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 (41–50)

paper plate spinning top

[For Preschool Teachers] Az Sensei’s Easy Craft Play: How to Make a Paper Plate Spinning Top

paper plate spinning top

Would you like to try playing with a paper-plate spinning top? You can make one with a simple process: draw patterns on a paper plate with crayons and attach a plastic bottle cap to the center.

I hope you’ll enjoy coming up with your own original designs as you work on it.

Another nice feature is that once you’re done making it, you can actually play with it.

Spin them together and have a lively time! By the way, if you use multiple colors for your patterns, it will look beautiful when it spins.

Give it a try!

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Easy and cute! Horse origami

[Easy Origami] How to Make a Cute Horse 🐎 How to make Horse 🐎 #馬 #午 #YearOfTheHorse #말 #馬 #うま #Horse #घोड़ा #Kuda #馬 #Zodiac #HowToFold #Origami #摺紙 #종이접기 #DIY

Easy and cute! Horse origami

Fold the origami paper in half twice to make a square, crease well, then unfold.

Next, fold the left and right edges to meet the center crease.

Flip the paper over, then fold the bottom edge up to meet the center line.

Fold that raised section back down to align with the bottom edge, and flip the paper over again.

Now fold all four corners inward to form triangles.

Open the pocket in the middle of the bottom triangle and squash it flat; then fold the two lower corners of the opened section into small triangles to create the horse’s nose.

For the top triangle, open the folded part and squash it into a diamond, then fold only the upper half downward.

Make a mountain fold about 7 mm wide, and along that crease, cut slits from the center of the triangle outward to both sides.

Open the cut section into a rectangle, tuck the two top corners to the back, and reform it into a triangle.

Flip this triangle to the other side and make diagonal pleated folds to form the mane.

Fold up the remaining lower triangle of the diamond to make the ears, and tuck the left and right edges inward to create the horse’s long, slender outline.

Finally, fold the corners to refine the outline, and you’re done!

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Daruma’s Mayudama Rolling

[Easy!] Daruma Doll Mayudama Rolling [New Year’s Craft]

Daruma’s Mayudama Rolling

A mysterious toy with a marble inside that moves as if it’s alive when you roll it: the Mayudama Roller.

In this idea, it’s made with a daruma motif.

First, cut three strip-shaped pieces measuring 1.5 × 10 cm from red construction paper.

Layer the three strips radially and glue them together at the center.

Gather all the ends, place a marble inside, and glue the ends together to form a sphere.

Then stick on a white round sticker with a face drawn on it to finish.

Try rolling it down a slope and have fun!

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Let’s try playing Fukuwarai!

[New Year’s Games] Let’s make a Fukuwarai!

Let's try playing Fukuwarai!

Why not try making a fukuwarai using crayons, scissors, and construction paper? Fukuwarai is a traditional Japanese game said to date back to the mid-Edo period.

First, draw parts like eyes, nose, and mouth on construction paper and cut around each piece.

Then make a base.

For the base, you can either cut pale orange construction paper into a face shape and glue it down, or draw the face with crayons.

Once everything is ready, start arranging the parts.

You can express different emotions—like a smiling face or a sad face—depending on how you place the pieces.

It’s also fun to arrange the parts while blindfolded.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Cute decoupage gloves

@hoikushisatomi
Creation Using Techniques: Decalcomania GlovesSatomi-sensei Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Kids will love it Production #OuchiMonte Life with children
Original Song – [Childcare Creator] Satomi-sensei – [Childcare Creator] Satomi-sensei

Are you familiar with decalcomania? It’s a technique where you press together paint applied to paper and transfer the accidental patterns that form.

Let’s use this to make decorations for gloves.

First, fold a sheet of colored construction paper in half and apply paint however you like on one side.

Once you’ve applied the paint, press the other half down to transfer the pattern.

Then cut the paper you’ve made into the shape of a glove.

Decorating the glove opening with cotton or similar materials adds a cute, three-dimensional look.

You can also glue it onto a backing sheet and add yarn or other embellishments.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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