Get kids excited in winter childcare! A collection of fun game and craft ideas for children

Let’s try playing Fukuwarai!

[New Year’s Games] Let’s make a Fukuwarai!

Why not try making a fukuwarai using crayons, scissors, and construction paper? Fukuwarai is a traditional Japanese game said to date back to the mid-Edo period.

First, draw parts like eyes, nose, and mouth on construction paper and cut around each piece.

Then make a base.

For the base, you can either cut pale orange construction paper into a face shape and glue it down, or draw the face with crayons.

Once everything is ready, start arranging the parts.

You can express different emotions—like a smiling face or a sad face—depending on how you place the pieces.

It’s also fun to arrange the parts while blindfolded.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Make a stylish snowman!

[Winter Bulletin Board] Stylish Snowman Craft by Preschool Teachers (for 4-year-olds)

We usually imagine snowmen as pure white, but let’s get creative and turn them into stylish art.

First, fold a sheet of white origami paper and make several cuts.

The key is to cut it so that when you unfold the paper, it forms a round shape.

You’ll get a circular shape with beautiful patterns.

Children will be excited to see how the snowman’s pattern changes depending on where they cut.

Use the patterned cutouts to make the snowman.

If you stick it onto black cardstock, you’ll have a lovely winter craft.

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Nakajima Junko

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Also great for January birthday parties! A fun panel theater

@aoringo.shop

Panda’s New Year Shop – Panel Theater. Perfect for New Year performances and January birthday parties! Includes interactive mechanisms.New YearThe Twelve Zodiac SignsJanuarytranslationHappy New YearHappy New YearNursery teacher / Childcare workerChildcare#KindergartenBirthday partyPerformance / ShowPanel TheaterAoringo Shop#GreenApple Panel Theater

3:03 PM – Sharou

This panel theater is performed using a shop called “Oshōgatsu-ya” (New Year’s Shop) and various New Year-related items.

When you say “Akemashite omedetō” (Happy New Year), the shop’s doors open and the items appear.

It’s a play on words between akemashite (Happy New Year) and akemashite (to open)! You can use any items you like—mochi, a battledore, New Year’s money envelopes, osechi, and so on.

Clearly explain what each item is so the children can understand and get a feel for New Year’s traditions.

If there’s a birthday child, adding a cake will likely delight them!

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sasashina

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Great for New Year’s fun too! Daruma rolling

When it comes to classic New Year’s motifs, “daruma” surely comes to mind.

They’re also very popular as New Year’s decorations, and there’s even a custom of painting in the left eye while making a wish.

In this activity, children make daruma using colored plastic sheeting and then climb on them, jump, and roll around to play.

Is the plastic bag stuffed with newspaper? The plastic is reinforced with tape so it won’t tear, and cute faces are attached as well.

There aren’t any fixed rules for how to play, so let the children interact freely with the daruma.

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sasashina

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Challenge in childcare! First calligraphy play

@miraistep.hoikuen

New Year – January Crafts#Nursery schoolNursery teacher / Childcare workerSaitama PrefectureSaitama CityMirai StepNew YearFirst calligraphy of the year#Nursery School Craft#Year of the Snake

♫ Original Song – Mirai Step Co., Ltd. – Mirai Step Co., Ltd.

Kakizome is the first calligraphy of the year, in which people write down their New Year’s resolutions and wishes with the hope of improving their handwriting.

Although it’s an event that assumes you can write characters, it’s the New Year—so why not let children from infants to preschoolers enjoy their own style of kakizome? For older preschoolers who are practicing letters in preparation for school, it’s a good idea to write that year’s zodiac animal in hiragana.

For infants, writing characters is a high hurdle, so encourage them to try it as a drawing activity while letting them feel the texture of the brush and washi paper.

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sasashina

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Handmade toys you can play with during the New Year

[Production] Handmade toys you can play with at New Year (spinning tops/kite flying/hanetsuki)

Try making New Year’s crafts that you can enjoy and play with even after they’re finished, together as a parent-child activity.

You’ll make a spinning top, a kite, and a hanetsuki set (paddle and shuttlecock).

For the top, draw pictures on the sides of a paper cup, cut four evenly spaced slits and flare them open, then attach a plastic bottle cap as the handle.

For the kite, slightly offset and layer two sheets of origami paper and glue them together; attach sparkly tape as the tails to complete the body, then add a lactic-acid drink bottle as the handle and tie on kite string.

For the hanetsuki paddle, use cardboard and disposable chopsticks: cut two paddle-shaped pieces from cardboard, sandwich the chopsticks between them, and glue.

For the shuttlecock, tie a knot in the middle of some raffia (suzuran) tape, press a small ball of tissue onto the knot, and wrap it with origami paper.

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sasashina

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Let’s enjoy New Year’s games!

[Ages 0–2] Let’s Enjoy New Year’s Games!

Let’s set up various stations in the playground so the children can experience New Year’s traditions.

We’ll introduce five activities: rice-cake pounding (mochitsuki), spinning tops (koma), karuta card games, kite flying (takoage), and visiting a shrine to offer prayers.

For mochitsuki, we’ll actually use a mortar and pestle to pound the mochi, while the tops, karuta, kites, and shrine are all handmade.

By making good use of cardboard and milk cartons, you can create remarkably authentic items.

Children can play with the toys you’ve made, or they can take on the challenge of making them themselves.

Enjoy New Year’s experiences suited to the children’s ages.

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sasashina

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