[Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Craft activity ideas
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!
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[Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Craft play ideas (101–110)
Kashiwa-mochi castanets
Let’s get crafting for Children’s Day! Here’s a fun idea for making Kashiwa Mochi castanets.
Many preschools and kindergartens probably sing children’s songs like “Koinobori” together during Children’s Day events, right? Let’s make Kashiwa Mochi castanets that will come in handy for those moments! You’ll need cardboard or a milk carton, green construction paper, white air-dry clay, buttons, colored pens, glue, craft adhesive, and scissors.
It’s a delightful, event-specific craft—give it a try!
Fluffy Heart Stencil
The heart stencil is super cute! Here’s a heart-themed craft that’s great for 3-year-olds.
First, draw a heart shape on construction paper or cardstock and cut out the inside.
After cutting it out, color the edge of the heart with conte or pastel crayons.
Place the stencil on a sheet of paper and gently rub in circles with your finger inside the opening—the heart will appear like magic.
It’s also fun to layer hearts of different sizes or combine your favorite colors, so I highly recommend trying that.
The finished stencil looks adorable just as it is on the paper, but you can also try cutting it into your favorite shapes—get creative!
A cute crumpled ogre mask
Enjoy the fun, crinkly feel of scrunching paper! Here’s a recommended oni (demon) mask craft for 3-year-olds.
First, crumple a brown envelope into a ball.
Open the envelope and put crumpled newspaper inside.
Add enough so the envelope puffs up a little, then seal it.
Next, make the oni’s facial parts with construction paper.
Stick round stickers onto the hair piece, then attach the hair, horn pieces, and face pieces to the envelope.
Draw any eyes you like on the eye pieces with a pen.
Cut construction paper into long, thin strips and make them into loops.
Add a rubber band so the size can be adjusted, and you’re done!
tambourine maracas
Let’s make an original instrument! Here are some ideas for a tambourine-maracas combo.
You’ll need a deep paper plate, double-sided tape or craft glue, small bells, ribbon, masking tape, felt, sequins, and other decorative materials.
How about creating your very own instrument with free imagination? It looks like a tambourine, works like maracas, and can even be played like a drum.
A charming project like this nurtures children’s creativity.
Give it a try!
Chocolate banana stall
Why not make a classic festival chocolate-banana stand? If you’re doing this with three-year-olds, the teacher should pre-cut the banana shapes and let the children start from the coloring.
Once the bananas are colored, stick on decorations made from finely cut origami paper.
It’s easiest if you apply glue over the whole banana first and then sprinkle the pieces on top.
Finally, decorate construction paper to look like a food stall, and line up and paste the chocolate bananas to finish! Create a delicious-looking chocolate-banana stand and enjoy a summery vibe.
[Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Craft play ideas (111–120)
Oni made from toilet paper rolls
You can easily make this with a toilet paper roll! Here’s a craft perfect for 3-year-olds.
First, cut a toilet paper roll in half.
Make the ogre’s pants with yellow origami paper.
Make a crease mark slightly above the center of the paper, then fold up both side edges to meet the mark.
Draw a pattern on the pants with a pen, apply glue, and stick them onto the toilet paper roll.
Next, make the ogre’s face with origami paper in your favorite color.
Make a crease mark where it will slightly overlap the pants, cut along the mark, and glue it to the top part of the toilet paper roll.
Draw the face with a pen and add any decorations you like, such as hair and horns, and you’re done!
Lantern-style memo stand
The translucent look is beautiful! Here’s an idea for a memo stand that resembles a lantern.
May brings events like Mother’s Day and Family Day, right? This is a recommended idea for those wondering what to make with kids this year.
What you’ll need: plastic cups, colored cellophane or transparent origami paper, glue, a craft knife, and construction paper cut into heart shapes.
Decorate the plastic cups with the cut pieces of colored cellophane or transparent origami.
Make slits and draw messages or portraits on the heart-shaped construction paper—it turns out super cute!