Lovely childcare

[Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Craft activity ideas

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 for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
Keyboard playerSAKI
I’ve been playing the Electone since I was six, mainly performing Disney music, anime songs, and music from dramas and films. I post performance videos on YouTube and social media, and I also give concerts. Building on my Electone experience, I took up synthesizer and piano during my student years and performed at school-sponsored events. As a writer, I’ve covered not only music-related topics but a wide range of genres, so I hope to draw on my experience to deliver articles that make readers think, “I want to try that!” or “I want to listen to that!”

Around the age of three, children develop a sense of self, their imaginative world expands, their vocabulary increases, and their fine motor skills improve—there are so many signs of growth.

We hope they continue to grow significantly as they receive plenty of stimulation in their daily lives.

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

We’ve gathered fun ideas that will spark the curiosity of three-year-olds: perfect for wall displays, toys they can make and play with, projects that use unique techniques, and activities that can be used for pretend play!

There are also ideas ideal for practicing with scissors and glue, so choose activities that match the children’s developmental stage and give them a try!

[Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Craft Activity Ideas (81–90)

Penguin finger puppet

[Origami] Animals - Penguin - Penguin Finger Puppet

Penguin finger puppet

Here’s how to make a 3D penguin finger puppet you can wear on your finger.

Prepare one sheet of origami paper and start by folding it into a triangle to make a crease.

Keep making creases by aligning the corners with each other.

Fold up so that the corner sticks out slightly beyond the edge, and the key is to keep folding so that the corners meet at the intersection points.

By making firm creases, you’ll give the beak and face a three-dimensional look that really brings out the penguin feel.

Finally, tuck the body area inward to puff it out slightly, and your penguin finger puppet is complete.

It can be fun to make them in different colors and play with them like a penguin family.

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penguin ornament

Let me introduce a cute penguin ornament that looks adorable wherever you place it.

Prepare one sheet of origami paper, a felt-tip pen, and glue, and let’s get started.

We’ll fold it using the basic crane method, but for the parts where you puff up the paper, it’s best to go slowly and provide support while folding.

Open up the origami, and while puffing it along the crease lines, tuck it in to form the penguin’s body.

Folding this section evenly will make the ornament stable when displayed.

Finish by making the wings, beak, and feet.

Even just lining them up and looking at them makes for charming penguin ornaments.

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A cute penguin you can make with a single sheet of origami paper

[Made with one sheet of origami paper] Easy and cute penguin folding method | Origami Penguin | Animal

A cute penguin you can make with a single sheet of origami paper

Here’s a cute penguin you can make with just one sheet of origami paper—perfect for three-year-olds.

Prepare one sheet of origami paper and fold it into a triangle to make a crease.

Fold the corners along the center line; you’ll be flipping the paper over to fold on both the front and back.

Next, fold the left and right sides toward the central vertical line to form the base of the penguin’s wings.

To give the wings movement and a three-dimensional look, make sure to crease firmly.

After checking that both sides are balanced, fold the tip to round out the overall shape of the penguin, and you’re done.

It might also be fun to make them in different colors and give each penguin a name.

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Shaved ice you can make with a single sheet of origami paper

[Origami] Shaved Ice: Easy one-sheet method, simple enough for a 3-year-old; August origami, summer origami [Origami]

Shaved ice you can make with a single sheet of origami paper

Perfect for three-year-olds! Here’s an idea for making shaved ice using just one sheet of origami paper.

In summer, colorful shaved ice lines the shops and festival stands—it’s so icy-cold that you can’t help craving it on hot days.

This time, let’s make that shaved ice with a single sheet of origami.

All you need is one sheet of origami paper in your favorite color and a pair of scissors.

The key is to use the scissors to cut it so it looks like syrup is poured over the ice! This is where kids’ individuality will really shine through in their creations.

Give it a try!

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Easy and cute bear origami method

Here’s an origami bear idea that’s finished in seven folds! First, fold down the top edge of the paper about 4 centimeters.

Then, fold the left and right corners of the folded section diagonally upward to the outside to make the ears.

Fold both sides of the ears slightly inward, then tuck the bottom left and right corners inward.

Flip the paper over, and the bear’s face will appear.

Add the finishing touches by drawing the face with stickers or a pen.

By changing the color of the paper and the facial expression, you can create lots of different bear variations.

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The easiest way to fold an origami bear

[Origami] How to fold a bear ★The easiest to understand★ Origami How to make a Bear — simple, cute animal paper craft (Korean: paper folding bear, Chinese: origami)

The easiest way to fold an origami bear

Let’s make a bear with a simple folding method.

First, fold the origami paper into a triangle.

Then fold the left and right corners up to meet the top corner.

Flip the paper top to bottom, and fold the left and right corners you just folded downward up diagonally toward the outside.

Fold them with bear ears in mind.

Fold the top, bottom, left, and right corners inward, and also fold the ear tips inward to round them off.

This part requires some fine work, so please give them a little help.

Turn the origami over to the front, and draw the face using stickers or a pen—done!

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[Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Craft play ideas (91–100)

Bagworm Kendama with Paper Cups

[Daycare/Kindergarten] Autumn Craft 🍁 Paper Cup Bagworm Kendama [Target Age & Notes]

Bagworm Kendama with Paper Cups

A fun cup-and-ball toy you can keep playing with after making it: a bagworm-themed kendama using paper cups! Have the children stick pre-cut origami or construction paper leaves—prepared by the teacher—onto the paper cups to create the bagworm.

You can also let the kids tear origami themselves and paste the pieces onto the cups for a creative twist.

Next, crumple some newspaper into a ball, wrap and secure it with vinyl tape, then connect the ball to the paper cup with kite string—and it’s done! Since making a kendama involves several steps, encourage three-year-olds to try the parts they can manage.

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