Lovely childcare

Recommended for 1-year-olds! Craft play ideas and fun crafting techniques

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

Creative activities are not only great for developing fine motor skills; they also let children touch a variety of materials, enjoy different textures, and express their own ideas—making them an essential part of healthy growth.

In this article, we’ll introduce craft ideas recommended for one-year-olds.

From projects that use various techniques to ones you can play with after making, it’s packed with fun, sensory-rich ideas.

We’ve gathered lots of activities that one-year-olds can enjoy, like crumpling paper and touching paint with their fingers.

Watch over the children’s expressions and creative gestures, and try making them together!

Because the children’s creations are regarded as works (art pieces), we use the term “seisaku” (制作) in the text to refer to them.

Recommended for 1-year-olds! Craft play ideas and fun crafting techniques (21–30)

Making koinobori with stamps

[Easy Craft] Perfect for Children’s Day! We made a Koinobori (carp streamer)! [For 1-year-olds]

Making koinobori with stamps

Let’s make stamps using empty lactic acid drink containers and chenille stems (pipe cleaners).

These stamps are easy for children to hold, and not only are they fun to dab and stamp, but the actions of gripping and pressing also help develop fine motor skills in the fingers and hands.

Attach a plastic bottle cap to the mouth of the lactic acid drink container, then fix a pipe cleaner rolled into a circle to create the stamp.

Use the stamped patterns on drawing paper as scales for a carp streamer (koinobori) and enjoy a seasonal craft.

The neatly arranged circular patterns will make an adorable piece of art.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Also great for walls! Paper plate spinning top

[Childcare Craft] Perfect for New Year's wall decorations! Spinning tops made from paper plates | Frames made from paper plates

Also great for walls! Paper plate spinning top

Let’s make a festive spinning top that you’ll want to display on the wall.

First, cut a paper plate in half.

Then, attach a strip of construction paper along the straight edge of the plate and decorate it with round stickers on top.

Use crayons to draw patterns for the top on the remaining white part of the plate.

Finally, attach the axle piece made from construction paper to the back of the plate, and you’re done.

Spinning tops are a New Year’s classic, and even little ones might look at this wall display—or watch older kids playing with tops—and feel inspired to try it themselves.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Make it with paper plates! Cute snowman

[Childcare Craft] Winter craft! Easy paper plate snowman

Make it with paper plates! Cute snowman

This is a snowman craft idea that also lets kids enjoy sticking stickers.

Stack and glue two paper plates vertically to make the base, then finish the snowman using round stickers and parts cut from construction paper.

If infants are doing this activity, it may help to put double-sided tape on the back of the parts to turn them into stickers.

Also, pre-cut the pipe cleaners to use as arms and assist with attaching them using tape.

Changing the colors of the construction paper and stickers will change the snowman’s look, so let the children choose the ones they like.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Fun to draw! Snow globe

@tensaikids1031
January craft activity for the 1-year-old class ⛄️Genius Kids Club Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Production Aspiring childcare worker Childcare Ideas
♬ My Binky – Baby Version – HeyKids Nursery Rhymes

This is a recommended craft activity for infants.

They’re making snow globes.

On circles cut from construction paper, children draw spiral circles with crayons and add shiny round stickers to represent the snow globes.

Showing them a real snow globe before starting can help spark their imagination.

Provide crayons and stickers in various colors and let them freely create their own snow globe worlds.

Crafts that use stickers are also perfect for practicing fine motor skills!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Fun with black construction paper! Making snowmen

https://www.tiktok.com/@hekimen_25/video/7312804209915694354

Here’s a craft idea: paint a snowman with white paint on black construction paper, then finish by adding a paper bucket and mittens, plus face stickers.

For the snowman, draw a circular outline and fill it in with paint.

Because it’s surprisingly hard not to paint outside the lines, if infants are doing this activity, it’s better to either prepare pre-painted pieces or have an adult cut a snowman shape from the child’s white-painted paper and glue it onto the background.

If you put double-sided tape on the back of the bucket and mittens, kids can use them like stickers, making them easier for little hands to handle.

Once the snowman is done, use cotton swab stamping to add a snowy landscape in the empty space to complete the project.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Fukuwarai from a one-year-old!

[Fukuwarai!?] New Year’s craft from around age 1. Recommended for January. #childcareideas #childcarecrafts #DIY #crafts #handmade #homemade #preschoolteacherlife #easycrafts #YearOfTheDragon

Fukuwarai from a one-year-old!

Here are some craft ideas for making Fukuwarai with construction paper.

Just cut out the parts from the paper, glue them together, and draw patterns with a pen to finish.

With a bit of adult help—such as pre-cutting the pieces—even young children can take part.

Put double-sided tape on the facial features and let the kids enjoy sticking them on while playing Fukuwarai.

The classics are Hyottoko and Okame, but a daruma or the zodiac animal of the year also make great motifs.

Enjoy a winter craft session to your heart’s content, with a playful spirit.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Let’s make a big Christmas tree!

[Ages 0–2] Let’s make a Christmas tree!

Let's make a big Christmas tree!

This is an idea where you put a big Christmas tree made from construction paper on the wall and let the children freely decorate it with ornaments.

Since it’s for infants (0-year-olds), please prepare the ornament bases in advance by cutting them out of construction paper.

Let the children draw on the bases with crayons or stick on stickers to create lovely ornaments.

Once the ornaments are finished, decorate the tree with them! If you prepare bases in a variety of motifs, the tree will look even more festive.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem