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 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.
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 Play Ideas (71–80)

Handmade triangle puzzle

[1-Minute Therapy] [Handmade Learning Toy] Triangle Puzzle – Autism Support, After-School Day Service (Therapy A-3-2)

Handmade triangle puzzle

This is an indoor activity where you use colorful construction paper to make triangles of various sizes and combine them to complete pictures and shapes.

Children can work at their own pace and freely, which helps them enjoyably develop concentration, spatial awareness, and creativity.

Because there are few chances to fail and it’s easy to experience success, it’s also effective for boosting self-esteem.

The materials are simple and you can start right away, which is a big plus.

With a little ingenuity, kids can create their favorite animals, vehicles, or even story worlds—so adults, too, should dive in and enjoy it together!

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Creative play with colored water and droppers

Shaping play with colored water and droppers (from 18 months old; children with developmental disabilities can enjoy it together)

Creative play with colored water and droppers

This is an art activity where you drip colored water onto washi paper using a dropper.

We recommend using a stronger type of washi than regular calligraphy paper.

It’s helpful to prepare a backing board in advance by wrapping a piece of cardboard with plastic.

Put paint in an egg carton, then use the dropper to drip the paint onto the washi paper.

Fold it into a size that’s easy for children to hold, then unfold it to finish! You can fold the paper into a square or a triangle—either is fine.

Some children may feel uneasy about the colors mixing, so show them a sample and reassure them by saying, “It’s okay if the colors mix!”

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Making Slime with Potato Starch

[Nursery/Kindergarten] Safe Potato Starch Slime for Toddlers [Paper Puppet/What Color Do You Like?]

Making Slime with Potato Starch

Let’s make slime using potato starch that is safe even if children touch it or put it in their mouths.

If you add 170 cc of water to 200 g of potato starch, it will have just the right consistency: it hardens when squeezed, but turns runny when you release your grip.

Once you reach that point, add food coloring to dye it.

You can color it red, blue, and yellow, and then experiment by mixing those three colors to see what new colors you can create.

Because food coloring can be hard to remove from clothing, you may use paint for coloring if the children are old enough that there’s no risk of them putting it in their mouths.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Sunflower made with string threading

[From around age 3] Sunflower craft #childcareideas #daycare #DIY #craft #indoorplay #artproject #flower

Sunflower made with string threading

When you can enjoy creating with familiar materials, it stimulates your expressive and imaginative abilities and nurtures a love of making things, doesn’t it? With this craft, you can make a sunflower using a paper plate, yarn, and origami paper.

The steps are simple: use a hole punch to make holes around the paper plate for threading the yarn.

After threading the yarn through the holes, glue long, thin strips of origami paper around the edge of the plate to form petals.

It’s a recommended craft that lets you have fun using your fingertips.

Choose different colors and thicknesses of yarn to create a lovely sunflower!

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Scissor practice! Friends of the sea

Scissor Practice [Summer Craft] Let’s make an ocean with scissors and glue! Perfect for developing fine motor skills! [For ages 2–3]

Scissor practice! Friends of the sea

We’d like to introduce a craft activity that lets children enjoy creating while practicing scissor skills.

Cut octopus, squid, and jellyfish shapes out of construction paper, then draw lines on their wavy tentacle sections.

After drawing gentle waves or zigzag waves, have the children cut along the lines with scissors.

Glue the cut waves and the octopus, squid, and jellyfish onto a sheet of construction paper to finish.

Although it’s said that children can start using scissors around age two, please teach them safely by reviewing scissor rules and observing each child’s developmental stage.

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