Lovely childcare

Perfect for January bulletin boards! A collection of Daruma craft ideas kids will love in childcare settings

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.
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.

Many teachers are probably thinking about what kinds of daruma crafts they can enjoy making with the children to brighten up the nursery room in January.

Here, we’ve gathered ideas you can also use for classroom wall displays, from stamp play and wobbling mechanisms made with paper plates to growth records that use handprints and footprints.

Let the children enjoy the feel of paint, freely express themselves with glue and crayons, and try daruma crafts that bring out their “I want to try!” spirit.

Use these ideas as a reference for creating a warm wall display that’s perfect for starting the new year.

子どもたちの作品は芸術作品として扱われるため、本文では「制作（seisaku）」という用語を用います。

I want to decorate the January wall! A collection of Daruma craft ideas to enjoy in childcare (21–30)

Crayon Shimenawa

@sakurakusako_a
I made a shimenawa with crayons for New Year! It's pretty fast, so you might want to save it.#oilpastel #OilPastel crayon New Year #NewYearDecorations
♬ NEW KAWAII – So, shall we update? ver. – FRUITS ZIPPER

Let’s make a New Year’s decoration using a drawn shimenawa rope and ornaments! All the parts are flat, but by incorporating shading into the drawings, they’ll look three-dimensional.

First, draw the base shimenawa on white drawing paper.

Start by drawing a large circle, then place teardrop shapes along that line.

Next, fill the inside of each teardrop with a light green.

Once filled, add shading with dark green and white, then rub with a cotton swab to blend the crayon.

You’ll create the decorative parts in the same way, so draw your favorite motifs, such as plum blossoms or a Japanese-style ribbon.

Attach the parts to the shimenawa, punch a hole, thread a string through, and it’s complete!

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Daruma-chan with decalcomania

This is a creative activity packed with depth and fun that uses the technique of pressing paint to transfer patterns.

Simply folding the paper in half and opening it encourages thinking about symmetry and helps develop spatial imagination.

Plus, because children can experience the flow of prediction, experimentation, and results, it nurtures a curiosity that makes them want to try again and again.

For infants, making a decollage in a single red color and then adding facial parts afterward can look adorable, making it enjoyable at different developmental stages.

Although it looks simple, it’s full of learning—perfect for a winter craft: a little Daruma.

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Daruma-otoshi with a bottle cap

No.091 “Cap de Daruma-Otoshi” [Handmade Toy by a Nursery Teacher]

Daruma-otoshi with a bottle cap

Here’s a handmade daruma-otoshi idea that cleverly uses plastic bottle caps.

If you have lots of caps at home, give it a try and have fun playing with it.

For the basic method, make a hole in the center of a plastic bottle cap, thread a string through, shape it into a circle, and tie it to create the daruma.

Make four in different sizes, and on the front and back of each circular cap piece, glue thick paper covered with construction paper in the same color as the cap.

You can also make the mallet using a pair of disposable chopsticks and a bottle cap, but since a utility knife is required, an adult should handle that part.

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Perfect for New Year too! A Daruma you can make and play with

@n.annlee321
New Year’s motifs: a daruma doll! I tried making a mayudama rolling game with a daruma design.#tiktok classroom Life with children New Year
♬ Relaxing cute everyday BGM – Hiraoka

In January, it seems many regions hold Daruma markets.

Crafting a lucky Daruma is perfect for a January art project.

Prepare three strips of construction paper cut into small tanzaku-like pieces.

Take one marble and glue the paper strips together to wrap around it.

Draw a Daruma face on a round sticker and attach it to the marble-filled paper to finish.

Because the marble is inside, the Daruma will roll around amusingly when you set it in motion.

If you make a slope and hold Daruma-rolling races, the children are sure to get excited.

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Cute bubble-patterned! How to make a daruma doll

http://www.lemon8-app.com

Here’s a craft idea using bubble wrap, which is handy as cushioning material.

First, paint the bubble wrap with red paint and transfer the pattern onto red construction paper.

Cut it into a daruma shape with scissors and paste it onto a base.

Add facial features made from construction paper and decorative patterns made from gold origami.

Fill the empty space on the base with flower pieces, and it’s done.

The bubble wrap pattern looks like polka dots and is cute, and the texture makes the daruma appear to pop out.

I think it would also look great in colorful variations.

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Recommended for infants! Daruma handprint craft

Paint white ink on your palm and stamp your handprint onto red construction paper! Cut the paper into a daruma shape and draw the face.

Then punch flower shapes out of gold origami paper and stick them on as decorations to finish.

For the face, try dipping your fingertip in black paint and enjoy making finger-stamp features.

If you use a different color for the handprint, it’s best to first make a white paper base for the face and then draw the eyes and mouth.

Create daruma in various colors and expressions to celebrate the New Year!

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Handmade Daruma craft

@hoikuai.niconico ♬ Slow and pretty pop music(120463) – STUDIO COM

This is a fun craft idea where you stick pieces of origami paper.

The materials are construction paper for the base of the daruma’s body and face, and origami paper for the patterns.

If infants or toddlers are doing this, please cut out the parts from the construction paper in advance.

For children old enough to use scissors, let them cut out the parts themselves.

Once the parts are ready, just glue them together and draw the face with crayons.

Gold and silver origami look festive and are recommended.

If you stick it onto a backing, it can also become a wall decoration.

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Let’s make it by sticking! Uma-Daruma

Let me introduce a craft idea for a horse daruma with an adorable pose of a horse looking up at you.

First, cut four strip-shaped pieces from red construction paper.

Arrange them in a radial pattern, glue them together at the center, then bring all the ends together and glue to form a sphere.

Attach a horse face made from another piece of construction paper to the top of the sphere, place the sphere on a square base, and glue it down to finish.

I’m presenting it as a horse daruma this time, but you can adapt the idea to match each year’s zodiac animal.

You could also add a piece on the base with the characters for “Welcoming the New Year.”

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Have fun with transparent tape! Daruma doll toy

http://www.lemon8-app.com

Make a die by sticking strips of clear tape together, then draw a daruma inspired by the hugely popular children’s book series “Daruma-san” on it.

Believe it or not, that’s all it takes to finish the toy! Since it’s made of tape, even if a small child accidentally squashes it, it easily springs back to its original shape.

You can use it like building blocks, or even enjoy squashing it on purpose.

Try making different daruma with various expressions and colors.

They’re cute just to display, too.

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Daruma’s Mayudama Rolling

[Easy!] Daruma Doll Mayudama Rolling [New Year’s Craft]

Daruma’s Mayudama Rolling

A mysterious toy with a marble inside that moves as if it’s alive when you roll it: the Mayudama Roller.

In this idea, it’s made with a daruma motif.

First, cut three strip-shaped pieces measuring 1.5 × 10 cm from red construction paper.

Layer the three strips radially and glue them together at the center.

Gather all the ends, place a marble inside, and glue the ends together to form a sphere.

Then stick on a white round sticker with a face drawn on it to finish.

Try rolling it down a slope and have fun!

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