For 4-Year-Olds: January Crafts! A Collection of Fun Ideas with Winter and New Year Themes
When it comes to crafts for four-year-olds in January, it’s all about New Year’s and winter-themed motifs! So this time, we’re sharing craft ideas perfect for the season.
From paper-cutting with scissors and a three-dimensional kagami mochi made with whipped paint, to a shishimai (lion dance) you can make and play with, these projects are full of elements that spark children’s curiosity.
As they use their hands and engage with seasonal events, their interest in Japan’s traditional culture will naturally grow as well.
Children also feel a special attachment to creations they’ve made themselves.
Be sure to incorporate these into your childcare activities! Because the children’s creations are treated as works, the term “制作” (seisaku, creation/production) is used in the text.
[For 4-year-olds] January Crafts! A collection of fun ideas themed around winter and New Year (1–10)
Snowflake paper ornament
Here’s an idea for making a papercut design with origami.
First, fold the paper into a triangle by bringing the top and bottom corners together.
Then rotate the paper and flip the top and bottom.
Cross the two triangle corners inward and fold where they overlap neatly.
Draw a crystal-like pattern and cut it with scissors.
Open the paper to reveal your design.
The crystal’s look changes depending on how you make the cuts, so try different variations.
The moment you open it and wonder, “What pattern will it be?” is so exciting and fun.
Easy and cute! Snow bunny
Snow bunnies have long been considered lucky and have been loved for generations.
The origami snow bunny is simple to fold, making it a great project for older children.
Prepare one sheet of white origami paper and two pieces of green origami paper cut into quarters.
First, make the bunny’s body with the white paper.
Fold the paper in half, then fold the left and right corners—one a bit larger and the other a bit smaller.
Fold the top triangular portion downward to form the snow bunny’s body.
For the ears, fold the green paper into a triangle and open it, then fold both sides toward the center crease.
Fold the top section in the same way to complete the bunny ears.
Attach the body and ears, and create your own original snow bunny.
Easy way to make oden
https://www.tiktok.com/@hoikusi1/video/7333363523050917122Let’s add oden ingredients to a paper pot filled with soup! For children old enough to use scissors, draw only guide lines on construction paper and have them cut out the ingredient shapes themselves.
Then they can glue the pieces onto the soup and draw patterns or details.
For younger children who can’t use scissors yet, prepare the ingredient parts in advance and stick double-sided tape on the back so they can enjoy placing them like stickers.
In addition to classics like daikon radish, konnyaku, eggs, and mochi pouches, it’s also fun to think about what other ingredients to include.
Everyone’s favorite! Oden delivery
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DD4K5lSzyY5/We’re going to put odeng (Japanese hot pot) ingredients made from origami into a pot made from construction paper.
First, fold gray origami paper into a triangle and stick on a round sticker to make konnyaku.
Next, fold white origami paper into a triangle, stuff some crumpled tissue or similar inside, and glue the edges to make hanpen.
Fold the corners of yellow origami inward to round them, draw the pattern, and you’ve got daikon.
With light orange origami, keep the white side facing up, fold it into a long narrow strip, and stick on a round sticker colored brown to make chikuwa-bu.
For the egg, layer white and yellow construction paper cut into circles.
Paste the finished ingredients into the pot, draw steam, add a noren curtain, and you’re done!
Fun in winter! Let’s play Oden shop
https://www.tiktok.com/@taisougakuen_osaka_ikuno/video/7199952165304077570Here’s a humorous craft idea where children transform into oden shop owners.
The oden ingredients are made by cutting and pasting construction paper and drawing patterns with pens.
Stick those into a paper pot you’ve made.
Glue the pot near the bottom of a large backing sheet, and above it, attach photos of the children with twisted headbands and their arms folded.
Finally, hang a noren curtain at the top of the backing sheet to finish! The children also write the characters on the noren, and each one gives the shop its own unique vibe.
Oden that can also become a wall!
Here’s a craft project for making oden that even toddlers can do, and it can also be used for wall displays! First, let’s make the oden shop.
Cut colored construction paper into a face shape, then draw or glue on the oden shopkeeper’s facial features.
For very young children, prepare the face parts in advance.
Apply glue to the head area and stick on yarn hair piece by piece.
It’ll be fun to have yarn in various colors.
Next, let’s make the oden ingredients.
Stamp the konnyaku pattern using a cotton swab, make lots of your favorite ingredients, and then glue them onto colored construction paper of your choice to finish!
Oden made with origami and tissue paper
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0wPOQKpWG8/Tissue paper can transform into all sorts of oden ingredients! For chikuwa, wrap white tissue paper around a toilet paper roll core and brush on brown paint with a cotton swab—done.
For mochi kinchaku, put a small crumpled piece of tissue inside yellow tissue paper and twist the opening shut with a chenille stem—OK! Combine these with other oden items made from origami, and you’ve got a full plate of oden.
You can also make kombu by accordion-folding black tissue paper and securing the center with a chenille stem, and make an egg by sticking a ball of yellow tissue paper onto light orange origami!
