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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[4-Year-Olds] Craft Activity Ideas (21–30)
A hat with a resist painting
This is a piece created using crayons and watercolor paints, depicting items like hats and gloves.
It’s a resist painting technique: you draw with oily crayons and then paint over it with watercolors.
The paint repels the crayon areas, allowing you to color while leaving the crayon lines clear.
In January, many places experience true winter cold.
Even then, many children still energetically play outside.
This artwork features warm items—like hats and gloves—worn for outdoor play on chilly days.
By changing the crayon patterns and designs, as well as the watercolor colors, you can create a variety of different designs.
Fluffy Snow Bunny Wall Decor
Why not try making a cute snow-bunny wall decoration? The round, pure white bunny will bring a wintry touch to your room.
First, layer and roll up tissues to create the bunny’s body.
Next, attach red eyes made from round stickers and ears made from green origami paper.
Glue the bunny onto a colored cardstock base, then decorate the empty spaces with snowflakes punched out using a craft punch and flower accents created by combining round stickers.
You’ll have a lovely decoration that evokes winter memories just by placing it on display.
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!
Magnet UFO
Unpredictable! Irregular motion is fascinating! Here’s an idea for a magnetic unidentified flying object.
What comes to mind when you hear “UFO”? Some people might imagine round lights or being taken away in a bright beam.
The charm of this UFO is its irregular movement.
Let’s make a toy with addictive, unique motion by taking advantage of magnets’ properties! If there’s any chance a child might swallow a magnet, make sure a parent or teacher is always supervising nearby.
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.
[For 4-Year-Olds] Fun Tanabata Craft with Decorations
![[For 4-Year-Olds] Fun Tanabata Craft with Decorations](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HHtP4n_qaEw/sddefault.jpg)
A great recommendation for four-year-olds is a Tanabata craft that lets them enjoy decorating.
Teachers should prepare paper plates with the center cut out and a small hole punched in one spot.
Have the children freely decorate the plate to make Tanabata ornaments—adding stars, sticking on various stickers, and using sparkly tape or origami that’s perfect for Tanabata.
Thread a string through the pre-made hole, and you can hang them in various places.
Don’t set strict rules—let them create freely using a variety of materials.
Kaleidoscope made from a milk carton
Here’s an idea for making a kaleidoscope using a milk carton.
First, fold the tip of the milk carton to form a rectangular prism.
Have the children cover it with aluminum foil, securing it with tape.
Then, draw any picture you like on construction paper and attach it to the milk carton with the drawing facing inward.
And that’s it—your kaleidoscope is complete! By moving the outer picture back and forth, the image reflected on the aluminum foil will change.
It’s more fun with colorful drawings, so try using lots of different colors.
It’s also great to take along for outdoor activities.