[Origami] Simple Origami Ideas to Feel the Spring with 3-Year-Olds

horsetail

[Origami] Spring origami “horsetail” made together with a 3-year-old child ☆Ornament☆

Let’s make a cute plant that announces the arrival of spring! Here’s an idea for making horsetails (tsukushi).

Seeing horsetails along field ridges, rice paddy paths, or embankments really makes you feel that spring has come, doesn’t it? Let’s make tsukushi out of origami with the kids.

You’ll need light green origami paper, scissors, and colored pencils or pens.

The steps are simple and easy to follow, but when folding sections where the paper is layered, it’s best to work together with a teacher or guardian for safety.

Give it a try!

cabbage

How to fold an origami cabbage

Let’s make spring cabbage with soft, juicy leaves! All you need is light green origami paper.

Since cabbage is sold year-round at supermarkets, it probably appears often on menus at preschools and at home, doesn’t it? Let’s have the children make a familiar cabbage out of origami.

Fold it into a triangle and open it; then, using the center crease as an axis, accordion-fold both sides.

The key is to offset the creases slightly as you accordion-fold! It’s also recommended as an introduction to food education.

[Origami] Strawberry

[Nursery/Kindergarten] Spring Origami Craft – April/May / Strawberry: how to hold an origami strawberry

Let’s make a strawberry out of origami—sweet, tangy, and bright red! Prepare one sheet of red origami paper and place it with the white side facing up.

Fold it into a triangle to make a crease, then open it.

Fold the two adjacent edges in to meet the crease, and fold the pointed tip up to align with the center of the base of the white triangle.

Next, fold the two bottom corners inward to meet the center line, then slightly fold the left and right corners inward.

Flip the paper over, fold the top corner down toward you by about 1 cm, and you’re done! If you color the folded-over white part green and draw black seeds on the red part, it will look even more like a strawberry.

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sasashina

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[Origami] Tulip

[Childcare Craft] Great for spring wall displays too! Easy origami tulips | Origami Tulips

When you think of flowers you often see in spring, tulips come to mind.

There’s also a famous children’s song about them, so kids are probably familiar with tulips too.

This time, let’s make a tulip with origami.

We’ll use two sheets of origami paper: one for the flower and one for the leaf.

First, for the flower, fold the paper into a triangle, then fold it into a triangle once more to crease it.

Open it back to the first triangle.

Using the center line as a guide, fold both corners inward at a slight diagonal, then flip it over and fold the left, right, and bottom corners inward.

For the leaf, also fold the paper into a triangle, then fold the top corner down to align with the bottom edge.

Flip the paper top-to-bottom, fold it in half horizontally, then unfold.

Next, fold the lower left and right edges in to meet the center line.

Finally, attach the flower to the leaf, and you’re done.

Aligning corners and making diagonal folds can be a bit tricky, so take your time and work carefully.

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sasashina

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Bee

Adorably round! Here are some ideas for making bees out of origami.

What you’ll need: yellow origami paper, glue or tape, a black pen or colored pencils, and black origami paper or construction paper.

When we think of honeybees, we imagine their gentle role of gathering nectar and pollen from flowers.

How about decorating with origami bees alongside flower crafts? Some steps are a bit tricky, but it’s great to work on them together with a teacher or guardian.

Give it a try!

A one-off dandelion

You can make a dandelion just by making a single cut with origami paper.

Cut origami paper that matches the image of a dandelion, or patterned origami paper, into long, thin strips.

These long strips will be the dandelion’s petals.

Attach the strips to a sturdy base for the dandelion flower, made from construction paper or other thick paper.

Gluing the strips in a circular shape and adding leaves will make it look even more like a dandelion.

It’s also cute to add origami bees or butterflies as accents.

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Nakajima Junko

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caterpillar

[Origami] A summer origami “caterpillar” to make with a 3-year-old

It looks like it could start wriggling any second! Let me share an idea for making a caterpillar out of origami.

All you need is green origami paper, a pen, and round stickers.

Caterpillars appear in picture books and hand-play songs for infants, so children are already familiar with them.

You might even spot one outdoors in spring! This time, let’s try making one with green origami paper.

The steps are simple and easy to follow.

For the accordion-folding part, it’s best to work together with a teacher or guardian.

Once your caterpillar is finished, drawing eyes with a pen or adding round stickers will make it even more lovable.