Fun winter activities: Recreations that children can enjoy
We’ve gathered winter activities that kids can enjoy!
In addition to classic seasonal pastimes perfect for winter—like kite flying and spinning tops—we also introduce a variety of outdoor games and recreational activities that will warm them up.
Some children aren’t fond of playing outside because it’s so cold in winter.
On the other hand, some kids want to play outside a lot even when it’s chilly.
This article features both indoor and outdoor activities, so find the ones your kids want to try!
These are great for elementary school recreation, and we’ve also included fingerplay songs and traditional children’s songs, so feel free to incorporate them into early childhood care as well!
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- [For Kids] Outdoor Recreation Games: Fun Outdoor Play
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- Play ideas kids can enjoy from 1st to 6th grade [indoors & outdoors]
- Fun snow play ideas that captivate both kids and adults!
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- [For Kids] Today's Recommended Recreation Idea Collection
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- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- New Year party games that get everyone excited: a fun collection of ideas from classics to DIY
- No worries even in the rain! Fun recreational activities you can do in the gym
Fun winter activities: Recreational ideas for kids (11–20)
yuzu bath
The winter solstice is the day of the year when the sun is above the horizon for the shortest time.
On that day, there is a custom of taking a bath with floating yuzu.
How about experiencing a yuzu bath and enjoying the refreshing aroma and warmth of yuzu? A casual way to try it is with a foot bath or by soaking your hands, which is recommended.
Warming your hands and feet thoroughly also supports staying healthy through the winter.
Let’s also have people think about how the warmth feels different when yuzu is added and how to enhance its fragrance.
6 Recommended Finger-Play Activities for Winter
Let’s have them enjoy moving their fingers with fingerplay activities set to winter-themed songs.
Moving their hands while singing not only makes it fun, but also helps warm up the body.
Try a variety of winter songs—ones featuring animals, Christmas-themed songs, and more—and carefully figure out which songs they enjoy the most.
Paying attention to how they move—whether small movements just with the hands or larger movements using the arms—will help warm up the whole body, so it’s highly recommended.
long rope jumping
It takes a fair number of people, but long-rope jumping is a classic game you can enjoy in winter.
Like tag, it’s an active game, so you can warm up while playing even in the cold.
Unlike regular jump rope, height differences aren’t an issue, so both adults and children can enjoy it together—that’s a nice advantage.
Homemade miso making
How about making miso, a traditional Japanese fermented seasoning, together with your children? Rather than just explaining what miso is made from and how it’s produced, actually making it together creates a hands-on experience that will stick in their memories.
Miso-making mainly involves using your hands to mix and knead, so kids can enjoy taking on the challenge.
The aroma of the miso and the tactile feel in their hands will stimulate their senses.
It’s said that making it during the colder months—called “kanjikomi,” or winter preparation—results in better flavor, so try making it together in the cold winter season.
Hot Spring Exercises IRyuzo Fukuda
When you soak in a hot spring during the cold winter, the warm water wraps around you, warming both body and soul and making you feel wonderfully relaxed.
Let me introduce a song perfect for winter baths: “Onsen Taiso No.
1.” It portrays the whole sequence from before entering the hot spring to after getting out, and its unique lyrics and movements naturally lift your spirits.
If everyone does the exercises on a cold day, you might just feel like you’re at a hot spring! It’s a fun and quirky routine that’s sure to bring smiles to children’s faces—give it a try!
kite flying
Kite flying has long been loved as a classic New Year’s pastime in winter.
It might be a bit difficult on your first try, but after a few attempts you gradually get the hang of it.
Once you learn how to fly a kite well, you may find yourself losing track of time.
Fun winter activities: Recreations kids can enjoy (21–30)
rice cake pounding play
Even if you think, “I want to try pounding mochi for New Year’s!” it’s hard to do at home because you may not have the tools, and parts of it can be a bit dangerous for kids.
But if you make some simple tools to simulate mochi pounding, anyone can easily experience it at New Year’s! Prepare two long, narrow strips of thick paper, each about 10 cm wide, and fold them back and forth in an accordion to make spring-like pieces.
Put those into a container to serve as the mortar.
For the mochi, put bubble wrap (or similar) into a plastic bag and place it on top of the “springs.” For the mallet, combine a cardboard tube from plastic wrap with a styrofoam block wrapped in bubble wrap—that’s all you need! You can play with it over and over, so give it a try!
