Indoor recess, am I right? As a teacher, those two words either make you groan or smile. If you take a look at the comments in our Facebook Groups it seems like most teachers are on the groan side of the spectrum. No matter how you feel, having indoor recess plans is necessary – and depending on where you live – can be something you have to think about for months out of the year. So here’s a list of 11 fun indoor recess ideas broken up into two categories (student-led & teacher-led) to make your life a little easier:

Student-Led Indoor Recess Ideas
For this list, I’m going to categorize an activity as student-led if you can sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee or catch up on a few emails while your students are engaged in an activity.
1. Cup Stacking
There are a ton of fantastic indoor recess toys and games you can buy but honestly, it can add up quickly. That’s why this is the first tip on this list. All you need is one of those big packs of party cups. You can grab about 100 of them for less than $10! There are some great videos teaching kids what speed stacking is and if you want to get fancy you buy official stacking sets. However, in my experience students just like building castles and walls and forts and any other structure! So cheap, simple, and open-ended.
2. Free Art Time
All classes have those kids that just like drawing or coloring and when given the opportunity to do something artistic they jump at it. I’ve found using indoor recess as free art time makes a lot of my students happy. Try using:
- Coloring Books – cheap coloring books can be found at places like Dollar Tree or you can find free-to-print pages online
- Minibooks (my students love making these)
- Watercolors – these can be messy but with good procedures in place I've found them to be a wonderful indoor recess activity
- Directed Drawings – printable pages with step-by-step direction make these easy for students to complete independently or you can project the videos included in the bundle to make it a whole class activity.

3. Building Toys
Most experienced teachers have baskets or buckets of “indoor recess” toys. If you’re looking to add more to their collection or if you’re just starting a collection of your own try these:

- Keva Planks– These are basically simple wooden building blocks that students can use to build whatever they want.
- Legos– They’re an old standby for a reason. Kids love them. If you don’t feel like spending a lot on Lego sets you can buy off-brand sets at Dollar Tree or Amazon or search your local Buy Nothing group for parents who are ready to let them go!
- Magnatiles– These are so cool! Translucent plastic blocks with magnetic edges that kids can use to build rainbow-colored masterpieces. They can be expensive but are sturdy and long-lasting.
- Tinker Toys, K’Nex, Straw & Connectors– All of these are wonderful building toys that keep your kids busy and using those engineering brains!
4. Math Manipulatives
In my class, “these are tools, not toys” gets said a lot during math. Rulers turn into helicopters, unifix cubes into swords, and pattern blocks into mosaics. While cute, it’s not on-task. That’s why I let students explore math manipulatives creatively during indoor recess. If it happens during lessons, I simply say, “Save that for recess—let’s stay focused now.”

5. Desk Drumming
This activity is a favorite among teachers in our Facebook community! All you need are pool noodles and a way to project videos. YouTube is full of cardio desk drumming playlists—don’t miss these routines by Mr. Hamilton PE or the sample video below. It’s a fun way to get kids moving while you take a break.
6. Dance Videos
If you haven’t tried GoNoodle Indoor Recess videos, check them out! They offer compilations of different lengths, perfect for matching your recess time. Feeling burned out on GoNoodle? YouTube has plenty of great kids' dance routines to mix things up.
Teacher-Led Indoor Recess Ideas
For this part of the list, you'll need to be more involved—either leading the activity or monitoring to keep things indoor-friendly. Classic teacher-led games like Four Corners and Heads Up, Seven Up aren't included since we all know the rules by heart from childhood. (Stop peeking at shoes!)
7. Hide The Flag
This was a Facebook recommendation from Jen T. It sounds so fun and costs nothing!
All you need is a small strip of fabric! One student hides it in the room, leaving a tiny piece visible, while the others keep their heads down. Once it's hidden, the search begins—but they must use their eyes, not their hands, to spot it (no tearing the room apart!). The finder gets to hide it next, and if there’s a tie, Rock, Paper, Scissors decides the winner. Everyone loves this game!

8. Night At The Museum
This twist on Red Light, Green Light turns your classroom into a museum! One student is the guard, and the rest are statues. You can even give statues a theme! Statues freeze in a pose while the guard roams. If the guard is looking, statues must stay still—but when the guard isn’t, they can move. If caught moving, they’re out. The last statue wins! Ms. Goss explains it perfectly in the video below.
9. Knockout
This is a math game but it’s a game that students seem to never get tired of. You can check out Erin Water’s post all about it by clicking here. Students are broken into two teams and they race to answer math questions as quickly as possible. It gives them an opportunity to move while building math fact fluency and valuable sportsmanship skills.
10. Theme Days
This suggestion comes from one of the awesome members of the Lucky Little Learners team. (thanks Lynda!) She uses theme days to keep indoor recess from getting too repetitive. Grab her slide deck here to take a look at the themes she uses in her classroom!

11. Recess Tubs
Have you heard of morning tubs? (Learn more about morning tubs here.) How about having setting aside activities in recess tubs?! The perk of recess tubs is doing the prep all at once and being set for awhile! Some ideas for recess tubs:
- Math partner games (pictured below)
- Toothy
- Tangram activities
- Color by Code

Get This Resource
Indoor Recess Doesn't Have to Ruin Your Day!
What are your favorite indoor recess activities? Share in the comments!

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