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

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

Last updated:2026/1/21

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 (1–10)

Fishing game

Super Easy Homemade Toy: Indoor Fun with Fishing 🎣 [How to Make & Introduction]

Fishing game

It’s a fishing game using handmade fish and fishing rods! Prepare crabs and turtles made by covering yogurt cups with construction paper, fish made by stuffing crumpled paper into plastic bags, and jellyfish made by cutting slits into toilet paper rolls, and attach magnets in spots that aren’t easily visible on the surface.

Stick a string to a chopstick and attach a magnet to the other end to complete your fishing rod! Arrange the sea creatures on blue paper or a plastic sheet and enjoy the feeling of going fishing.

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Let’s make a sugoroku (board) game

[For 5-year-olds] Let’s make a sugoroku game!

Let's make a sugoroku (board) game

This is a handmade sugoroku board game that combines prompts the children came up with.

Write each prompt on a card and stick it onto the board.

Using words or drawings, you can create a unique, original sugoroku.

Arrange the cards on the board, glue them down, and connect each card with lines—then it’s complete! With unique prompts on each space, such as “sing a song,” “jump,” “rock-paper-scissors with the teacher,” or “do an impression,” this original sugoroku will make time at the preschool lively and fun.

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windmill

[For 5-year-olds] Making Pinwheels

windmill

This is a pinwheel you can enjoy by spinning it with your hand or taking it outside in the wind.

Cut construction paper into ring shapes and connect four rings to make the pinwheel.

Make small cuts at the end of a straw and spread them open, then attach the pinwheel to finish! Besides this method, you can also enjoy making pinwheels by folding origami, or by cutting slits into paper cups or paper plates.

It might be fun to try various designs and compare which pinwheel spins the best.

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Animals walking with paper cups

[With things at home] Kill time with simple crafts! Let’s try it together at home!

Animals walking with paper cups

These are animal paper cups that are super cute when they toddle along.

Cut two slits on opposite sides of the rim of a paper cup and fold the cut sections outward.

Attach a rubber band to a used battery, hook it onto the folded parts, and secure it with tape.

Twist the battery around and place the cup upside down—now you’ve got a toddling cup that walks! Finish it by gluing colored paper to the sides, adding ears, and drawing eyes and a mouth.

It’s so adorable you’ll want to make all kinds of animals.

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Paper cup kendama

How to Make a Paper Cup Kendama and an Easy Way to Get the Ball In [A Craft Where Kids Can Learn Through Play]

Paper cup kendama

This is a handmade kendama made by connecting paper cups.

Attach colored construction paper to the sides of the paper cups, and decorate freely with pens, crayons, stickers, or washi tape.

Next, attach a crumpled ball of paper to one end of a string, and fix the other end to the bottom of one paper cup.

Join the bottoms of the two cups together and secure them with tape, and your kendama is complete! If the ball keeps missing because you’re swinging too hard, practice with the ball placed inside the cup and make small up-and-down motions—this will help you adjust your strength.

And when it goes in, be sure to celebrate together wholeheartedly!

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[Upcycled] Jenga-style with milk cartons

[Milk Cartons] 5 Craft Activities Kids Will Love! For Preschool and Kindergarten

[Upcycled] Jenga-style with milk cartons

It’s a milk-carton Jenga that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering when it will collapse! First, color the sides of the milk carton.

Try using paints, pens, or colored paper—whatever you like.

Next, cut off the bottom, flatten the carton, and slice it into rings.

Once you’re done, stack the ring pieces and start playing.

Kids are sure to be thrilled as the Jenga tower grows taller and taller! An adult should handle cutting off the bottom with a utility knife, and be very careful to keep the blade away from hands.

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Kite flying [even indoors]

New Year’s fun! Great for indoors too ♪ Instant kite-flying

Kite flying [even indoors]

How about flying a kite indoors? Fold an A4 sheet of drawing paper into thirds vertically and fourths horizontally, then cut it into a kite shape.

Place this on top of a plastic bag, trace the shape with a pen, and cut the plastic bag.

Next, tape two straws as the frame, attach short pieces of toothpicks to both sides, and add a string.

Make a loop in the middle of the string, then tie the end of the hand-held string to the loop to finish! Add a tail or draw a face to enjoy making your own original kite.

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