[For Seniors] Easy Koinobori Crafting: A Collection of Fun Ideas Using Various Materials

A carp streamer with scales like Kashiwa-mochi

[Craft Idea] Carp streamers made of kashiwa-mochi scales & irises (May Children’s Day, with templates) (Senior recreation, occupational therapy, day service, childcare, wall decorations) (origami DIY)

On Boys’ Day (Tango no Sekku), some older adults may also enjoy eating kashiwa-mochi.

Kashiwa-mochi is considered a lucky food, and eating it carries the hope that boys will grow up safely.

Let’s make a carp streamer (koinobori) with cute kashiwa-mochi scales.

Cut out kashiwa-mochi shapes from origami and create the carp streamer on construction paper.

This fresh idea—using kashiwa-mochi as the scales—seems like a craft that older adults will enjoy making.

You can display the finished piece on the wall, or attach a string and turn it into a lovely garland.

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Nakajima Junko

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Swimming carp streamers

Swimming carp streamer craft (May craft) (3D) (activities for seniors) (easy craft) (seasonal craft) (kids' craft) (creative) (childcare)

Perfect for May craft recreation and for finger dexterity training! Here’s a carp streamer (koinobori) that looks like it’s really swimming.

First, roll an A4 sheet of copy paper into a tube to make the body.

Decide which end will be the head, draw in the eye, and cut a V-shaped notch at the tail end.

Make scales out of origami paper and stick them onto the body, and in no time your koinobori is complete.

If you add a crease around the middle of the body, it will look like it’s billowing in the wind as if swimming.

You can also make a windsock or pinwheel to decorate, but pasting lots of koinobori onto a large sheet of drawing paper would be quite striking too.

In senior care facilities, people often enjoy lively conversations while looking at each other’s creations, so the fun continues even after the crafting is done.

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kojifumi

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Pochi-bukuro (small decorative envelope for gifting money)

[DIY Work Video] [100-yen Shop Budget-Friendly] Easy! How to Make a Koinobori Gift Envelope – Golden Week & Children’s Day – Left-Handed Tutorial

Let’s try making a small money envelope (pochibukuro) shaped like a carp streamer (koinobori).

In many older adults’ households, people still raise koinobori or display samurai helmets (kabuto) for the Boys’ Festival in May, don’t they? Since the Boys’ Festival and Children’s Day fall during Golden Week, it’s also a time when grandchildren or relatives’ children might gather.

In such situations, it would be nice to give them a gift tucked into a handmade koinobori pochibukuro.

The steps to make the envelopes aren’t complicated, so they should be easy for older adults to create as well.

Plus, handmade pochibukuro can be threaded onto a string to make a garland, so they can also be used as indoor decorations.

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Nakajima Junko

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A large carp streamer wall display

[Wall Decoration] May Dynamic Carp Streamers [Activities for the Elderly] Carp streamer

Let’s make a large wall decoration of a koi-nobori (carp streamer) using chiyogami with traditional Japanese patterns.

We’ll create each scale of the carp using two sheets—one plain origami sheet and one chiyogami sheet.

Since the koi-nobori is big, the scales will be on the larger side as well.

It might be nice to have seniors make the scales one by one; while seated, they can work on the scales and naturally enjoy conversations with others during the process.

Use a large sheet of paper to create the body of the carp and attach the scales.

Make the carp’s face and tail fin too, and display it on the wall.

You could also try making a female carp and child carps in the same way.

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Nakajima Junko

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