[January Crafts] Fun DIY Ideas for Kids: Perfect for Use in Childcare
January, when we welcome the New Year, is a perfect time for children to experience traditional Japanese culture.
New Year–themed crafts—like origami hair ornaments, kagami mochi made with shaving foam, and hagoita paddles made from milk cartons—spark kids’ creativity.
Many ideas can be played with after making them, and through the process, children can also learn the meanings of auspicious items.
Why not use familiar materials to create festive, New Year-style pieces? Here, we introduce January craft ideas that nursery and kindergarteners, elementary school students, and even adults can enjoy.
Bring in these fun January projects to celebrate the start of the New Year!
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[January Crafts] Kid-Friendly! A Collection of Fun Handmade Ideas Useful for Childcare (51–60)
Three homemade kites!
Let’s make kites that are perfect for New Year’s.
It’s also a lot of fun to go out and fly the ones you’ve made.
I’ll introduce three types of kites.
The first is a twirly, spiral kite.
It’s great because you can practice cutting curves while making it.
The next kite is made by stapling construction paper into a paper-airplane-like shape.
You only need a stapler and a hole punch for this one.
The third kite uses a plastic shopping bag.
First, fold an A4 sheet of paper and draw lines to make a template.
Then cut the plastic bag based on that template.
If you draw a picture on it before assembling, you can create a one-of-a-kind kite.
A 3D Daruma you can make with a single sheet of origami!
Let’s make a daruma that’s perfect for decorating your entryway for the New Year.
Prepare origami paper, felt-tip pens, round stickers, and scissors.
Take one sheet of origami paper, fold it into a triangle to make a center crease, then open it and fold both sides toward the center line.
As you firmly crease each fold, carefully adjust the balance of the daruma’s face.
By folding the corners, you’ll create a rounded shape for the daruma’s body.
Use felt-tip pens and round stickers to make the eyes and eyebrows, and it’s complete.
You can also make a small cushion (zabuton).
Enjoy displaying your daruma to kick off the New Year!
Fukuwarai made with origami
Fukuwarai is a game where a blindfolded person places eyes, a nose, and other facial parts onto a picture that only shows the outline of a face.
It used to be a New Year’s pastime, but it seems chances to play it have been decreasing recently.
A Fukuwarai set featuring an Okame face made from origami might be a more casual way to enjoy it.
Use black origami paper, crease it first, and then fold the Okame.
The black side of the origami becomes Okame’s hair, and the white side is the face.
Have the children freely draw the facial features with pens or other tools.
Of course, making separate facial parts and gluing them on will also look great.
3D origami Daruma doll
Let’s make a daruma doll—an auspicious charm—using origami.
Prepare origami paper, round stickers, a felt pen, and glue.
Open the origami paper and make firm creases into squares and triangles.
As you fold, tuck the paper in while creating rounded volume overall.
When folding the layers in, straighten the tips and shift them slightly as you make careful folds; this will help you create a nicely rounded daruma shape.
Fold the eyes from a separate piece of origami paper, then use black-colored round stickers to represent the eyes and eyebrows.
Attach them to the body to finish.
Try changing the color of the origami paper to make daruma dolls in various colors!
Let’s try playing Fukuwarai!
Why not try making a fukuwarai using crayons, scissors, and construction paper? Fukuwarai is a traditional Japanese game said to date back to the mid-Edo period.
First, draw parts like eyes, nose, and mouth on construction paper and cut around each piece.
Then make a base.
For the base, you can either cut pale orange construction paper into a face shape and glue it down, or draw the face with crayons.
Once everything is ready, start arranging the parts.
You can express different emotions—like a smiling face or a sad face—depending on how you place the pieces.
It’s also fun to arrange the parts while blindfolded.