![[For preschoolers] A collection of origami ideas to enjoy February, including Setsubun and Valentine’s Day](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/L9NWXI0y3pA/maxresdefault.webp)
[For preschoolers] A collection of origami ideas to enjoy February, including Setsubun and Valentine’s Day
February brings a sudden chill, and it takes quite a bit of courage to go play outside.
At times like this, how about some origami play in a warm room?
This time, I’d like to introduce origami ideas for preschoolers (middle year) that are perfect to fold in February.
By the middle preschool year, children start trying to align the edges neatly and can focus on slightly more detailed tasks.
We’re sharing lots of folding ideas with Setsubun and Valentine’s Day themes, so please give them a try!
Origami Ideas for Enjoying February—Setsubun, Valentine’s Day, and More (1–10) [For Preschoolers]
bean container box
Let’s make a little box for beans with origami! First, fold the paper in half into a square twice, crease well, then unfold back to the original.
Next, fold all four corners to the center (a “zabuton” fold), then fold the left and right edges to the center and crease.
Now, open the paper back up, leaving only the top and bottom corners folded.
This time, fold the top and bottom edges to the center, crease, and unfold.
With the creasing complete, fold in the left and right sides so that the central square becomes the bottom, forming the box shape.
Try using origami with patterns you like, and decorate with stickers to make it unique!
Heart mobile
Perfect for Valentine’s decorations! Let’s make a heart mobile using construction paper and twine.
We’ll create two types of parts, so please prepare four heart-shaped pieces of construction paper and two red and two brown strips of construction paper.
First, take the heart pieces: fold all four in half, stack them, and glue them together.
Place the twine in the center, then glue the final edges together so it forms a sphere.
For the paper strips, overlap and glue the ends of the red and brown strips at a right angle.
Then bend the remaining ends to the back and attach them in the same way.
This creates a lattice pattern at the base of the heart.
Make two of these parts, and attach them back-to-back on the same twine as the first heart.
A demon biting into an ehomaki
Ehomaki rolls are eaten to ward off misfortune and invite good fortune.
This lucky charm comes with a unique idea: an ogre—considered a symbol of evil spirits during Setsubun and driven away with beans—takes a big bite! Make it by dividing it into parts for the head, fangs, body, and the ehomaki, then assemble them later into a single design.
Creating it in the original size might be challenging, so try using larger origami paper.
Once finished, it can also be used as a wall decoration, instantly bringing a festive Setsubun atmosphere to the space.
Cute snow bunny
Here’s an origami idea for a snow rabbit that you’ll want to make whenever it snows, just like a snowman.
Prepare one sheet of white origami paper, fold it in half diagonally once to make a crease, then unfold.
Fold the left edge in half along the crease, then fold the remaining right corner inward to form a triangle.
Next, fold the triangle’s three corners inward while checking the shape to create the snow rabbit’s base.
Once the base is done, attach ears made from green origami paper and add eyes using small red round stickers, and you’re done! With these simple steps, you can make a snow rabbit that looks just like the real thing—give it a try!
Picture-book-style heart message card
This is a heart-shaped message card made with origami.
It has multiple surfaces to write messages on, so you can flip through them and enjoy it like a picture book.
The method is very simple: fold the origami paper into a triangle three times, then cut it into a heart shape with scissors.
Open the paper and, following the crease lines, alternate mountain folds and valley folds to collapse it.
When folding, place the colored side of the origami facing up before folding into a triangle.
Also, when cutting the triangle into a heart shape, you’ll trim off two corners, but be careful not to cut the corner that is the center of the origami.
Two-Color Heart You Can Make with Kids
Here’s a cute two-tone heart idea using double-sided origami paper! First, fold the paper in half so it becomes a rectangle.
Then overlap the left and right sides to fold it into a square, and repeat the same fold once more to crease it well.
Return the paper to the rectangular shape and place it with the creases at the bottom.
Fold the bottom-left corner up to align with the outer crease.
Open that fold into a triangle and flatten it.
If the left side of the paper looks like a house shape, you’re on the right track.
Next, lift one layer of the top-right corner and fold it down into a triangle along the bottom edge.
Once folded, fold the right edge in to meet the center line.
Lift one layer of the lower-left corner of the part you just folded and fold it into a triangle, then flip the paper over.
Fold the right edge inward to form a square again, and fold down the top edge about 5 mm all together.
Open the topmost layer of the folded-down section and squash the corner into a triangle.
Finally, fold both bottom corners in to meet the center line, and it will form a heart!
Ehomaki
Perfect for Setsubun crafts! Here are some ideas for making an ehomaki sushi roll out of origami.
You’ll need black origami paper, red origami paper or round stickers, green origami paper or round stickers, yellow origami paper or round stickers, and glue.
Ehomaki is said to carry the meaning of “rolling in good fortune,” and you might enjoy it during Setsubun events.
This idea is simple and easy to customize, so it’s highly recommended.
For the fillings, try expressing them by cutting pieces of origami paper or using round stickers!