[Childcare] Playful craft ideas to enjoy with 5-year-olds
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?
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[Childcare] Crafting ideas to play and enjoy with 5-year-olds (11–20)
Tonton Sumo
Sumo is said to have begun as a Shinto ritual.
As for paper sumo—where paper dolls modeled after wrestlers are made to wrestle—there are various theories about its origins, but since there are no clear written records, it seems to have been a pastime from quite a long time ago.
So let’s enjoy paper sumo using milk cartons, which are sturdier than construction paper.
Cut a piece of paper into a square, fold it in half, and draw whatever you like on the front and back.
It’s fun from the moment you start preparing your own wrestler doll even before you play.
After that, just tap-tap on a box serving as the ring and enjoy.
For children who’ve never tried paper sumo, it will surely feel fresh and new!
twisty snake
This is a whirling snake that spins energetically when you run holding the end of a string! Draw a spiral-shaped snake on construction paper, poke a hole in the center, and add the snake’s patterns.
If you color it vibrantly, it will look even prettier when it spins.
Once the coloring is done, cut along the lines.
Finally, thread fishing line or another string through the hole you made—done! If you hold the string and run full speed, the snake will spin around as if it’s dancing.
Leave the patterns and colors up to the kids! It’ll be so much fun to see what unique snakes they create.
Paper Cup Merry-Go-Round
This is a project to make a merry-go-round that spins when you twist a bar sticking out from the side! Make holes in the side and bottom of a paper cup large enough for a straw to pass through, then insert a bendable straw from the side and out through the bottom.
Cut the protruding end into four equal sections, spread them open, and attach a circular piece of paper—now you’ve created the spinning mechanism.
Make the roof and pillar parts from construction paper, hang drawings of characters the children made from the roof, and assemble.
Twist the straw to spin your handmade merry-go-round!
Spins great! A top made from a paper cup
Why not open up a paper cup and make a well-spinning top? You will need a paper cup, markers, origami paper, and so on.
First, mark the rim of the paper cup into eight equal sections.
Cut along the marks, but don’t cut all the way—leave a little uncut.
Once you’ve made the cuts, fold them and spread them out.
Trim off the tips and decorate with markers or similar.
A continuous pattern may look nicer when it spins.
Next, fold the shaft using origami paper.
Fit the shaft into the bottom (underside) of the paper cup, and you’re done.
An ogre mask made with torn-paper collage
Let’s create a project packed with personal touches! You’ll need construction paper oni parts, origami paper in your favorite colors, scissors, glue, thick cardstock, rubber bands, and a stapler.
The simple step of tearing origami paper for the oni’s hair and gluing it on is great even for infant classes, but since this is for a class of five-year-olds, it might be nice to set a theme of finishing their work with careful attention to detail.
They can have fun arranging the hair in rainbow colors or decorating with craft punches.
Give it a try and incorporate it into your activities!
Merry-go-round! The horses that go round and round
Let’s make a toy where horses spin around like a merry-go-round.
For the base, use a paper bowl and a paper cup.
For the spinning mechanism, use a paper clip, a rubber band, a bead, a toothpick, and a wooden chopstick.
First, use an awl to make a hole in the center of the bottoms of both the paper bowl and the paper cup.
Straighten the paper clip, then bend one end into a hook shape.
Thread a bead onto a rubber band, hook one end of the rubber band onto the paper clip’s hook, and pass it through from the bottom of the paper cup.
On the other end of the rubber band, insert the wooden chopstick so it won’t slip out.
Next, pass the clip up through the bottom of the paper bowl, stack it with the paper cup, then remove the hook and insert a toothpick as a stopper.
Finally, attach paper with horse illustrations to both ends of the chopstick, and you’re done.
[Childcare] Playful craft ideas to enjoy with 5-year-olds (21–30)
Make a clear horse out of a plastic bottle!
Why not try a craft project using recycled materials? In this idea, you’ll make a horse out of plastic bottles.
Cut the bottles with scissors and glue the pieces together while imagining the overall shape of the horse.
Instead of fixing the shape from the start, you’ll turn the cut parts into a horse by using them creatively—an idea that really stimulates creativity.
Use clear plastic bottles to create a mysterious, beautiful transparent horse.
Since you’ll be assembling as you glue, a hot glue gun will come in handy.