Lovely handmade crafts

Handmade spinning tops with everyday materials! Easy ideas you can enjoy for New Year’s too

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 for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
Accompanist / Piano Instructoryuri
Accompanist pianist × piano instructor × web writer. I began piano lessons at age four and, inspired by my piano teacher, decided to pursue music. I went on to specialized music programs in high school and university, where I discovered the appeal of accompanying instrumentalists and singers. Currently, alongside teaching piano, I work mainly in my home region of Aichi as an accompanist for flute, voice, choir, and more. Through lessons, my students often introduce me to trending songs, and my hobby is trying anything on the piano—Japanese and Western pop, commercial jingles, and beyond. Since 2021, I’ve also been active as a web writer, covering music and a variety of other genres.

As New Year’s approaches, you may find yourself wondering what kinds of games to enjoy with the kids.

Here, we introduce ideas for handmade spinning tops that you can easily make using familiar materials found at home.

Using items like bouncy balls, paper plates, plastic bottle caps, and origami paper, you can make them right away without any special preparation.

They’re designed to be easy for small children to spin, and you can have fun decorating them in bright colors, so the excitement lasts from the making process through playtime.

This New Year, why not have both kids and adults try making spinning tops together?

Handmade spinning tops with everyday materials! Easy ideas you can enjoy for New Year’s (41–50)

jelly cup

Let me introduce an easy-to-make spinning top using jelly cups that spins really well! First, the trick is to choose jelly cups with rounded bottoms.

With this idea, you can combine them with plastic bottle caps to make four different kinds of tops.

They’re all very simple to make, so try making them together with your children and have fun.

For the finishing touch, decorate them with masking tape or stickers to give your tops a unique, original look.

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CD

Let's make and play with a 'CD spinning top' that spins really well! The black-and-white patterns will look like colors.

If you have any CDs lying around at home, why not repurpose them into handmade spinning tops? A CD and a marble can transform into a top that spins beautifully! The trick is to choose a marble that’s slightly larger than the CD’s center hole.

To make it, just apply glue around the center hole of the CD and fix the marble in place.

It will be easier to spin if you add a small piece of double-sided tape where you grip it, or use a finger cot for extra grip.

You can also design and decorate the disc—how lovely! Try making your very own original top in your favorite colors and have fun playing with it.

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Spinning top made from a super ball

https://www.tiktok.com/@hoi_oasobi/video/7340175612029504775

Why not try making a spinning top with two super balls? It moves in a very curious way—quite entertaining.

All you need are two super balls, one rubber band, and some vinyl tape.

First, cut the rubber band to make a strip.

Tape it securely to a super ball with vinyl tape so it won’t come off.

Once attached, tie a double overhand knot to make sure the rubber band won’t slip off even under centrifugal force.

Attach it to the other super ball in the same way and connect them.

That’s it—done.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Flyer

Let's make a spinning top using an advertising flyer

Flyer

Let’s try making a spinning top by combining two types of parts made from flyers.

For the shaft part, use a flyer rolled tightly into a thin, sturdy tube, then cut it to an appropriate length.

Next, fold another flyer to a width shorter than the shaft, wrap it around the shaft to build up volume, and you’re done.

It’s important to add plenty of volume, so connect multiple pieces of flyer while varying their widths.

It could also be interesting to observe how the spinning behavior changes depending on the width adjustments.

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Marbles and rubber bands

[Super Easy Craft] Done in 1 Minute! A Spinning Top Made with a Marble and Rubber Bands! #shorts #handmadetoys #spinningtop #craft

Marbles and rubber bands

You can make a spinning toy just by linking rubber bands and attaching a marble to each end! Hold one marble and spin the other to wind the rubber band around the marble you’re holding.

Once the rubber band is tightly wound, you’re ready.

Let go, and the rubber band unwinds, making the two marbles whirl around.

It’s striking to see them gradually spread out and the colorful marbles dart around quickly.

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Styrofoam spinning top

Here’s a spinning top craft you’ll definitely want to try if you can get your hands on round styrofoam.

Draw illustrations on a round styrofoam piece, insert a stick, and make a spinning top.

It’s easy to make, and since styrofoam is a lightweight material, it should be easy for small children to work with, too.

Use crayons or water-based markers to draw whatever designs you like.

Kids can create works full of individuality.

By the way, if you draw on styrofoam with an oil-based marker, the styrofoam can sometimes melt.

Please be careful if you use oil-based markers.

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acorn spinning top

Kimie Gangi: Easy and safe “How to make an acorn top (spinning top)” for elementary school Life Studies. #acorn #donguri #LifeStudies #2ndGrade #children’splay #elementaryschoolteacher

acorn spinning top

Many of you probably played with acorns as spinning tops when you were little.

If you still have acorns you picked up in autumn lying around the house, turning them into tops for New Year’s play is a great idea! Mark the center of the flat side of the acorn and make a hole with a push pin.

Insert a toothpick and cut it to a suitable length, and you’re done! If you secure the acorn so it doesn’t roll using a door stopper, or use an eye screw (a hook-shaped fitting), even children can work on it safely.

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