Collection of indoor play ideas for September! Autumn recreational activities that will captivate children

Footprint Rabbit

How about using your child’s footprints to create a rabbit that’s perfect for the Moon Viewing Festival? Stamp the foot so the toes end up where the rabbit’s rump would be, then add parts like the ears and hands afterward with paint.

It’s also fun to create each part with finger stamps! Draw the eyes and mouth to complete the rabbit.

If you add a moon and tsukimi dango around it, it will look just right for the festival.

While enjoying the moon viewing, take a look at this footprint art and feel how much your child has grown.

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SAKI

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[Hand Play] Moon-Viewing Pattan

[September October Autumn Moon-Viewing Hand Play] Otsukimi Pettan 〈Must Read〉 Tips and variations for using it in childcare are listed in the description below. Lyrics/Music: Boku to Kimi.

Let me introduce “Otsukimi Pettan,” a perfect hand-play song for autumn! The lyrics depict a rabbit living on the moon pounding mochi, making it a great way for children to enjoy moon-viewing even more.

Pretend to be the rabbit and clap both hands with a pitter-patter, then munch on the finished mochi! The trick is to make the movements as exaggerated as possible.

You can also adapt it to the children’s age—speed up the tempo during the mochi-pounding part, or pretend to use chopsticks when eating the mochi—to make it even more fun.

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miyabi

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Hand play “Jūgoya-san no Mochitsuki”

“Jūgoya-san’s Mochi Pounding (with gestures) – ‘Jūgoya-san no Mochitsuki wa…’ [Japanese Song / Shōka]”

Speaking of the September harvest moon (Jugoya), it’s famous for looking like a rabbit pounding mochi on the moon.

Here’s a perfect hand game for Jugoya with a mochi-pounding theme.

Pair up: one person claps steadily up and down, while the other adds interjections on the off-beats.

It’s like playing the role of the catcher during mochi pounding.

Speeding up the tempo makes it more challenging and even more fun.

It also works well as a rhythm-training activity for children.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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[Dance] We Are Grapes

[Dance/Childcare] We Are Grapes / Tsubasa Suzuki & Sho Fukuda [Exercise/Kindergarten/Toddlers/Infants/Fruit/Autumn/Parenting/Children’s Songs]

When you think of delicious autumn fruits, many people probably think of grapes.

Round and sweet, grapes are a favorite among children too.

Let’s pretend to be grapes and dance to “We Are Grapes.” Make big circles with your hands and sway gently, or wiggle your hips while saying “bu-bu-bu.” The choreography and melody are easy for children to pick up, so they’ll learn it quickly.

If you’re a teacher looking for a fun dance that captures the feeling of autumn, be sure to give this a try.

Moon-viewing fun!

Moon-Viewing Play for Ages 0–5!

It’s one of the five seasonal festivals, but these days people don’t really celebrate with the festival in mind anymore, do they? For children around kindergarten senior age, how about making dango and little bunnies out of paper clay together? In mythology, rabbits are said to live on the moon, so I think playing with paper clay while talking about that would be a lot of fun.

Experiencing “mochi pounding,” which the rabbit is said to do on the moon, would also make a great memory.

You can pound away—thump, thump—using a mallet made from cardboard on bags shaped to look like mochi.

It sounds like it would make for a delightful autumn event!

Introducing moon-viewing with a paper puppet show

Explained with a paper puppet show! What is the Moon Viewing Festival?

September is the time of year when the moon looks the most beautiful.

There has long been a custom of moon viewing in September, but what exactly is moon viewing? Let’s use a paper puppet show to help children learn about it.

A paper puppet show (peep-show style) is like a paper-based puppet theater where you attach a handle stick to a drawing and use it to tell a story.

Make pieces like the moon and rabbits, and clearly explain what people do during moon viewing and a bit of its simple history.

Then, on the night of the Harvest Moon, enjoy moon viewing together with that story in mind.

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SAKI

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Chestnut picking game

Here’s a chestnut-collecting game that kids will love and get totally absorbed in.

The rules are very simple: make paper chestnuts, collect as many as you can in a basket, and compete to see who gathers the most.

The person with the most chestnuts wins.

Using homemade tongs—made by cutting cardboard into long, narrow strips—to pick up the chestnuts and drop them into the basket can make it even more exciting.

Through the game, children may become more interested in natural things associated with autumn and feel a closer connection when they spot them on a walk.

Once everyone gets the hang of the game, you might also enjoy setting a time limit to add an extra challenge.

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mayumi

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