Craft activity ideas for 4-year-olds
By the time children are four, their fine motor skills become more refined—they can use scissors and glue more smoothly—and as their language develops, their imaginative world expands, greatly broadening the range of crafts they can do.
Let’s actively incorporate a variety of craft activities using different materials in daily childcare to stimulate their five senses more and more!
This time, we’re introducing craft play ideas recommended for four-year-olds.
We’ve gathered a wide range of ideas—from event-themed crafts like Halloween and Christmas, to toys they can make and play with, to wall decorations that reflect the seasons.
Use these as a reference and, while drawing on the children’s free ideas, try creating wonderful, personality-filled works together.
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[Age 4] Craft Play Ideas (71–80)
sensory play
Sensory play is a recommended activity that stimulates children’s five senses.
When you put a cooling sheet in water, it swells and feels like slime.
For play with shaving cream, try putting the cream into a paper cup and mixing it, or adding color to the cream and applying it.
Doing this alongside crafts helps nurture their imagination.
For scratch art, draw a picture underneath with crayons, then layer black crayon on top and scratch it away.
It’s exciting to see the black crayon scrape off and the colors underneath appear.
It’s also great to mix water with flour or potato starch, knead it, and enjoy the gooey texture.
Using pulp clay to create shapes from one’s imagination also sounds like a lot of fun.
rice ball
I’ll show you how to make onigiri that kids love.
Prepare one sheet of black origami paper and let’s get started.
Fold it into a triangle with the black side on the inside.
Fold both corners of the triangle up toward the center.
With the loose flaps facing you, hold the three layers of paper and fold them upward so they form the seaweed (nori) on the onigiri.
Make firm crease lines—it might take a bit of effort, but that’s the key point.
Flip it over and fold the remaining single layer up as well, then puff it up from the inside to give it shape, and you’re done! It can be fun to make several onigiri and arrange them like a bento lunch.
Fireworks with stamps
Let’s try using a toilet paper roll to create fireworks.
It’s suitable for ages 3 and up, and a nice touch is that kids can join in from the stamp-making step! First, make lots of cuts into the toilet paper roll from the edge partway down.
The length of the cuts will change the size of the fireworks.
You can make stamps in various sizes to make it even more fun.
Once the stamps are ready, dip them into paint poured into a tray, then stamp them onto black construction paper.
Stamp away and create your own fireworks just the way you like!
Shinkansen
Perfect for kids who love vehicles! Let’s make a movable Shinkansen (bullet train).
Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
First, cut a straw to match the length of a toilet paper roll core, and attach it to the top of the core.
Decorate it by using vinyl tape to create the Shinkansen design and drawing windows with a pen.
Finally, thread some kite string through the straw, and it’s done! Children can play by each holding one end of the string with a friend, or enjoy it as a wall-mounted toy—there are lots of ways to have fun.
You can make it even more exciting by increasing the number of trains or creating different types of trains to expand the play.
twisty snake
How about making a snake toy that’s fun to create and even more fun to play with once it’s finished? If you show kids a completed example first and then let them play with it, they’ll likely feel motivated to make their own.
You can download a template online, so it’s easy to assemble.
You’ll also need crayons to color the snake, scissors, tape, and some string.
First, use an awl or similar tool to make a hole in the center of the snake illustration, then color the snake in any colors you like.
Coloring the circular parts might be a bit tricky, but having fun is what matters most—so color it however you like! Cut out the snake with scissors, thread the string through the hole you made, and you’re done! If you run while holding the string, you’ll see the snake move in a fun, wiggly way!
In conclusion
How did you like the craft ideas for 4-year-olds? You can make all kinds of fun things using familiar items like paper cups, paper plates, and milk cartons.
If you find an idea that kids might enjoy, be sure to try making it.
It could also be fun to use these ideas as inspiration to come up with even more wonderful crafts.