[January Crafts] Fun DIY Ideas for Kids: Perfect for Use in Childcare

Fukuwarai made with origami

How to fold an Okame (Fukuwarai) with origami [New Year’s game]

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.

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Nakajima Junko

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3D origami Daruma doll

Origami 3D Daruma

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!

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mayumi

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Let’s try playing Fukuwarai!

[New Year’s Games] Let’s make a 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.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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A horse made with marble art

Art sparks children’s creativity! Kids’ ideas and perspectives can sometimes reveal things adults might overlook or fail to notice.

This time, let’s use marbles, paper, and paint to create a dynamic, free-form horse face.

First, roll marbles dipped in black paint across the paper to make patterns.

Next, color in the areas that look like the horse’s face and mane with colored pens or paint to finish.

It looks like it’ll become a one-of-a-kind, original New Year’s card—no two pieces will be the same.

Challenge in childcare! First calligraphy play

@miraistep.hoikuen

New Year – January Crafts#Nursery schoolNursery teacher / Childcare workerSaitama PrefectureSaitama CityMirai StepNew YearFirst calligraphy of the year#Nursery School Craft#Year of the Snake

♫ Original Song – Mirai Step Co., Ltd. – Mirai Step Co., Ltd.

Kakizome is the first calligraphy of the year, in which people write down their New Year’s resolutions and wishes with the hope of improving their handwriting.

Although it’s an event that assumes you can write characters, it’s the New Year—so why not let children from infants to preschoolers enjoy their own style of kakizome? For older preschoolers who are practicing letters in preparation for school, it’s a good idea to write that year’s zodiac animal in hiragana.

For infants, writing characters is a high hurdle, so encourage them to try it as a drawing activity while letting them feel the texture of the brush and washi paper.

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sasashina

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Fun to draw! Snow globe

@tensaikids1031

January craft activity for the 1-year-old class ⛄️Genius Kids ClubNursery teacher / Childcare workerNursery teacher / Childcare workerProductionAspiring childcare workerChildcare Ideas

♬ My Binky – Baby Version – HeyKids Nursery Rhymes

This is a recommended craft activity for infants.

They’re making snow globes.

On circles cut from construction paper, children draw spiral circles with crayons and add shiny round stickers to represent the snow globes.

Showing them a real snow globe before starting can help spark their imagination.

Provide crayons and stickers in various colors and let them freely create their own snow globe worlds.

Crafts that use stickers are also perfect for practicing fine motor skills!

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sasashina

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Fun with black construction paper! Making snowmen

@hekimen_25

Winter craft: We made snowmen using crayons and paint! ⛄️❄️🎵#Childcare Crafting#Wall CreationNursery teacher / Childcare workerI tried making itSnowman

♬ 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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sasashina

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