Let’s face it, we would all love a perfect world where our students can go out for recess everyday. But, that’s not real life. And unfortunately, there’s going to be times when we have to have indoor recess.
And this can be challenging. But, it doesn’t have to be. I’m sharing some of my best indoor recess ideas for you to try out with your students. Hopefully, these will help you to turn around indoor recess – and make it less stressful.
Special Toys/Games
Having special toys/games that are only pulled out for indoor recess can make them more exciting. It’s not as much fun when you can play with stuff you’re allowed everyday. But, when you pull out a special ‘indoor recess’ box – instantly things become more exciting.
Some examples of things you can have in here are;
- Play mats. (We love this car one – Amazon aff.)
- Mr and Mrs Potato Head are always big hits. (Check out these mini ones here. Amazon aff.)
- Party bag filler toys work really well here too, and are so affordable! (Check out this bundle that we love here – Amazon aff.)
- Games. We love this crocodile hop one here. (Amazon aff.) And this feed the frog game here. (Amazon aff.)
Parachute Games
The parachute is always a huge hit for us during indoor recess. You can use a parachute in so many ways and for so many activities. Honestly, get one and you’ll see how endless the opportunities to use it are. I’ve never met a student who doesn’t have fun with the parachute! Check this one out here. (Amazon aff.)
Movement Breaks
I don’t know about you, but movement breaks always go down well for us. They’re a great way to burn off some energy and keep active. We love to use these movement break cards. And if we want some relaxing down-time, we use these yoga ones.
You can find out more about movement breaks here;
You can also try GoNoodle and some of the following Youtube channels that we love;
- Patty Shukla
- Learning Station
Music
Another great activity for indoor recess is music. Although, probably not best if any of you have a headache or are sensitive to sound! But, the great thing about music is that there’s so many options. You can;
- Use musical instruments and all play along to songs.
- Sing songs together. You can also make them interactive by making pieces to go with them.
- Listen to songs on a CD player in the background for a relaxing vibe.
- Putting music videos on YouTube.
TV Shows
Of course, depending on how your students are with pausing things, you can watch movies. But this was always too difficult for us having to pause the movie after a period of time. So, that’s when we switched to TV shows.
There’s a bunch of fun TV shows on Amazon Prime and Netflix that you can try out with your students. There’s also some great ones on YouTube. We love to watch Barefoot Books on Youtube. They have animated videos to go along with picture books – and these are a great way to pass the time.
Glow in the Dark Fun
This is one of the newest things we have tried out – and I’m pleased to say, it worked really well! We pulled down all the blinds in the room and switched off the lights to make it dark. Then we had all different glow in the dark activities.
We had torches that displayed different shaped lights, like these (Amazon aff.)
Then we had lots of fun glow in the dark bangles, necklaces and headbands to pass around. These ones on Amazon are great. (Amazon aff.)
Then, we put black sand into a sensory tray and added some glow in the dark stars like these ones. (Amazon aff.)
We also placed these glow in the dark squishes around the room to add some light to the area. These were a huge hit – and they still get played with everyday now! You can get them on Amazon here. (Aff. link).
And finally, we had a glow in the dark painting station. The paints actually glow in the dark and it was so fun to see everyone making their own glow in the dark creations! You can get these on Amazon here. (Aff. link).
Balloon Tennis
Balloons have always been a huge hit for us. So for our indoor recess, we introduced some balloon tennis. If you’re wary about using tennis rackets, you can just use your hands.
We blew up balloons and then had to keep them all up in the air – no touching the floor! It’s a fun way to keep everyone occupied – and in one area if needed. Plus, balloons are really affordable to purchase. Perfect if you get a lot of rainy days like us!
Technology
If you have iPads and computers for students to access, you can also allow them to have this time to spend some time on these. There’s a lot of fun apps that students can enjoy while still being educational too.
Choice
And of course, you can just set up some fun activities around the classroom for students to flit between as they choose. Some fun ideas for activities to set up are;
- Painting – but mix it up. Don’t give your students paintbrushes. Let them paint with things like potato mashers, sponges, rollers, cookie cutters, balloons etc.
- Drawing.
- Sensory trays.
- Water play.
- Sand play.
- iPads.
- Board games.
- Reading corner.
- Toys.
So, those are some of my best tips for how to keep indoor recess running smoothly. What are some ideas that you have for indoor recess? Let us know in the comments below.
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