Lovely childcare

[Childcare] Let’s make things with various materials! A collection of recommended craft ideas for April

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.

April is the season for starting nursery and moving up a grade.

It’s an exciting time with new classes, but it can also feel a bit unsettled.

Here are some craft ideas that children can enjoy in April.

We’ve gathered everything from activities they can really focus on to ideas they can make and then play with.

When we draw out children’s sense of fun, crafting becomes an exciting time.

We’re sharing a variety of ideas so you can choose based on children’s interests and curiosities—please find projects you can incorporate.

Because children’s creations are treated as works, we use the term “制作” (seisaku: production/work) in the text.

[Childcare] Let’s make things with all kinds of materials! A collection of recommended craft ideas for April (1–10)

Colorful flowers made with bag stamps

@niconico_mama
Art with this? No way! 🌸🎨 Today we’re making spring flower art with a fun, unexpected material 💕 The trick is: tie it once and flip it inside out! Put some air in, tie it, and you’ve got an easy stamp ✨ Dab it in paint and press—hello, flowers! 😍♥️ You want them to play with paint but worry about the mess… They don’t like getting their hands dirty—what to do… Even with those concerns, this is totally fine ✨ Just stamp like a little stamper, and if you add sparkly stickers or glitter, isn’t that the best ever? 😍 When you’re done, hang it on the wall at home 💕 Stamp lots and have so much fun 😊💕 —————————— I used: • plastic bags • drawing paper • paint —————————— ☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆ Thank you always for your comments and likes 😊 Some of you even tell me “I made it!” and it makes me super happy ☺️♥️ I’m waiting to hear “We played!” “We made it!” from everyone 😆✨✨ ☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆#PaintPlay #PaintArt #ArtEducation
Adventure – YOASOBI

Make it with a plastic-bag stamp! Here’s a craft perfect for spring: a flower field.

First, tie the bottom of a plastic bag and turn it inside out, then blow in some air and tie it closed.

Next, squeeze out your favorite paint colors and dab paint onto the bottom of the bag.

Stamp it onto construction paper to create flower shapes! Use lots of colors to make a whole flower field.

Add glitter or any decorations you like—they’ll look adorable.

You won’t get your hands dirty, so it’s easy and fuss-free.

Give it a try with the kids!

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Sakura tree made with transparent origami

@pi_chan.sensei__hoiku
Here’s what we’re sharing this time: “A Sakura Tree with a Stained-Glass Look Using Transparent Origami”! It’s an arranged version of our popular posts “Colorful Autumn Tree” and “Christmas Tree.” This time it’s back as a cherry blossom tree. The cherry blossom season is coming, isn’t it? Are you going flower viewing? It’s easy and cute to make at home or in the classroom, so I’d be happy if you copy it and give it a try! 😊#March production #April Production Nursery teacher / Childcare worker #Nursery School Craft #SpringCrafts #Spring crafts
Haru no Uta – Sakura Fujiwara

I want to decorate a sunny windowsill! Here’s an idea for making a cherry blossom tree using transparent origami paper.

You’ll need brown construction paper, scissors, glue, transparent origami paper or colored cellophane, a clear file (plastic sleeve), and a cherry blossom-shaped frame made from construction paper.

Traditional-style cherry blossom crafts are lovely, but why not use this idea to create bright, stylish blossoms? Displayed by the window, they’ll sparkle in the sunlight and give off a different, delightful vibe.

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Strawberry cake made with paper cups

[Kindergarten/Preschool] Spring Craft / Easy / How to Make a Strawberry Cake ♡

Strawberry cake made with paper cups

The strawberries look so realistic and delicious.

Let me show you how to make a strawberry cake using a paper cup.

Get a paper cup, paint, tissue paper (hana-gami), crayons, red and green construction paper, and glue ready.

Use the paper cup as the cake base and paint it.

While the paint is drying, make the strawberries with the construction paper.

When drawing the center of the strawberries with crayons, I recommend coloring with pink first and then layering white crayon on top to add a three-dimensional effect.

Once you’ve glued the tissue paper onto the paper cup to look like whipped cream, stick the strawberries on top and you’re done.

It’s also fun to try different colors of tissue paper and paint.

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[Childcare] Let's create with various materials! Recommended craft ideas for April (11–20)

A flower blooming on the water

Flowers blooming on water make for a very spring-like craft.

The method is very simple: take origami cut into petal shapes and fold each petal inward toward the center.

Gently place it on the surface of water, and the petals will slowly open! It’s exciting to see how they unfold.

It’s also recommended to draw flowers on white drawing paper and use those.

Since many flowers bloom in spring, try making them while observing real flowers.

If using scissors is difficult, make them together with a teacher.

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Flappy Butterfly

[Childcare Craft] Spring craft ♪ Cute, playable flapping butterfly | Cute flapping butterfly

Flappy Butterfly

Let’s make cute little butterflies out of construction paper that flutter around flowers! Start with a rectangular sheet and crease the center.

Then, leaving about a 1 cm gap from the crease on both sides, make additional folds so that the center section forms a W shape.

With the paper still folded, cut out a butterfly shape.

Next, make two slits in the center area and valley-fold only the middle part—this completes a butterfly you can flap.

Decorate it by gluing torn pieces of origami paper or adding cute patterns with pens and stickers to create your own original design.

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Cherry blossoms made by sputtering

@hoikushi_bank
Sputtering cherry blossom drawing 🌸#Nursery school #Kindergarten Production Nursery School Practicum #Indoor Play Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Childcare student #Childcare Crafting #CherryBlossom Spring Translation #Drawing
♬ Dance The Night Away – TWICE

Let’s paint using the delicate motion of watercolor! Here are some ideas for creating cherry blossoms with the spattering technique.

You’ll need drawing paper, a paper stencil cut into a cherry blossom shape, a blending mesh (screen), a toothbrush, and paint thinned with water.

Spattering is great because you can depict your motif without using pens or crayons.

No two large or small paint splashes are ever the same, so each person’s individuality will shine! Give the spattering technique a try and paint beautiful cherry blossoms.

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stroll bag

Warm, comfortable spring weather is perfect for going on walks! Hang a handmade bag around your neck and head out together.

Cut a milk carton, shape it into a bag with a lid, then cover the outside with construction paper or origami paper and attach a ribbon to finish your original bag.

Decorate the sides of the bag freely with stickers or markers.

With a bag you made yourself, a walk becomes an even more exciting event! You can collect leaves, nuts, and other finds, and it’s fun to show each other what you gathered when you return to preschool or kindergarten.

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