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 (11–20)

Pill bug made from a paper plateNEW!

Two Types of Paper-Plate Pill Bugs: Spring Wall Display, Craft/DIY Tutorial ❤︎ Paper Plate / Pill Bug / Roly-Poly / For Kids ❤︎ #707

Pill bug made from a paper plateNEW!

This is a pill bug craft made from a paper plate cut in half that kids love.

First, draw patterns on the paper plate with crayons, then paint over it with black paint.

If you use a white crayon, the patterns will pop out like a resist painting.

After the paint dries, punch evenly spaced holes along the straight edge of the plate, thread short pieces of black chenille stems through, and twist to secure them.

These will be the legs, so attach antennae to the head the same way, then add the facial features to finish.

You can also make a version that curls up and opens out by cutting a round paper plate into six pizza-like slices, punching holes at the corners, and connecting them with split pins.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Nature’s play of colors! Tie-dyeing with grasses and flowersNEW!

Play with nature’s colors: Fold-dyeing with grasses and flowers

Nature’s play of colors! Tie-dyeing with grasses and flowersNEW!

Spring is the season when grasses and flowers sprout.

Let’s enjoy orizome paper dyeing.

Pick your favorite flowers and grasses into a bag, add water, and knead to make colored water.

Be careful not to add too much water.

Once the color has come out well, use a tea strainer to transfer only the colored water from the bag into a container.

Next, accordion-fold washi paper, then fold it into triangles, flipping front and back as you go from the edge.

Dip it into the colored water to dye it.

Imagine letting the colored water soak into the three corners of the triangle.

It’s exciting to see what patterns will appear.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Cute and fun to play with! Flapping butterflyNEW!

[Childcare Craft] Spring craft ♪ Cute, playable flapping butterfly | Cute flapping butterfly

Cute and fun to play with! Flapping butterflyNEW!

You can wear it on your finger and play with it! Let me introduce the Flappy Butterfly.

Prepare a sheet of construction paper cut into a rectangle, origami paper or stickers for the wing patterns, and antenna parts.

First, fold the rectangular construction paper in half to make a mountain fold crease.

Then, leaving about 1 cm of space, add valley fold creases on both sides.

After folding along the creases, draw half of a butterfly shape and cut it out with scissors.

Also make two evenly spaced slits along the folded section.

If you reverse the creases at both ends of the fold that’s now divided into three sections by the slits, you’ll create openings for your fingers.

Attach the wing patterns and the antennae, and you’re done!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

fluffy ghost

[For Nursery Teachers] How to Make Fluffy Little Ghosts 👻 [Nursery School/Kindergarten]

fluffy ghost

Let’s make a fluffy 3D ghost with a pop-out face! First, decorate a paper cup with stickers and markers.

Next, draw the ghost’s facial expression on a clear plastic bag, poke a hole in the cup, and insert a straw through it.

Pull the bag over the straw, blow air into it to inflate, and you’re done.

The fun part is watching the ghost’s face gradually puff up.

You can prepare lots of sticker varieties or adjust the size of the bag for different effects.

It’s a hands-on craft idea that lets kids learn through play while using their fine motor skills.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Drawing is fun! A mobile of little birdsNEW!

This is an easy paper-dyeing technique.

Draw patterns on aluminum foil with water-based pens, then mist it with water and place a lace paper doily on top.

Once it’s thoroughly dry, cut the lace paper in half and accordion-fold it.

Next, cut a circle from construction paper and fold it in half.

Attach the lace paper wings and a face, and you’re done! The blurred colors are beautiful, creating a soft, gentle butterfly.

If you thread it and make a mobile, it sways cutely and is lovely as a decoration—highly recommended!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem