[Childcare] For 4-year-olds! Easy winter origami ideas
When you think of winter, what comes to mind?
Christmas, New Year’s, snow, mandarins, daruma dolls.
All kinds of events, scenery, and foods spring to mind, don’t they?
In this article, we’ve gathered origami ideas with a winter theme.
These are cute ideas perfect for four-year-olds, who are getting more dexterous and ready to enjoy origami—so give them a try!
You can use the finished pieces as highlights for craft projects, or string them together with thread and hang them as a winter mobile to decorate your room!
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[Childcare] For 4-year-olds! Easy Winter Origami Ideas (11–20)
Snow fairy! Adorable long-tailed tit (Shima-enaga)
Why not try making the popular long-tailed tit as a “snow fairy” with origami? All you need is a single sheet of your favorite origami paper and a black pen, so preparation is super easy.
Fold by creasing and flipping the paper as you go: use the white front side to represent the body and the colored back side for the wings.
Finish by drawing the eyes and beak with a black pen to enjoy different expressions.
With few steps, it’s easy even for a 3-year-old, so it’s highly recommended.
After it’s done, you can show them to each other or line them up on the wall to create a cute atmosphere.
You can make it with origami! Kagami mochi origami
Kagami mochi is characterized by stacked rice cakes and a bitter orange on top.
It looks lovely whether you stick it onto a surface or let it stand on its own, and it’s great for preschool craft projects! You’ll need white origami paper, light yellow origami paper, orange origami paper, green origami paper, colored pens, glue, and so on.
It’s exciting to make each part—the mochi, the daidai (bitter orange), and the sanpō (the wooden stand)—separately and then assemble them.
Since the origami sizes differ for each part, please follow the video to check the sizes as you make it!
lion dance
Origami lion dance figures are perfect for the New Year.
Using brightly colored paper and following easy steps, the lion dance takes shape right before the children’s eyes.
Once it’s finished, drawing in the eyes and mouth makes the craft even more fun.
The folded lion dance can also serve as a room decoration or a bulletin board accent.
Lining up the lion dances everyone made and using them for New Year’s greetings is a lovely idea.
It might also be fun to chat about the lion dance while folding origami together.
Christmas bell
We’ll show you how to fold a cute Christmas bell from a single sheet of origami paper—perfect for 4-year-olds.
First, flip the paper over and fold it in half into a square to make a crease.
Place it so the crease runs vertically, then fold the top left and right corners toward the center line.
Next, turn it over and fold the bottom edge up slightly so a white strip shows.
Turn it over again, then fold the top corner down to meet the center line.
Fold the bottom left and right corners down to align with the tip of the triangle you just folded.
Finally, make small folds on the top left and right corners—and you’re done!
Christmas wreath
Here’s a Christmas wreath folding method recommended for 4-year-olds! Please prepare six sheets of origami paper.
First, place the paper face up and fold it into a triangle to make a crease.
With a corner facing you, fold the left edge to align with the center crease.
After folding, turn it over and fold the right corner to meet the left corner.
Next, fold the edge along the color boundary downward, then fold it back up at the color boundary.
Insert the folded triangular part into the pocket.
Make six of these identical pieces, then combine them into a wreath shape to finish! You can also make it with eight sheets of origami, so give it a try!
Valentine’s chocolate
Perfect for Valentine’s origami! Here’s how to fold a cute heart with a ribbon.
First, turn the origami paper over and fold it into a triangle.
With the edge facing you, fold the left and right corners up toward the top.
Flip it over, fold the two layers of the top corner down, then open them up and squash-fold.
Slightly fold down the top left and right corners, and make small vertical folds on the left and right corners—your heart is complete.
Next, fold the ribbon.
Cut the origami paper into sixteenths.
Turn a piece over and fold it into thirds.
Fold the left and right sides toward roughly the center, then fold them back leaving a small gap.
Flip it over and fold the top and bottom edges to create a ribbon shape.
Trim with scissors to refine the shape, then decorate the heart with the ribbon to finish!
[Childcare] For 4-year-olds! Easy Winter Origami Ideas (21–30)
A spinning top you can play with
I’ll show you how to fold a spinning top toy that spins beautifully! Prepare three sheets of origami paper in your favorite colors, and use one sheet to make the base.
Start by folding it using the two-layer boat method.
Squash-fold the four corners, then open it up with the crane-style folds.
Fold the inner corners up so the white side shows, then fold the top corner down.
For the second sheet, proceed with the zabuton (cushion) fold, flip it over twice, and fold it into a zabuton again.
Fold the third sheet the same way with the zabuton fold.
After folding into a square and then a triangle twice to make creases, squash along the creases and create a handle.
Finally, assemble the three parts together and you’re done! It’s fun to play with, so give it a try!