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 (111–120)

Oni made from toilet paper rolls

Crafting with toilet paper rolls ★ Easy! Setsubun ★ How to make a stylish and cute Red Oni! ~Red Oni Edition~ Perfect for Setsubun decorations ♪ Oni out~ ♪ Fortune in~ ♪ Let’s do bean throwing ★ reuse.recycle ★

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!

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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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Make a butterfly net and play pretend

[For 3-year-olds] We played pretend bug catching!

Make a butterfly net and play pretend

How about making original butterfly nets and enjoying indoor bug-catching pretend play as a July activity? Teachers can prepare the base of the nets in advance, and then let the children decorate them by putting on stickers and drawing pictures.

Letting them decorate freely will nurture their creativity! Also, prepare insects like ladybugs, cicadas, and rhinoceros beetles, and stick them around the classroom or facility.

Then have the children catch them with their nets and get everyone excited! It can be hard to enjoy bug catching outdoors, but with pretend play, you can do it indoors and still make great summer memories.

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Wax-resist painting with crayons

[Drawing] Crayon-resist art that appears when you paint over it with colors♪ Wax-resist painting with candles

Wax-resist painting with crayons

Here’s a wax-resist crayon rubbing art idea that sparks children’s curiosity.

First, prepare some drawing paper and a candle.

Use the candle like a pen to draw your picture.

The lines will be hard to see, but that’s part of the fun—enjoy the surprise.

Next, gently brush on watercolor paint diluted with water.

The wax will repel the water, and the drawing you made will appear.

For extra originality, change the paint colors in different areas.

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Paper-cutting play

[For 3-year-olds] Fascinated by blossoming flowers!! “Kirigami Play”

Paper-cutting play

This is a craft activity inspired by kirigami, where you create various patterns and shapes by cutting paper.

When you unfold origami or construction paper with lines drawn on it, pictures of flowers, animals, and more appear.

By cutting along the lines, children naturally practice using scissors while they play.

Adding patterns with pens or stickers to the finished cutouts makes them even more vibrant.

You can also enjoy watching the cutouts move in water, almost like living creatures.

It’s a versatile craft idea: set a theme and have everyone make the same thing, or encourage kids to try their own unique kirigami ideas.

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