From New Year’s games to winter crafts! A roundup of January recreation activities to enjoy in childcare
January is a season filled with excitement, wrapped in the special atmosphere of the New Year! There are plenty of ideas you can enjoy with children, from traditional New Year’s games to crafts that let you feel the winter season.
Here, you can savor the fun of writing letters by playing post office, or try spinning a buzzing top.
From lively indoor events to seasonal crafts, we’ll introduce activities that will make children’s eyes sparkle.
Enjoy memorable experiences with the kids—perfect for the start of a brand-new year!
- [January Childcare] Traditional New Year’s Games! A Collection of Ideas to Enjoy with Children
- Ideas for Childcare Quizzes to Enjoy in January
- [January] Enjoy with 2-year-olds! A collection of craft ideas that capture winter and the New Year
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- [Kindergarten/Daycare] Games and Performances for Fun Events
- Fun January Crafts! A Collection of Ideas You Can Make and Play With for 5-Year-Olds
- Have fun in childcare! A collection of play ideas to liven up cold days in January
- Useful for childcare! Today’s recommended recreational activities, including fingerplay and games!
- [For Kids] Indoor Fun! Large-Group Recreational Activities and Games
- [Parent-Child Rec] Recreational activities and games for parents and children to enjoy together—also great for sports days.
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- [For 3-year-olds] Perfect January Winter & New Year Crafts! A Collection of Fun, Hands-On Ideas
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
From New Year’s games to winter crafts! January childcare recreation ideas to enjoy (31–40)
Let’s make winter animals!
@hoiku.labo Craft ideas for ages 3–5 💡 @hoiku.labo Create a wintery, snowy wall display with construction paper ❄️ ⭐↓ Detailed steps and tips in the comments ↓⭐ ★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆ ✨Hoiku Kyujin Labo✨ has many childcare job listings 🎉 Our specialist advisors will suggest nursery and kindergarten jobs that fit you! We’ll carefully listen to your concerns and preferences and support you 💁♀️ Feel free to contact us first 🎵 @hoiku.labo Sign up via the link in our profile!ChildcareNursery teacher / Childcare workerKindergarten TeacherCertified Childcare and Education Teacher#Nursery school#KindergartenKodomoen (combined childcare and kindergarten)Childcare job openingsChildcare Column#NurseryTeacherThings#IWantToConnectWithChildcareWorkers#Nursery School Craft#DaycarePreparationNursery School PracticumChildcare studentAspiring childcare workerChildcare Job LabChildcare SkillsJob change activities#JobChange#nursery_teacher_job_changeNursery teacher employmentProduction#Craftdrawing paper#ConstructionPaperArtWall decorationwall surfaceWall decorationSnowWinterWinter CraftSnow RabbitPoster Board Craft
♬ Snow, glitter, winter, Christmas(1195969) – Tunagamo
Let’s make a winter animal—a snow rabbit—using colored construction paper.
First, use white paper to make a plump, egg-like shape.
Cut out nandina (heavenly bamboo) leaves and berries from colored paper as well.
Create a window with falling snow from colored paper, then paste the rabbit there.
If the snow pieces for the window are too small and tricky, a parent or guardian can cut them, or you could draw them with a white crayon instead.
Putting this on a wall or mounting it on a backing sheet will enhance the winter mood and look lovely.
You could also change the wall decorations with each season.
Shimenawa you can make with chiyogami paper
@haruharo_made New Year’s Craft / [Shimenawa with Chiyogami] [Materials] • Paper plate • Construction paper • Scissors • Chiyogami (traditional patterned paper) • Glue • Cellophane tape • Double-sided tapeCrafts for 4-year-olds Crafts for 5-year-olds#3-year-old crafts#2-year-old's craftCrafts for 1-year-oldsCrafts for 0-year-oldsProduction#Nursery schoolWall decoration#StayHomeTime#AtHomePlayProduction ideas#Nursery School CraftWinter Craft#KindergartenKindergarten craftNursery teacher / Childcare workerKindergarten Teacherwall surface #ChristmasTreeProduction for children under age (infants and toddlers) Simple craftMade in December # January productionMade in February New Year’s craft #Daruma making Tatsu Production#Mask making Mask#paint Sticker application Round stickerSticker-pasting craft Hanging ornamentdrawing paper #ConstructionPaperArt Poster Board CraftPaint making paper plate Paper plate craft Paper Plate Craft Chiyogami Chiyogami Production#ShimenawaMaking #Shimenawa
♬ One More Last Time – sped up – Henry Young & Ashley Alisha
We’ll make a shimenawa-style decoration using washi paper.
The base will be a paper plate with the center cut out.
The cut-out center of the plate will be used as the knot of the shimenawa.
First, glue crumpled brown-toned washi paper onto the paper plate that will serve as the base.
Attach washi paper to the knot in the same way.
Once that’s done, create and stick on decorations such as the zodiac animal for that year, as well as pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms using colored construction paper.
And that’s it—you’re finished.
If you make the zodiac ornament removable, you can likely reuse the decoration the following year.
Give it a try!
Easy Karuta That Kids Can Make Too!
@hoiku.labo New Year’s craft activity: Easy DIY karuta with construction paper that kids can make!ChildcareNursery teacher / Childcare workerKindergarten TeacherChildcare job openingsChildcare Column#NurseryTeacherThings#IWantToConnectWithChildcareWorkers#Nursery School Craft#DaycarePreparationNursery School PracticumChildcare studentAspiring childcare workerChildcare Job LabNursery teacher skillsJob change activities#JobChange#nursery_teacher_job_changeNursery teacher employmentProduction#CraftworkProductiondrawing paper#ConstructionPaperCraftsPoster Board CraftNew Year’s craftKaruta
Year-end Song from 12/26 Onward – [Alexandros]
It looks like making easy-to-create karuta together with children would be fun.
Prepare glue, construction paper, illustrations, and felt-tip pens, and let’s get started.
Once you decide on the first letter for each karuta card, draw illustrations that match the letter.
It might be easier if you split up the illustration work.
After coloring, paste the drawings onto the construction paper that will be the base of the cards.
Stick a small circle of paper in the upper right corner and write the letter on it to finish.
Lay out the completed karuta cards, divide into a reader and players, and try playing.
If you choose a theme like animal karuta or food karuta, it may be easier to come up with ideas for the illustrations you want to make.
Handmade milk carton battledore
@silk_haru3mama I tried making a battledore out of a milk carton.New YearworkNew Year's craftNew Year’s craft#AtHomePlayHandmadeBattledore
Animal Baby – Akari Ueno
When it comes to New Year’s games, hanetsuki comes to mind.
Let’s try making this hagoita using a milk carton.
Open the carton and remove the bottom section.
After removing it, turn it inside out and fold it in half.
If you fold the spout area, it will resemble the shape of a hagoita.
Put a wooden chopstick inside some newspaper, fold the newspaper, and it will become the handle of the hagoita.
Set that into the milk carton and secure it with tape.
Once secured, tape the top and bottom as well as the seam of the carton.
You can also glue some cute patterned origami paper on the outside.
New Year’s games that even 0-year-olds can enjoy
It’s fun to play basketball indoors, isn’t it? For balls, inflate balloons and prepare plenty of them.
If you add vinyl tape to the surface to mimic a basketball design, it will really boost the atmosphere.
For the hoop, take a pool noodle from a 100-yen shop, cut it lengthwise in half, form it into a circle, secure it with masking tape, and stick it to the wall.
You can adjust the height to match the players’ level, so once everyone gets used to it, raise the difficulty and enjoy making it more game-like.
From New Year’s games to winter crafts! January childcare recreation ideas (41–50)
Easy Craft! Let’s Play with the Zodiac Sugoroku
An animal zodiac-themed sugoroku game, perfect for New Year’s play, is also a great opportunity to learn about the zodiac of the new year.
Prepare construction paper, colored pens, scissors, milk cartons, paper clay, and paints to make it.
Cut the construction paper into a circle, come up with squares featuring sentences related to that year’s zodiac sign, and lay out the board.
Use a milk carton to build the sugoroku base, attach the construction paper, and write the numbers.
The key is to make the squares equal in size so the board forms a neat square.
For the playing pieces, shape paper clay and paint them.
Sugoroku is ideal for learning numerical concepts and practicing the rules needed to move pieces forward.
Make It with Resist Painting! Gloves and Hat
Are you familiar with the crayon-resist technique? It’s a method where you paint watercolor over a drawing made with white crayon, and the paint is repelled by the crayon so the drawing emerges.
Because you can barely see what you’ve drawn in white crayon, applying the paint can lead to surprisingly delightful results.
Try drawing on colored construction paper cut into winter-themed shapes like scarves, hats, and gloves.
If you plan to display the artwork, you can mount it on a backing board afterward.