Lovely childcare

[Childcare] Playful craft ideas to enjoy with 5-year-olds

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

I want to enjoy crafts with a five-year-old, but they get bored with flat, two-dimensional projects…

Does that sound familiar?

Here are some craft ideas perfect for five-year-olds, whose thinking skills and ability to work on tasks are really blossoming—plus, they double as toys you can play with.

Enjoy the crafting process, and then try playing with the toys you made, both indoors and outdoors.

It’s also fine to lend and borrow toys with friends.

Kids tend to cherish toys they made themselves, so they’ll likely play with them carefully.

Teachers, why not make and play together too?

[Childcare] Playful craft ideas to enjoy with 5-year-olds (91–100)

Jack-in-the-box made from a milk carton

[Easy Craft] A jack-in-the-box that surprises you every time! A simple and fun craft using a milk carton #craft #jackinthebox #birthday #gift #dollarstore

Jack-in-the-box made from a milk carton

Let’s make a perfect jack-in-the-box for birthday parties and celebrations, and have some thrilling fun with five-year-olds! First, flatten a milk carton and cut it into 5 cm-wide strips.

Decorating the cut pieces with hologram stickers will enhance the look.

Make small slits above and below around the center and hook a rubber band into them.

Fold it the other way, and you’ve created a mechanism that springs up with the power of the rubber band! Make several of these to match the size of your box.

Prepare some confetti as well and set everything in the box.

You can also add a message or a small gift.

When the lid is opened, the springy pieces and confetti pop out—this jack-in-the-box is a surefire hit that’s exciting every time you open it!

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Marble rolling with a paper plate

[Childcare] Adults will love it too! Straw Maze [Handmade Toy]

Marble rolling with a paper plate

How about making a marble run that kids will be obsessed with? First, draw circles on a paper plate to match the size of the marbles and cut them out.

To keep the marbles from falling through, glue construction paper on the back of the holes to create marble pockets.

Finally, cut straws into random lengths and stick them freely onto the paper plate to form paths for the marbles—that’s it! It’s also fun to decorate the plate by drawing pictures or adding stickers.

Depending on how the straws are arranged, you can create all kinds of marble runs that showcase each child’s personality.

You can play with your own carefully crafted piece or swap with friends and play.

It’s a toy that will have you forgetting the time as you play to your heart’s content.

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Making a drum with a balloon

Make an easy drum using balloons♪

Making a drum with a balloon

Let’s try making a drum using a balloon! Cut off the mouth of a balloon and stretch it over a roll of packing tape.

Secure it firmly with electrical tape, and decorate the outside however you like to finish the drum.

For the drumsticks, attach a small, tightly balled piece of tissue to the end of a chopstick and fix it with electrical tape.

Then cover it with two plastic bottle caps and secure those with electrical tape as well to complete the sticks.

Since there aren’t many steps that require scissors, lots of kids can easily enjoy both crafting and making music!

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Wiggly straw-made inchworm

My friend made a little inchworm out of a straw wrapper! lol

Wiggly straw-made inchworm

Here’s a wiggly caterpillar craft perfect for spring that you can make with just one straw.

Prepare a straw with corrugations, a permanent marker, and scissors.

Stretch out the corrugated part to decide the caterpillar’s length, then cut the straw lengthwise with scissors, leaving the corrugated ridge intact.

Make a halfway cut at each corrugation, then skip one section at a time as you cut horizontally to open it up.

Bend the long strip you first cut and tuck it into the straw, then trim the pointed tip with scissors to finish.

Color it with a permanent marker to create your own unique caterpillar.

Move your caterpillar around and enjoy the feeling of spring!

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Dreamland with a magnet

Easy Craft: How to Make 'Dreamland with Magnets'

Dreamland with a magnet

Learn about magnets while having fun crafting! Here’s a magnetic Dreamland idea.

The charm of this project is that you can make a mysterious, entertaining toy that moves using capsules and magnets.

You’ll need origami paper, a white board, construction paper, magnets, empty gashapon capsules, poster paper, a color wave sheet, glue, scissors, and pens.

Draw roads on the board and decorate with construction paper and the color wave sheet.

Put a car illustration on an empty capsule and place a magnet inside—then it’s done! Move the capsule with the car illustration by guiding a magnet from the back of the board!

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figure-eight pinwheel

Figure-Eight Pinwheel | Make and Play! | #shorts #childcare #crafts #handmadeToys

figure-eight pinwheel

Feel the spring breeze! Here’s how to make a figure-eight pinwheel that’s perfect for preschool activities.

You will need: paper plates, double-sided tape, wood glue, bamboo skewers, beads, and decorations.

Cut out the centers of two paper plates.

Punch four holes, then combine the plates into a figure-eight shape using double-sided tape.

Put a bit of wood glue into a bead’s hole and attach it to a bamboo skewer.

After threading it through the hole, wrap tape around the skewer so the plate doesn’t slide down.

Assemble the second tier the same way, add decorations, and you’re done!

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cardboard camera

Kids Will Love It! Make-Your-Own Camera

cardboard camera

Let me introduce a cardboard camera that’s perfect for a walk.

Prepare cardboard, cellophane, a paper cup, and double-sided tape.

Cut two pieces of cardboard to the size of the camera you want to make.

Take a paper cup that’s cut in half horizontally with slits cut vertically, place it against the cardboard, then cut out a lens shape and fit it in.

Stick colored cellophane over the top, glue the cardboard pieces together, and you’re done! Try adding a yarn strap for walks or changing the cellophane colors and decorating it as you like!

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