[Childcare] August Crafts: Cute Ideas to Make in Summer

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.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

In hot August, children in daycare and kindergarten often spend more time indoors.

Water play and pools can help them cool off, but they don’t stay in the water all day.

So here, we’re introducing crafts and activities perfect for summer that give a refreshing feel.

There are lots of fun ideas kids will love.

Many materials can be found as recyclables or at 100-yen shops, so feel free to incorporate them easily into your childcare activities.

Please use this as a reference and enjoy cool summer creations with the children! Since the things children make are treated as works, we use the term “seisaku” (production) in the text.

[Childcare] August crafts: Cute ideas to make in summer (91–100)

With the marble run, the goldfish can’t escape.

Goldfish that you often see at festivals.

To keep them from escaping, you need to make sure they’re securely placed in a bag.

With that in mind, let’s make a craft of a goldfish swimming lively inside a bag.

To evoke the cool look of water, roll paint-covered marbles over white construction paper to create patterns.

Then, paste cut-out paper goldfish on top—and it’s done! Finger stamping to add seaweed and other details is also recommended.

Let the children handle rolling the marbles and doing the finger stamps, while the teacher should take care of cutting the paper and gluing the parts together.

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SAKI

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A rainbow fish made with handprints

How about making colorful fish with handprint stamps that will make you feel happy just by looking at them? Paint different colors on the children’s palms to create a rainbow effect.

Then simply press their hands onto drawing paper, cut out a fish shape, and add eyes and a mouth to finish.

If you stick the fish onto a background decorated with light blue raffia (suzuran) tape, you can create an even cooler, breezier atmosphere.

The cool sensation of the paint on their palms will likely boost the kids’ excitement! If painting the hands is difficult, try making an original ink pad using a cleaning cloth (duster) and put it to use!

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Fish made with paper plates

Here’s a paper-plate fish craft idea that lets you enjoy a hallway or classroom that feels like an aquarium.

All you need are paper plates, doilies, and origami paper.

First, use the paper plate as the fish’s body and create the eyes and mouth with origami paper.

Next, cut the doily to make the dorsal fin and tail fin.

You can also substitute fruit netting for the dorsal and tail fins.

This gives it a look somewhat like a tropical fish.

Even this alone creates an ocean vibe, but making seaweed out of raffia tape (Suzuran tape) will enhance the underwater feel even more.

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yamamoto

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A sunflower made with a paper plate, origami, and tissues

Let’s use everyday materials to make cute, summery sunflowers! This project is full of ideas that kids and adults alike can enjoy.

Tear origami paper by hand and glue the pieces around the rim of a paper plate.

Next, cut a circle out of construction paper, draw the sunflower’s center pattern with crayons, paint over it, and before it dries, lay a tissue over the top to make a rubbing/transfer.

Besides tissue, you could also use Japanese calligraphy paper or floral tissue.

Cut it into a circle and glue it to the center of the paper plate, and you’re done! For the step where you tear the origami petals, you can also have children use scissors depending on their age.

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miyabi

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Vegetable Stamp Art

Did you know vegetables can be art tools—even stamps? Slice vegetables into rounds that are easy for kids to hold, dab paint onto the cut surface, and you’ve got vegetable stamps! It’s best to cut off the stem end you wouldn’t use in cooking so nothing goes to waste.

You’ll get mysterious patterns that are different from ordinary drawings.

Using vegetables that are in season in summer—like green peppers, okra, and corn—can also be a chance to teach kids when each vegetable is at its tastiest.

Vegetables with distinctive cross-sections, such as lotus root and bitter melon, are especially likely to delight children.

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SAKI

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