Once you have all of your legal and business requirements squared away, you can turn your attention to the fun part: building an indoor playground curriculum and writing lesson plans! Success in the studio is dependent on strong lesson plans that keep your instructors (or you) on track when teaching.

Indoor playground activities

When you run an indoor playground, you might not need to write a curriculum or full on lesson plans. However, even if you just plan to offer open play time for the families in your community, you will need to think of some indoor playground activities. It’s useful to provide options to families. Plus, if you run more structured classes, then you definitely need a list of activities for your indoor playground.

• Freeze dance. Freeze dance is a fun game for young children because they love to move their bodies to music. If you have soft floors, you can encourage your students to really get their groove on.
• Obstacle courses. Setting up obstacle courses before children come to your indoor playground is a great way to keep the children entertained and having fun. Plus, when children participate in obstacle courses, they practice important skills like balance, perception, and gross motor skills.
• Scavenger hunts. Hide fun items around the playground and then give families a list of “treasures” that they can find while they are there. They will have fun trying out all of the equipment and searching for everything on the list! 
• Make believe. Adding an element of pretend play to your indoor playground can help children get more involved and have fun. For example, add a pirate theme to the climbing gym or slide and let their imaginations run wild!‍
• Adult/child activities. Include parents and guardians in the activities that you run in your indoor playground to make it more fun for everyone! You can make participation required or optional as long as you let the adults know beforehand.

Indoor playground games

Children love to play games and they actually help them learn! In your indoor playground, games can be a great source of fun and keep them coming back for more visits. Try some of these indoor playground games!

• Freeze tag. Let children get some energy out by playing tag without it getting out of hand. Freeze tag is a great compromise because children get to have fun and run around while still staying safe.
• Duck, duck, goose. Likewise, with soft floors, duck, duck, goose is a fun game that everyone can play together. Even if it gets a little too exciting, children will be sure to have a safe place to land.
• The floor is lava. If you have a lot of equipment in your play space, you can challenge the children to safely avoid the “lava” on the floor. You can put down squares and mats as part of the path and encourage them to use their problem solving skills to find new ways to get from A to B.
• Parachute games. No children’s birthday party or event is complete without parachute fun! Let them take turns going under the parachute, flapping it up and down, and climbing into the middle (safely). ‍
• Musical chairs. Put out chairs and play some funky music. You know how it goes! This is a great game for children to enjoy at the end of a play session.

Lesson plan template

If you are going to run activities, writing a lesson plan is a good way to make sure you stay on track in terms of timing and accessibility for the children. Use our lesson plan template to get started!