Lovely childcare

[For toddlers] Simple but amazing craft ideas — including toys they can play with

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.
Keyboard playerSAKI
I’ve been playing the Electone since I was six, mainly performing Disney music, anime songs, and music from dramas and films. I post performance videos on YouTube and social media, and I also give concerts. Building on my Electone experience, I took up synthesizer and piano during my student years and performed at school-sponsored events. As a writer, I’ve covered not only music-related topics but a wide range of genres, so I hope to draw on my experience to deliver articles that make readers think, “I want to try that!” or “I want to listen to that!”

There are so many opportunities to do crafts at daycare and kindergarten, aren’t there?

Crafts help develop fine motor skills, nurture imagination and concentration, and offer plenty of great benefits for children’s development.

But are there teachers and parents out there thinking, “What should we make?” and running out of ideas?

In this article, we’ll introduce simple yet impressive craft ideas.

Many of them can be played with after making them, so the kids are sure to have a great time!

They’re all easy to make with materials that are simple to gather, so please use these as a reference.

[For Toddlers] Simple but Amazing Craft Ideas: Playable Toys Too (111–120)

A toy train with magnets

[Handmade Toy] I tried making a toy train with magnets

A toy train with magnets

Let’s create a tiny world inside a plastic bottle! Here’s an idea for a toy train that moves with magnets.

Even without touching the train, it moves like magic—sure to capture children’s interest! You’ll need a 1.5-liter plastic bottle, magnets, string, two bottle caps, colored paper, scissors, a utility knife, cellophane tape, vinyl tape, double-sided tape, and an awl.

If you make it together with kids, the little world inside the bottle will grow even more imaginative!

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Wiggly straw-made inchworm

[Craft Play 056] How to Make a Huff-and-Puff Caterpillar – a toy that moves forward when you blow on it from above

Wiggly straw-made inchworm

Let me show you how to make a wiggly caterpillar using just one straw.

Prepare a bendy (accordion) straw, a permanent marker, and scissors.

Stretch out the flexible section and decide the length of your caterpillar, then cut lengthwise with scissors so that the fold line remains.

Make a half cut at each crease, then skip one section at a time as you cut sideways and open it up.

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

Color it with a permanent marker to transform it into your own original caterpillar.

Try moving your caterpillar around and have fun playing with it!

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In conclusion

We introduced some simple yet amazing crafts—did you find something you’d like to try making? What children are interested in will likely change depending on their developmental stage.

Let’s be sure not to miss the moments when they devise their own colors and shapes to make toys, or when they add ideas to how they play, and watch over them while acknowledging their efforts.

Let’s enjoy crafting together with the children!