From New Year’s games to winter crafts! A roundup of January recreation activities to enjoy in childcare

Cute wobbly daruma doll

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

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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sasashina

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Let’s make a hat with wax-resist painting!

Crayon-resist Art: Perfect winter crafts for 4- to 5-year-olds! A preschool teacher explains how to make hats and mittens.

Let’s enjoy wax-resist painting with winter-themed motifs! First, draw a hat and a pair of mittens on white paper.

Have the children trace the outlines with a white crayon, then let them add any patterns they like.

Since they’ll be drawing white on white, it’s hard to see—but hang in there! Once the patterns are done, paint over everything with watercolor diluted with water.

This will make the patterns drawn with the white crayon appear as if they’re popping out.

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Fluffy giant kagami mochi!

[January Wall Decoration] Fluffy Extra-Large Kagami Mochi [Easy Craft] Kagami mochi

Let’s brighten up your January wall display with a fluffy kagami mochi! You’ll make a kagami mochi, mandarin orange, sanpō tray, urajiro fern, shihōbeni (red-bordered paper), gohei (ceremonial paper), and a ribbon.

For the kagami mochi, stack several sheets of flower paper, accordion-fold them, tie the center with string, then fluff out each sheet one by one.

For the other parts, cut the shapes from colored construction paper or kraft paper and glue them together.

For the sanpō, it’s recommended to crumple the kraft paper once to add wrinkles for texture.

Along with the kagami mochi, adding origami flowers and the zodiac animal will make your wall display even more charming!

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A plump, cute long-tailed tit (Shima-enaga)

Origami: How to fold a plump long-tailed tit

Let’s make a cute long-tailed tit (shima-enaga) from Hokkaido with origami.

You’ll need 7.5 cm square origami paper, round stickers, a black pen, two strips cut lengthwise from a 15 cm square sheet of brown origami paper (each 1/4 the width), scissors, glue, and so on.

The step for folding the long-tailed tit’s wings is a bit complex, so children will likely feel more comfortable working carefully together with a teacher or guardian.

The finished long-tailed tit can stand on its own, so it looks adorable as is, but if you make a branch out of the brown origami and combine them, you can bring out even more charm.

A spinning top you can make and play with!

[Preschool Teacher] Easy New Year’s Activities You Can Make and Play! How to Make Spinning Tops and Kites ✨ [Daycare & Kindergarten]

Let’s make a spinning top for New Year’s games using scrap materials.

First, make cuts at the corners of an empty milk carton and open it out so the sides lie flat.

Then cut the side panels at a point 10 centimeters up from the bottom rim.

Trim the corners to make them rounded.

After decorating the milk carton by drawing pictures or adding stickers, glue a plastic bottle cap at the center on the front, and attach a piece of straw (cut to 5–10 millimeters) to the center on the back.

Your top is now complete—pinch the cap and give it a spin!

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Fun for childcare! Indoor winter activities

[For 2-Year-Olds] Winter Asobi-Comi

Let me introduce some winter indoor activities that include crafts.

You can roll up cotton to look like fake snow, or put it into a plastic kiddie pool and play dynamically as if it were a bubble bath.

Use stamps on black construction paper to represent snowflakes, then glue origami penguins on top to create a winter-themed wall display.

A glowing tunnel made by sticking phosphorescent stickers onto cardboard is a space where kids will want to stay forever.

Why not fully enjoy winter indoors while incorporating children’s free ideas along the way?

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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]

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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mayumi

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