![[For 4-year-olds] A collection of April craft ideas that capture spring, such as Easter and cherry blossoms](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DAb5ns446aY/sddefault.jpg)
[For 4-year-olds] A collection of April craft ideas that capture spring, such as Easter and cherry blossoms
April marks the start of a new chapter with preschool entry and class promotions.
Many children may feel a mix of excitement and anxiety as they face new environments.
So this time, we’ve gathered craft ideas perfect for April that will brighten children’s feelings like the cheerful spring weather.
These ideas are full of spring-themed motifs like tulips, cherry blossoms, butterflies, and ladybugs!
By the time children turn four, they’ve developed basic daily habits and can do more things on their own.
We encourage you to enjoy making crafts by incorporating a variety of materials and trying new techniques.
Since the children’s creations are treated as artworks, we use the term “seisaku” as “creation” throughout the text.
[For 4-year-olds] A collection of April craft ideas that feel like spring—Easter, cherry blossoms, and more (1–10)
Sakura hanging ornamentsNEW!
Let’s bring a spring breeze into your room with hanging cherry blossom decorations.
In this idea, you fold origami into a specified shape, draw half a petal design, and cut away the excess with scissors.
Make four identical pieces, sandwich a string at the center, glue them together, and you’ll have a finished ornament.
To form the specified origami shape, first fold it into a triangle, then overlap the left and right sides and fold into a triangle again to create a crease.
Unfold it once the crease is made.
Next, fold the top corner down to meet the bottom edge, make a crease, and unfold again.
Fold the top corner once more along the crease you just made and crease it.
Then, fold the right side of the paper inward along the line that connects the very bottom of the vertical centerline to the far right end of the most recent crease.
Fold it back outward along the crease, and repeat the same steps on the left side.
You’re done!
Strawberry cake made with paper cups
The strawberries look so real and delicious.
Let me show you how to make a strawberry cake using a paper cup.
Prepare a paper cup, paints, tissue paper, crayons, red and green construction paper, and glue.
Use the paper cup as the cake base and paint it.
While the paint dries, make the strawberries out of construction paper.
When drawing the center of the strawberries with crayons, I recommend coloring with pink first and then layering white crayon to give it a three-dimensional look.
After gluing the tissue paper onto the paper cup to look like whipped cream, stick the strawberries on top to finish.
It’s also fun to try different colors of tissue paper and paint.
Easter egg maracas
Here’s how to make spring-inspired Easter egg maracas.
Prepare two bottle caps, beads, vinyl tape, newspaper, aluminum foil, and a permanent marker.
Put beads into one cap, place the two caps together, and secure them with vinyl tape to make the sound component of the maraca.
Wrap the caps with newspaper to form an egg shape.
The key is to create a nice rounded bulge as you shape the egg.
Color the aluminum foil with a permanent marker, wrap it around the egg, and you’re done.
Decorating with washi tape or sparkly stickers is also recommended.
Dandelions made with stamps
Easy yet so charming! Let’s make dandelion flowers with a stamp! The method is very simple.
Prepare a toilet paper roll and make lots of slits on one end.
Add many fine cuts while imagining the dandelion petals.
Fold the cut sections outward and your stamp is ready! Draw the dandelion stem and leaves on a sheet of construction paper as the base, then use the toilet paper roll with yellow paint to stamp the flower on top.
The toilet paper roll stamp is large and easy to hold, so even toddlers can enjoy it.
Since you can make it using familiar recycled materials, give it a try for inspiration!
Artworks created using natural materials
April has just the right climate and is the perfect season for walks and playing in the playground.
Here’s an activity for creating artworks using natural materials like leaves and branches found outdoors.
Prepare a container to collect fallen leaves and other items.
If children decorate their own container with stickers or markers, they’ll feel more attached to it and enjoy the activity even more.
Use cotton swabs to apply glue to the collected leaves and flowers, then stick them onto construction paper.
When placing the items, it’s important to value the child’s sensibilities and let them lead the process.
Once finished, display the pieces and enjoy the artwork!
Spring flowers made with blow painting
Here’s a spring craft using blow painting.
Prepare drawing paper, crayons, paint, brushes, and water.
Draw leaves and stems on the paper and decide where the flowers will go.
Just above the crayon-drawn stems, drip paint in your favorite flower colors with a brush, then blow through a straw.
The paint will spread out, creating petal-like shapes and delightful, unexpected forms.
When blowing through the straw, hold it slightly away from the paint and blow with a bit of force—this is the key.
Give this spring craft a try!
Colorful Tulips Made from Scrap Materials
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3kNo2qJ-3L/Let me introduce colorful tulips made from upcycled materials, featuring adorable, multicolored flowers.
Prepare a toilet paper roll, colored pens, paints, and brushes.
Gently flatten the toilet paper roll and draw the outline of a tulip.
Cut it into the tulip shape with scissors, then paint it.
Once the paint is dry, draw patterns on the inside to finish.
You don’t have to paint the inside, but doing so makes it look even more spring-like, so it’s recommended.
After adding patterns on the inside, your tulip is complete!