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。

Want to decorate your January wall! A collection of Daruma craft ideas to enjoy in childcare (31–40)

Fun with black construction paper! Making snowmen

@hekimen_25
Winter craft: We made snowmen using crayons and paint! ⛄️❄️🎵#Childcare Crafting #Wall Creation Nursery teacher / Childcare worker I tried making it Snowman
♬ Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – neozilla

Here’s a craft idea: paint a snowman with white paint on black construction paper, then finish by adding a paper bucket and mittens, plus face stickers.

For the snowman, draw a circular outline and fill it in with paint.

Because it’s surprisingly hard not to paint outside the lines, if infants are doing this activity, it’s better to either prepare pre-painted pieces or have an adult cut a snowman shape from the child’s white-painted paper and glue it onto the background.

If you put double-sided tape on the back of the bucket and mittens, kids can use them like stickers, making them easier for little hands to handle.

Once the snowman is done, use cotton swab stamping to add a snowy landscape in the empty space to complete the project.

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Cute Daruma origami

[ New Year Origami ] Easy and Cute Daruma Folding Method | Origami Daruma

Cute Daruma origami

Auspicious! Making colorful daruma with the children and lining them up as decorations would instantly brighten up the room, wouldn’t it? Daruma are often displayed as New Year’s ornaments, and it’s said their origin as lucky charms comes from their characteristic of getting back up even after they fall.

It’s also lovely to make them with origami in the children’s favorite colors.

However, since the colors of daruma each carry meaning, it can be a great time to deepen learning while crafting.

This is a recommended idea for preschool classes, so be sure to give it a try.

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Cute wobbly daruma doll

[Preschool Craft] New Year’s decoration: cute wobbly Daruma | Daruma doll for New Year’s decoration

Cute wobbly daruma doll

Let’s make a cute daruma that wobbles when you poke it.

You’ll need a paper plate, construction paper, and a pen.

Please prepare construction paper in four colors for the body, face, eyes, and decorations.

First, cut the body piece of construction paper into a circle to match the size of the paper plate.

Next, cut an oval from the face-colored paper, and cut two small circles from the eye-colored paper.

Glue them in order—body, face, then eyes—and draw the pupils with the pen.

Then cut three ovals from the decorative paper and stick them below the face.

Fold the paper plate in half and attach the daruma to one side—that’s it! If you’re making this with small children, adults should prepare the parts in advance.

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Let’s roll and make a snowman!

[January - Craft Activity] Crumple-and-Tear Snowman ☃

Let’s roll and make a snowman!

Crumpling tissue paper and sticking on stickers is so much fun! How about making a snowman craft that’s perfect for winter? First, have the children crumple white tissue paper into balls in whatever size they like.

You’ll also use tissue paper torn into strips; if that step is tricky, an adult can prepare it in advance.

Put the crumpled tissue paper and the torn strips together into a clear plastic bag, then shape it into an oval.

Tie the middle with a chenille stem (pipe cleaner) to form a snowman shape.

Use round stickers for the face, make a bucket hat from construction paper, and attach it with double-sided tape.

If you want to hang it, punch a hole in the bucket, and thread a string through.

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Fun New Year’s crafts for childcare: how to make them

[Production] How to Make New Year’s Crafts [Nursery School/Kindergarten]

Fun New Year’s crafts for childcare: how to make them

These are perfect crafts for an auspicious New Year.

The wobbly daruma made with a paper plate uses familiar recycled materials, so even very young children can enjoy making it.

For the eyes, round stickers could work well.

For the kadomatsu made with a milk carton and toilet paper rolls, adjust the lengths of the “bamboo” pieces and use accordion-folded origami to finish the overall look in a balanced way.

It’s also good finger dexterity practice.

For the shimenawa, carefully teach the children the order of bundling and braiding so it has a nice, full volume.

Enjoy making these while experiencing Japanese culture.

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Cute for New Year’s cards too! Daruma-chan

Here’s an idea for New Year’s decorations, and since daruma dolls are also a common motif for New Year’s cards, why not use this idea to make a daruma-themed New Year’s card? Make a daruma out of construction paper and attach it to gold design paper along with some flowers.

Simply sticking that onto the front of the card will give it a festive feel.

However, if you’re attaching it to a New Year’s card, be sure to make the daruma as a flat piece.

Create the face with any expression you like, using stickers or pens.

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Daruma-chan art with a brush pen

@asamin_fude
For those of you who prepare New Year’s cards around Christmas every year (hi there! 🙌), here’s a little help for your final push! If you’re tired of the same designs, try the Daruma-chan one ♡ It’s also cute to add a handwritten message like “Let’s hang out again!” above the little Daruma ♡Brush lettering art New Year's card design Hand-drawn Translation Brush pen New Year Year 2024 #NewYearIllustration illustration #brushpen #pentelbrushpen #brushpencalligraphy
♬ Escort – MoppySound

The appeal of brush pens is, after all, that with a single pen you can create both thick and thin lines and end up with lettering full of character.

They’re tricky to handle until you get used to them, but once you can use them, they’re very handy tools that work in all sorts of situations.

In this idea, the “0” in the year is depicted as a daruma doll.

The daruma’s pattern is done with a colored brush pen, and a finer pen is used for the face.

It’s simple yet results in a highly designed illustration, so feel free to try copying it and drawing your own.

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Wobbly Bunny Daruma

Cute and wobbly! Here’s a craft to make a rabbit daruma using a paper plate.

You can also enjoy doing a bleeding-paint picture, so it’s highly recommended.

Wet construction paper with water and have fun creating a bleeding effect with paints.

Once it’s dry, cut it into a daruma shape.

Next, cut construction paper into a rabbit face shape and draw the face with crayons, etc.

Stick the rabbit face onto the daruma’s face area, and glue torn pieces of gold origami onto the belly.

Finally, glue a paper plate folded in half to the back, and it’s complete!

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[Origami] Picture Book “Daruma-san”

Origami “Daruma-san” Picture Book [Easy Folding Method]

[Origami] Picture Book “Daruma-san”

How about making daruma out of origami, inspired by the beloved children’s picture book series “Daruma-san”? Since there are some intricate folds, it’ll go more smoothly if teachers or guardians work together with the kids.

You’ll end up with unique daruma figures that capture the cozy vibe of the books.

Let the children draw the facial expressions freely.

They can create daruma with a personal, original touch.

You can also add other characters from the books—like Banana-san or Strawberry-san—to make the wall display even livelier!

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[Decalcomania] Daruma-san

Here’s a craft idea for making a Daruma using the decalcomania technique.

First, fold a sheet of red construction paper in half, then apply paints in colors you like on just one side.

Once the paint is on, close the paper along the fold and rub it with your hand like an iron to transfer the paint to the other side.

That’s the decalcomania part.

After the paint dries, place a Daruma template on top, trace the outline with a pen, and cut out the Daruma shape with scissors.

Finally, add the facial features to complete your Daruma! You can also glue the Daruma onto a backing sheet and decorate it with origami to make it look like the cover of the “Daruma-san” picture book series—it turns out really cute.

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