Lovely childcare

[April Crafts] Useful for childcare! Spring craft ideas for 1-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.
9 years of experience as a nursery school teacherShibata Risa
I am an active nursery school teacher with 9 years of experience. After graduating from university, I worked at a daycare center. The time I spent happily with children—playing piano, singing songs, and doing finger-play—are priceless memories to me. Currently, while raising three children of my own, I work at an after-school day service, engaging with children and providing individualized developmental support. Drawing on my diverse experiences as a childcare worker and as a mother, I hope to express and convey my thoughts through writing.

Warm spring is a fun season for children, too! Here, we’re sharing craft ideas you can enjoy together with one-year-olds.

Tearing and sticking to make colorful flowers helps develop fine motor skills! For parts that are hard for one-year-olds, have an adult join in and get creative.

If you decorate with lots of colors, you’re sure to see big smiles from the kids! While exploring colors and shapes, they can really feel the spring season.

Let’s all make things together and create lots of wonderful pieces! Get excited and make new spring memories.

[April Crafts] Useful for childcare! Spring craft ideas for 1-year-olds (1–10)

Pom-pom stamping with newspaper

Let’s make a cherry tree by dabbing color with crumpled newspaper.

Crumple up newspaper or scrap paper, dip it in paint, and gently dab it like a stamp onto white construction paper cut into cherry blossom shapes.

Even children who have trouble gripping pens or crayons can try this easily, so why not let them handle the coloring? Once everything is completely dry, attach the blossoms to a backing sheet along with parts like a tree trunk and little birds made from construction paper.

The soft, airy coloring is a perfect match for the image of cherry blossoms!

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Butterflies with stickers and handprints

This is a craft idea where you decorate butterfly wings made from construction paper by sticking on stickers and stamping handprints.

The main parts to cut out are the butterfly’s wings, body, and head.

The cutting should be done by teachers or guardians.

Let the children handle the stickers and handprint stamping.

However, they will need support with painting their hands and helping the handprints transfer neatly onto the paper.

For the handprint section, it’s recommended to stamp first and then cut it into the shape of wings.

If you also make tulips to go with the butterflies and paste them onto a backing sheet, you can enjoy a springtime scene.

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Sparkling butterfly with decoupage (decalcomania)

Here’s a craft idea for making butterflies using the transfer technique called decalcomania.

After cutting the butterfly’s face, wings, and hat parts out of construction paper, fold the wing pieces in half.

Apply small amounts of several paint colors to just one side, then close the fold.

When you open it, the paint will have transferred to the other side, creating a pattern.

Next, add eyes, a nose, and a mouth to the face piece, and glue the three parts together to finish! Have teachers or guardians handle the cutting, and let the children enjoy choosing their favorite paints and folding the paper to make the transfer.

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[April Crafts] Useful for Childcare! Spring Craft Ideas for 1-Year-Olds (11–20)

Tulips and chicks made with footprints and handprints

Here’s a craft idea featuring spring tulips and cute chicks.

First, cut out the tulip and chick parts from construction paper.

This step should be done by a teacher or guardian.

After assembling the parts, glue them onto the backing paper.

Have the children use stickers and other materials to create the faces of the tulips and chicks, stamp their handprints for the chicks’ wings, and use their footprints for the tulip leaves.

When stamping, adults should help apply paint and guide the children to stamp in the correct places.

For the leaf parts, it’s best to take the footprints first and then cut out the pieces.

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Dandelions made with stamps

Get a head start on spring ✨ Creative play with recycled materials 🎨 #shorts #childcare #paints

Dandelions made with stamps

Easy yet wonderfully eye-catching! Let’s make dandelion flowers using a stamp! The process is very simple.

Prepare a toilet paper roll and make lots of slits on one end.

Add many fine cuts while imagining dandelion petals.

Fold the cut sections outward, and your stamp is ready! Draw the dandelion stems and leaves on a sheet of construction paper as the base, then dip the toilet paper roll stamp in yellow paint and start stamping on top.

The toilet paper roll stamp is large and easy to grip, so even very young children can enjoy it.

It’s a great craft that uses familiar recycled materials, so give it a try!

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Puku-Puku Strawberry

Let’s make cute, puffy strawberries using tissue paper! You’ll need: a clear wrapping bag, red or pink tissue paper, round stickers, and colored construction paper.

First, crumple the tissue paper into balls and stuff them into the wrapping bag.

Seal the top of the bag with cellophane tape, and tape the bottom corners so the bag forms a pointed strawberry shape.

Add the strawberry seeds by sticking round stickers on from the outside.

Cut a strawberry calyx (leafy top) from green construction paper and attach it with double-sided tape to finish.

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Skeleton cherry tree

A child’s hand turns into a cherry tree trunk! Let me introduce a skeleton-style cherry blossom tree craft.

You’ll need colored construction paper, a pink clear file folder, origami paper, paint, flower petals made with a craft punch, a permanent marker, glue, and scissors.

First, paint the child’s arm up to the elbow and make a handprint.

Next, draw petals on the cut clear file with a permanent marker and attach the craft-punched petals.

Finally, combine the decorated blossom section with the handprint cherry tree trunk, and it’s complete!

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