[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 various materials! Recommended craft ideas for April (41–50)

Tulips Painted with the Wet-on-Wet Technique

@pro.group
Children’s creations ✨Pro-Aid #ExcitedKidsMinami-Zao Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture Small-Scale Nursery School New fiscal year April #Production Video Tulip
♬ I wonder – Da-iCE

Let me introduce tulips made with a bleeding-painting technique that lets you enjoy how colors blend.

Prepare a coffee filter, water-based color pens, a spray bottle, construction paper, glue, and scissors.

Draw on the coffee filter with the color pens.

When you spray water over it, the water-based ink will bleed and blend.

Once it’s dry, cut it into a tulip shape and glue it onto a backing sheet to finish.

If you like, adding eyes made from round stickers to the tulip could be cute too!

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mayumi

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[Childcare] Let's create with various materials! Recommended craft ideas for April (51–60)

Dandelions in a wet-on-wet painting

Let’s make a familiar spring flower—a dandelion—using the wet-on-wet bleeding technique.

This method uses water-based pens and water-resistant paper.

Shoji paper or coffee filters are recommended.

Cut the paper into a circle and draw patterns on it with pens in colors you like.

After you finish drawing, mist it with water, and the colors will gently bleed and spread.

If you draw the patterns so the colors overlap, the way they blend as they bleed looks very beautiful.

Attach a base for the dandelion flower and add a stem, and you’re done.

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utatane

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Chick and Four-Leaf Clover

Here’s an introduction to making chicks and four-leaf clovers.

Prepare paint, brushes, a palette, drawing paper, and crayons, and let’s get started.

Put paint on the children’s palms and have them do hand painting to color and create the four-leaf clovers.

Older children can try drawing chicks and ladybugs on the drawing paper.

For younger children, it’s also nice to have them paste pre-made chicks or ladybugs.

For the background paper, we recommend spring-like colors such as pink or light blue!

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mayumi

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Puchi-Puchi Strawberry

https://www.tiktok.com/@hoiku_ratty/video/7462727694682197269

When it comes to spring flavors, strawberries are a must! Here’s a strawberry craft that even young children can make.

Prepare bubble wrap, tissue paper, construction paper, and round stickers.

Shape the bubble wrap into a strawberry with the bubbly side facing outward.

Have the children crumple red or pink tissue paper and place it inside the strawberry shape you made.

Seal the opening with tape, then stick on the round stickers as strawberry seeds to finish.

For the calyx (leafy top), it’s best to cut it a bit larger.

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Sticky Felt Balloon

Here’s an idea for making balloons that make the most of felt’s soft, fluffy texture.

First, cut light blue construction paper into a balloon shape.

Next, cut felt in three colors into triangles or squares.

Finally, use wood glue to attach the felt pieces onto the balloon and make a handle with yarn—that’s it! It’s also cute to display the balloons as if animals or characters are holding them.

Adjust tasks like cutting the paper and using scissors according to the children’s age and developmental stage.

Besides felt, it’s also fun to try various materials like ribbons and beads to decorate the balloons.

Give it a try for inspiration!

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Easter egg

https://www.tiktok.com/@hoikushi_worker/video/7212479241286454529

The zigzag-cracked eggshell is so fun! Let me show you an Easter egg idea you can make with origami.

All you need are origami paper in your favorite colors and some pens or colored pencils.

When an eggshell cracks, the edge turns zigzag, right? This is a fun idea that expresses that feature with origami.

The steps are simple and easy to follow.

When you do the accordion folds, press firmly with your fingers to make crisp creases! Once your egg is finished, feel free to draw any expression you like on it!

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