key might be to keep moving forward immediately after you lose so that doesn’t happen.
It could also be fun to get creative with the order of the players who go out.
Ball-carrying game
@toiro_efilagroup Is the guys' team actually doing it seriously? lol#toiroAfter-school day serviceChildcare Worker# developmental support (ryōiku)#Kanagawa PrefectureAndante
♪ Original song – toiro After-school Day – toiro After-school Day
Let’s have fun by combining things you already have at home! Here’s an idea for a ball-carrying game.
Through play, kids can learn the importance—and the challenge—of cooperating to achieve a goal.
The rules are simple: two people hold a towel and carry a ball together, then place it into a basket or bag.
It helps build concentration and balance.
It’s easy to do indoors, so try it with siblings or friends and enjoy the sense of accomplishment.
Once you get used to it, try customizing the course!