Age 4: Simple and Fun! Handmade Toy Ideas
By the age of four, children’s imaginations blossom, and they become able to express their thoughts and feelings smoothly in words.
They also get better at using tools like scissors and glue, which further expands the range of crafts they can make.
So this time, we’re introducing handmade toy ideas that will captivate four-year-olds.
From moving toys to flying toys to sound-making toys, there are plenty of fun ideas that will capture a four-year-old’s heart!
Encourage children to use their free imagination and expressive power to make a favorite piece.
We hope they have lots of fun playing while enjoying communication with their friends!
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[Age 4] Simple and Fun! Handmade Toy Ideas (11–20)
Dragonfly glasses
These handmade dragonfly glasses are a toy that lets you enjoy the fun hues seen through colored cellophane.
You’ll need a milk carton, a straw, cellophane sheets, markers, masking tape, glue, and so on.
If cutting the glasses and wings from the milk carton seems tricky, have an adult help with that part.
It’s fun to use different colors of cellophane on the left and right lenses.
Hold the straw section and say “let’s see,” then look around at various things and enjoy a world of colors that’s different from usual!
Jump Flower
Have you ever made a handmade toy using a paper cup? Here, I’d like to share an idea kids can play with together and love: the “Jumping Flower.” It’s very simple to make—just cut slits into a paper cup and fold them toward the center.
It’s easy to play with, too: press the cup down from the top, and it pops up with a fun springy bounce! Since it looks like a flower, making it in various colors also makes it nice for display.
Try making it together during parent-child time and let your children’s smiles blossom!
The candy box transforms! A moving horse
Let’s make a horse using a box of your favorite snacks! Since the package will become the pattern, pick a box with a design you like.
First, cut the box into three rings of equal width.
Place one ring horizontally, and to its left, place another ring vertically.
Staple the touching edges to create the horse’s body and neck.
Take the remaining ring, turn it horizontally, align its left end with the others, and attach it along the underside of the body.
Flatten the part that sticks out on the left so it juts out, and staple it.
Then, cut the head, legs, ears, and tail from the leftover box pieces and glue them on.
If you hold the part sticking out on the left side of the body and pull the tail on the opposite side, the neck will move.
3D horse made of Perler beads
Iron beads are a handmade toy you can even find at 100-yen shops.
You arrange small pipe-shaped pieces on a pegboard and fuse them with the heat of an iron to enjoy all kinds of designs.
Basically, you make flat designs, but like this horse idea, you can combine flat pieces to create three-dimensional results too.
Iron beads are sold in a wide variety of colors, so try making a horse in your favorite shades.
Add a horn and it might even become a unicorn!
A cute horse made from a plastic bottle
Great for kids’ crafts too! It’s a colorful project finished by repurposing materials that would normally be thrown away.
You’ll need two plastic bottles, a toilet paper roll, tissues, three sheets of colored paper, a pen, scissors, tape, and a thin stick.
In the video, 500 ml bottles are used, but changing the size gives it a different look and makes it more fun.
It’s also a good idea to make it together with a parent or teacher, tailored to the child’s age!
Anpanman
Here’s a handmade spinning-top idea that’s perfect for kids who love Anpanman.
The charm is that you can make it with materials you likely already have at home, like paper plates and plastic bottle caps! It’s designed so even small children can spin it easily, so why not try making it together with your child? First, create Anpanman’s face slightly smaller than the paper plate.
Next, wrap a plastic bottle cap with vinyl tape to make the nose and fix it at the center of Anpanman’s face.
Also attach another cap to the center on the back of the paper plate.
To finish, stick pieces of sparkly origami paper cut into squares around the edge of the plate, and you’re done! Try other characters too, like Baikinman, not just Anpanman.
[Age 4] Easy and fun! Handmade toy ideas (21–30)
straw airplane
Let me introduce a straw airplane.
Prepare a straw, a shorter sheet of construction paper, a longer sheet of construction paper, and cellophane tape, and let’s make it.
Roll up each of the short and long pieces of construction paper and tape them into rings.
Attach a strip of tape horizontally to one end of the straw, then stick the smaller paper ring to that end; do the same on the other end with the larger paper ring to complete it.
When flying and playing, make sure no one is around and use a wide, open space.
It could also be fun to race by launching multiple airplanes against each other.
