From classic to quirky: prompts that will liven up a borrow-it relay

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.
Keyboard playerSAKI
I’ve been playing the Electone since I was six, mainly performing Disney music, anime songs, and music from dramas and films. I post performance videos on YouTube and social media, and I also give concerts. Building on my Electone experience, I took up synthesizer and piano during my student years and performed at school-sponsored events. As a writer, I’ve covered not only music-related topics but a wide range of genres, so I hope to draw on my experience to deliver articles that make readers think, “I want to try that!” or “I want to listen to that!”

The borrowing race is one of the classic events at a sports day.

In this event, participants search around the sports day venue for an item or person that matches the prompt, and the first person to reach the finish line together with what they found wins.

In this article, we introduce perfect prompts for the borrowing race, organized by category!

We’ve gathered a wide variety of prompts—from standard ones that are easy for small children to find and lower-difficulty prompts, to quirky and amusing ones.

There are also prompts for things you don’t usually see, as well as sweet, heart-throbbing prompts with a romantic twist!

Use the prompts we introduce as inspiration to make your borrowing race fun and entertaining!

Classics (1–10)

hat

When a scavenger race uses prompts that are recognizable at a glance, it makes things easier for both the searchers and the judges, so the event runs smoothly.

Among such easy-to-spot prompts, how about choosing hats as the theme and having participants find them around the venue? While keeping in mind what kind of hat you’re looking for, scan the heads of people around you, find a hat, and bring it to the goal.

To make the search even more fun, we also recommend a version where you specify the type of hat in the prompt.

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Easy (1–10)

Next, we’ll introduce some simple ideas for a borrowing race! We’ve selected items that can be found right after seeing the prompt and things even small children can look for on their own.

Borrowing races are often included in sports days at kindergartens and nursery schools, so please use these as a reference for your child’s sports day.

Of course, just like the classic prompts, this will also help when you’re unsure what prompts to choose!

A person wearing glasses

There are definitely people wearing glasses among your friends, teachers, and parents who are all working hard together at the sports day, so you can find them relatively easily! If you want to make it harder, it might be fun to specify the shape of the glasses or even the prescription strength.

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person in the XX department

How about making people from specific school clubs the theme? For example, specify a club—like the baseball team, the basketball team, or the concert band—and have participants bring one person who belongs to that club.

If you want to increase the difficulty, choosing a club with fewer members is recommended.

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Handkerchief / Towel

At a sports day where everyone works up a sweat, many people have towels or handkerchiefs.

You can go get your own, borrow one from a nearby friend or teacher, or even ask a parent who happens to have one on hand right now.

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A handsome or beautiful teacher

You know how at schools, kindergartens, and daycare centers there are sometimes teachers who become the talk of the place for being handsome or beautiful? The goal of this prompt is to team up with one of those teachers.

It’s fine to go with the person who, in your own opinion, fits the bill! Let’s have you pick the teacher you think is the most handsome or beautiful.

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principal

If it’s a school, there’s always a principal.

They often give a greeting at the opening ceremony, so even if you don’t usually see them, you can check their face then.

It’s a task that even first graders who have just enrolled can easily take on, as long as they know the face and where to find them.

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Difficult (1–10)

Next up are some challenging themes for a borrowing race! Unlike the straightforward prompts you can find at a glance, these tougher ones require a bit of thought.

Many also involve people’s images or impressions, so there isn’t just one correct answer—that’s part of the challenge.

If the classic or easy prompts don’t quite satisfy you, be sure to use the themes introduced here for inspiration.

A person whose height is ◯ cm

The task is to find and bring over someone from the crowd who matches a specified height.

It tests your sense of estimating a person’s height and whether the person remembers their own height.

To reach the correct answer faster, the key is to quickly approach many people, so smooth communication skills are also important.

To make the judgment fairer, it might be interesting to place a height scale at the goal to check whether the answer is correct.

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