Lovely childcare

[For Age 3] Let’s make it in April! A collection of craft ideas to feel spring events and nature

20 years of experience as a nursery teacher / kindergarten teacherhiyoko sensei
I’m Hiyoko-sensei, a former nursery school teacher from Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since I was five, my dream was to become a childcare worker, and before I knew it, 20 years had passed since I achieved that dream. Through singing and playing with the children, I kept working with the spirit of someone in their twenties, even as I increasingly felt my physical limits year by year (haha). From here on, I’d like to share helpful information carefully and thoughtfully, drawing on my on-site experience.
Nursery Teacher Mom Writertsukada moe
After working for five years at an after-school childcare club and three years at a nursery school, I began working as a freelance writer. I’m a mother of two children. Inspired by playing the flute in the school wind ensemble in elementary school, I joined a jazz club at university. I’ve also incorporated ukulele and piano performance into childcare. Playing, laughing, feeling sad, feeling frustrated—through all kinds of experiences, I want children to grow.

It’s April, and the children have moved up to the class for three-year-olds.

The preschool class brings a different kind of excitement than before.

At this age, they’re also getting used to handling scissors and glue during craft activities.

Here are some April craft ideas that three-year-olds can tackle with a sense of accomplishment.

There are plenty of familiar motifs for children, such as spring flowers and animals.

It’s also great to observe spring flowers and creatures outdoors alongside the craft activities.

Because the children’s creations are regarded as works, the term “seisaku” (制作) is used in the text to refer to them.

[For 3-year-olds] Let’s make it in April! A collection of craft ideas (21–30) to feel spring events and nature

Spring hanging scroll

We’ll introduce how to make a spring hanging scroll that brightens up your room with a spring-like touch.

Prepare branches, construction paper, tissue paper, tapioca straws, glue, and scissors.

After choosing the color of the construction paper for the base of the hanging scroll, glue a branch onto white construction paper to set the center of the cherry tree.

Glue tissue paper onto circles cut from construction paper, then attach them around the branch.

By using pink for the cherry blossoms and green for the leaves as they start to appear, you can express the changing of the seasons.

Glue tapioca straws to the top and bottom of the hanging scroll, thread a string through, and it’s complete! It’s also great for spring wall displays.

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Let’s paint spring with fluffy paints.

@rima_asobi ♬ A cute pop and bouncy song(1526882) – sanusagi

Introducing fluffy paint for drawing springtime art that makes you want to touch the puffy parts.

Prepare shaving foam, liquid laundry glue, paint, plastic cups, plastic spoons, and drawing paper.

Sketch your picture on the paper beforehand.

In a plastic cup, combine shaving foam and liquid glue in a 1:1 ratio and mix.

Add paint to color it, then use a plastic spoon to place the foamy paint onto your sketched drawing.

When it dries, you’ll have a cute, puffy spring picture! Once dry, you can touch it, so enjoy the fun texture—give this charming and magical craft a try!

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Hanging decorations of the Sakura Dome

Introducing a hanging Sakura dome decoration, perfect for spring with its gently swaying pink hues.

Prepare a dome-shaped paper plate, tissue paper, curling ribbon, ribbon for hanging, origami paper, glue, and tape.

Glue torn pieces of tissue paper onto the paper plate, making sure there are no gaps.

Cut the curling ribbon and attach the strips to the inside of the paper plate, leaving small spaces between them.

Punch a hole in the center of the plate and thread the hanging ribbon through it.

Cut sakura shapes out of origami paper and stick them onto the front of the plate.

Your soft, spring-like hanging decoration is complete!

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Spring flowers made with blow painting

Blow painting with straws! Spring craft flower drawings

Spring flowers made with blow painting

We’ll introduce a spring craft using a blow painting technique to make spring flowers.

Prepare drawing paper, crayons, paint, brushes, and water.

Draw the leaves and stems of the flowers on the paper, and decide where the blossoms will go.

Just above the crayon-drawn stems, drop some paint with a brush, then blow through a straw.

The paint will spread out, creating petal-like forms and delightful, unexpected shapes.

When blowing through the straw, hold it slightly away from the paint and blow with some force—that’s the key.

Give this a try for your spring craft project!

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Garland made with paper strips

Cute cherry blossom decorations made with paper strips (with voice commentary) — How to make cute cherry blossom flower decorations using paper and staples

Garland made with paper strips

Here’s a charming cherry blossom decoration made from paper strips.

You’ll need pink construction paper, a stapler, scissors, a pencil, a ruler, and thread.

Prepare one strip measuring 2 cm by 30 cm and another strip measuring 2 cm by 20 cm from the pink paper.

Fold the 20 cm strip in half, then fold each half again to form an M shape.

Fold the 30 cm strip in half as well, mark 5 cm from the loose/fluttering end, fold at the mark, then continue folding it into an accordion with 5 cm-wide sections.

Slightly fold the mountain-fold edges to shape them like cherry blossom petals, staple the ends together, and finally turn the loop inside out to finish.

Make lots of them and thread them onto a string to decorate!

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Papercut Art: Making Spring Flowers

[For 3-year-olds] Fascinated by blossoming flowers!! “Kirigami Play”

Papercut Art: Making Spring Flowers

For three-year-olds, there are more opportunities to use scissors in crafts and art projects.

How about trying paper cutting so they can enjoy practicing with scissors? Since it’s spring, motifs like cherry blossoms and tulips are a great choice.

For cherry blossoms, you can fold the paper into a specific shape and then cut to make neat five-petal flowers.

For tulips, fold the paper in half, draw half of the flower with the fold as the center, and cut it out.

Try your best not to cut outside the lines.

Once the paper cutouts are done, you can decorate them with pen patterns to make them more festive, and also use them in other craft projects.

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Plum blossoms perfect for the New Year

[New Year Origami] Easy and cute plum blossom made with one sheet of origami / How to fold origami plum blossoms

Plum blossoms perfect for the New Year

The video uses 7.5 cm origami paper, but that may be too small for a three-year-old, so try using regular-size origami paper.

Fold the paper in half into a square and open it, then fold the top and bottom edges to meet the crease.

Repeat the same process with the left and right edges.

Flatten the folded left and right sections to make two boat shapes, then squash both ends of each boat into squares to create four petals.

Turn the paper over and make cuts about halfway along the center creases on all four edges.

Fold the corners created by the cuts slightly inward.

Fold the front petals and the remaining four corners the same way.

Draw the stamen in the center with a pen, and you’re done.

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