[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!
- For older kindergarteners: Let’s make it! A collection of recommended origami ideas for February
- [For 4-5-year-olds] Folding is fun! A collection of January origami ideas to enjoy with preschoolers
- [For Preschoolers] Let’s Make It Together with the Kids! Origami Ideas for February
- [For 4–5 year olds] A collection of recommended origami ideas for March—featuring seasonal events and natural motifs
- [For Preschoolers] Fold with Fun! January Origami Ideas for Little Ones
- [Kindergarten (older class)] What kind of season is March? Let’s make events and natural objects with origami!
- [For 4-year-olds] Enjoy February! A Collection of Craft Ideas
- Play activities recommended for childcare in February: ideas to enjoy seasonal events
- [Childcare] A Collection of Origami Ideas for Hinamatsuri: Let’s Make Them with Kids!
- Recommended in February! A collection of easy origami ideas perfect for childcare to enjoy the season.
- [For preschoolers] A collection of origami ideas to enjoy February, including Setsubun and Valentine’s Day
- [For 3-year-olds] A collection of recommended craft ideas to make in February
- [For 5-year-olds] Let’s Make It! A Collection of Recommended Craft Ideas for February
[For Preschoolers] A Collection of Origami Ideas to Enjoy February—Setsubun, Valentine’s Day, and More (11–20)
Origami Mumps
Would you like to make an Otafuku, which is said to bring good fortune and stands in contrast to oni, considered symbols of malevolent energy? It’s a simple process and a kid-friendly idea! First, fold the origami paper into a triangle twice to create creases, then unfold it back to the original shape.
Next, fold the bottom corner up to meet the center to make a crease.
Unfold that corner, then fold the bottom corner again along the new crease, and use the top crease to make a wrapped fold.
Fold the right corner next to it in the same way to create Okame’s hair.
Finally, fold the remaining corners in toward the center to form Otafuku’s characteristic rounded outline—and you’re done.
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!
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!
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.
Tissue paper heart
This is a Valentine’s craft with a heart motif.
Try expressing a heart in various ways in the center of a sheet of construction paper.
For infants, a recommended method is to draw a heart outline and fill the inside with crumpled tissue paper to create a three-dimensional heart.
For children who can use scissors well, try cutting a heart-shaped window in the center of the paper and expressing the heart with a lattice pattern made from strips of construction paper.
As a decoration, making heart-shaped paper cutouts with origami is also recommended.
Create a lovely heart using methods suited to each age group!
Making oni masks
Let’s make oni masks to wear for Setsubun! As a first step, cut the base shapes for the oni’s face and hair from construction paper.
Next, cut out the parts for the eyes, nose, fangs, cheeks, and horns, and pre-cut short pieces of yarn for the hair.
Adults can handle the prep, but it might be nice to let the children do it since it’s good practice with scissors.
Once everything is ready, glue each part onto the face base.
After the oni’s face is complete, attach it to the mask base to finish! The mask base should be prepared by an adult in advance.
[For Preschoolers] An Origami Idea Collection to Enjoy February—Setsubun, Valentine’s Day, and More (21–30)
A card where chocolate delivers the message
This is a message card where chocolate says “I Love You.” Cut the base construction paper into a cross shape, then fold it in half by matching the top and bottom edges.
Use this crease to fold the left and right sections of the cross inward.
Draw chocolates with faces on the inside of the base, and attach the “I Love You” message parts made from another sheet of construction paper onto the folded sections to finish.
If you make the message parts heart-shaped, it will give it a Valentine’s feel.