[For 5-year-olds] Let’s Make It! A Collection of Recommended Craft Ideas for February

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.
20 years of experience as a nursery teacher / kindergarten teacherhiyoko sensei
I’m Hiyoko-sensei, a former nursery school teacher from Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since I was five, my dream was to become a childcare worker, and before I knew it, 20 years had passed since I achieved that dream. Through singing and playing with the children, I kept working with the spirit of someone in their twenties, even as I increasingly felt my physical limits year by year (haha). From here on, I’d like to share helpful information carefully and thoughtfully, drawing on my on-site experience.

February is packed with exciting events like Setsubun and Valentine’s Day! For projects with five-year-olds, there are plenty of ideas that make clever use of fine motor skills, such as making oni horns by wrapping yarn and creating items with scratch-card-style surprises.

It’s wonderful to nurture that special “I want to make it myself!” spirit unique to senior kindergarteners, while also giving them time to show their creations to friends and play with their finished works.

Here, we introduce craft ideas perfect for February’s seasonal events.

Enjoy the season together with the children as you create! Note: In this article, we use the term “seisaku (制作)” to refer to children’s creations as works (artworks).

[For 5-year-olds] Let’s make it! A collection of recommended craft ideas for February (71–80)

Oden production

Delicious, piping-hot oden is perfect for a cold winter day.

Let’s make oden using colored construction paper.

Crumple a sheet of white paper, unfold it, fold it into a rectangle, and dab it with brown paint to make chikuwa.

Accordion-fold a small piece of black origami paper and tie it like a ribbon to make kombu.

Using colored construction paper, create essential oden ingredients like daikon radish, konnyaku, and eggs.

Make a large pot out of construction paper and attach the ingredients—then you’re done.

You can also try skewering the daikon, konnyaku, and chikuwa on disposable chopsticks!

Raise the rankinglower

utatane

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In conclusion

For February crafts, there are plenty of ideas that incorporate seasonal events like Setsubun and Valentine’s Day while making the most of the rich imagination unique to five-year-olds.

By wrapping yarn, combining recycled materials, and trying pop-up or mechanism cards, children can explore a variety of materials and techniques, which greatly expands their motivation to create.

Let’s cherish the sense of accomplishment that only older kindergarteners can experience, and enjoy making things together.