[For Preschoolers] Fold with Fun! January Origami Ideas for Little Ones
Seeing the older preschoolers and kindergarteners, the younger ones start to feel eager to try doing things on their own.
They admire the older kids who freely create with scissors and glue, don’t they?
So today, we’d like to share some January origami ideas that younger preschoolers can enjoy.
Using tools might still be hard to do alone, but origami is easy to enjoy!
We’re introducing simple designs that younger children can fold by themselves to feel a sense of accomplishment, as well as slightly more complex folds for kids who are confident with origami and want a challenge.
We hope you make lots of them and have fun playing!
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[For Preschoolers] Let’s Fold for Fun! January Origami Ideas for Little Ones (21–30)
Winter origami! Cute kotatsu
Here is an introduction to making a kotatsu out of origami.
First, fold a sheet of origami paper in half in the color you like.
Since it’s a kotatsu, a patterned paper might be cuter.
Then fold back about one-third.
After folding, unfold it, fold it to half that width, and return it.
On the back side, fold back one-third as well.
Next, fold the back diagonally to create the kotatsu’s slope, and the main body is complete.
Now make the tabletop for the kotatsu.
Use a quarter-size sheet of origami paper for this.
Next, make the mandarin orange, which is essential for a kotatsu.
This one is very small, so have an adult help you.
3D origami Daruma doll
Let’s make a daruma doll—an auspicious charm—using origami.
Prepare origami paper, round stickers, a felt pen, and glue.
Open the origami paper and make firm creases into squares and triangles.
As you fold, tuck the paper in while creating rounded volume overall.
When folding the layers in, straighten the tips and shift them slightly as you make careful folds; this will help you create a nicely rounded daruma shape.
Fold the eyes from a separate piece of origami paper, then use black-colored round stickers to represent the eyes and eyebrows.
Attach them to the body to finish.
Try changing the color of the origami paper to make daruma dolls in various colors!
Easy and cute! Origami snow rabbit daruma
This is a rabbit snowman made with two sheets of origami paper! First, we’ll make the head: fold the paper twice to make a small triangle.
Then unfold one fold so it’s folded only once, and roll-fold the base of the triangle about 1 cm.
Next, leave a small gap in the center and fold both corners straight up.
These will be the rabbit’s ears, so fold the top corners into small triangles to round them off.
Fold the left, right, and bottom corners inward to tidy the outline, then flip the paper over.
Fold the corner at the base of the ears to the back to finish the head.
For the body, do a cushion fold (zabuton fold), flip the paper over, and do another cushion fold.
Finally, fold the square into a triangle and you’re done! Glue the two parts together and draw the face to finish.
Easy! Mount Fuji Origami
Let’s make Mount Fuji—the tallest mountain in Japan and considered lucky if it appears in your first dream of the year—using simple steps! All you need is a single sheet of blue origami paper.
There are no complicated steps, and if you focus on making straight, crisp folds, you’ll end up with a beautiful result.
It could be enjoyed not only by preschool classes but also with two-year-olds together with teachers or parents.
Display the finished piece alongside an illustration of the first sunrise of the year to make it even more festive.
Origami Plum Blossoms Kids Can Enjoy—Perfect for New Year’s Too!
Free-thinking sparks children’s creativity! It’s a great idea that lets kids enjoy both the focus of folding origami along lines and corners, and the excitement of tearing it dynamically.
Use the torn origami as beautiful branches, then stick on carefully folded plum blossoms to create your very own plum tree.
Drawing the pistils and stamens with crayons or colored pencils will help capture the distinctive features of plum flowers even more.
Take this opportunity to give it a try!
Great for walls too! Recommended origami for January
Let’s make New Year–themed items using washi-patterned origami and chiyogami.
The video features hagoita paddles, spinning tops (koma), kagami mochi, daruma dolls, and shuttlecocks (hane).
The ideas are full of exciting touches for kids—like customizing the daruma’s face to match the zodiac animal or freely choosing origami colors for the shuttlecocks.
When decorating indoors, you can get creative by mounting them on construction paper or stringing them together like a garland!
Cute with origami! Kadomatsu made of origami
Recommended for those who want to make simple New Year’s decorations! Kadomatsu are New Year decorations made with pine and bamboo that are set up at entrances during the holiday, right? Many children have probably seen them while out on walks or outings.
This time, let’s finish it using just one sheet of green origami paper.
The key points are to make firm creases along the lines and to align the corners.
There are many steps where you create a crease and then use it to form the next one, so it would be great to enjoy making it while keeping these points in mind.