Gifts for Preschool Graduates: A Collection of Heartfelt Handmade Ideas

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 as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is 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.

As graduation season approaches, many teachers may be thinking about giving heartfelt gifts from current students to those who are graduating.

Handmade items have a special warmth that makes both the giver and the recipient feel special.

Here, we introduce ideas for graduation gifts using familiar materials like plastic bottle caps and paper cartons.

Everything—from magnets and trinket boxes to photo frames—can be made together with the children.

Celebrate the graduates’ new beginning with a one-of-a-kind gift!

Gifts for Preschool Graduates! A Collection of Heartfelt Handmade Ideas (31–40)

Tablet case

Depending on the region, many elementary schools provide one tablet per student, so tablet cases are highly practical and are becoming popular as preschool graduation gifts.

If you’re making one by hand, check the size of the tablet used at the elementary school the child will attend and choose something with good cushioning.

If you’re giving a ready-made product, you can make it more unique by adding a favorite patch the child chose themselves or attaching a name tag, creating a one-of-a-kind tablet case.

Spending time thinking about colors and patterns may also become a special moment to reflect on cherished memories.

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knapsack

A personalized drawstring bag with a name would be practical and likely very popular for field trips or as a PE clothes bag.

Nylon fabric is resistant to dirt and rain, making it perfect for PE bags and drawstring sacks.

Considering use in elementary school, A4 size might be a good choice.

There are various options for adding the name—embroidery, printing, patches—but it’s recommended to choose a method that’s durable through washing so it can be kept as a memento.

It might be even more appreciated if you give it together with a message card or a portrait drawing.

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mayumi

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perpetual calendar

A perpetual calendar you can use every year makes a perfect gift! This idea uses wood as the material and adds personality through the fonts and colors for the days and numbers.

Making it from wood conveys warmth and provides stable durability, so it’s recommended when you want it to be used for a long time.

If you can’t get wood or don’t have tools, you can also make it with thick paper or similar materials.

There are also many DIY kits for wooden perpetual calendars available, so if your budget allows, be sure to check those out too.

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sasashina

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Personalized keychain

When children start elementary school, they have more belongings to keep track of.

How about making personalized keychains as a graduation gift? You can go with classic designs like vehicles or animals, or even use memorable photos.

You can find all the materials for handmade keychains at 100-yen shops, so it’s easy to try at a low cost.

Come up with a design that will delight the kids and become a keepsake of their graduation, and give it a try!

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personalized pencils

Personalized pencils with children’s names are perfect for kids who are graduating from kindergarten and about to become first graders.

Receiving them as a graduation gift might make them even more excited about starting elementary school.

Having their own name engraved on their first pencils will feel very special.

It’s recommended to choose a gentle, friendly typeface.

Make sure to carefully double-check the spelling of each name against the class list to avoid mistakes.

If you pair the pencils with an eraser and a red pencil, and add a handmade message card, they’ll likely be even more delighted.

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Gifts for Preschool Graduates! A Collection of Heartfelt Handmade Ideas (41–50)

paint set

Races on the playground, singing songs, finger plays—during their time at preschool they probably drew just as many pictures.

Some children may even have held crayons or colored pencils at least once every single day.

It would be lovely to give paints as a gift along with those memories of drawing.

Unlike crayons or colored pencils, the great thing about paints is that you can mix your favorite colors.

We hope they’ll create lots of vibrant—and sometimes wonderfully mysterious—colors as they head toward the yet-unseen future.

If you make the paint box white, you can even leave a message on it!

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Versatile! Checkerboard

@buchiko_hoiku
🐶 @buchiko_hoiku ◂◂◂◂ Check out my other posts too 🌼 Graduation gift, Part 1 🌸 A checklist board you can fill in and use freely! I’ve never made a graduation gift before, so I thought long and hard and tried making this like, “How about this?” 🤔✨ You can use it not just for things to bring to school, but also for tasks to do after coming home or things to do in the morning when you wake up 👌🏻 Please try making one yourself 🌈 Thank you for reading to the end 🐶 I share easy-to-copy ideas—from the intro to the making process—that you can recreate simply ♬ I’d be over the moon if you Like ♥, Save 𖤘, and Follow 𖤐 😂 lol Comments are also very welcome 🤍🤍Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Kindergarten Teacher Childcare student Graduation crafts (for preschool/kindergarten)#Getting Ready Board #GraduationGiftFromKindergarten
Haruka – YOASOBI

When children enter elementary school, they need to manage their belongings and prepare so they don’t forget anything.

A checklist board is useful for this.

Cut the coffee filters you used for a bleeding-art project into small pieces and glue them around the edge of an A4 sheet of construction paper to make a frame.

Then glue a B5 sheet of construction paper on top, laminate it, and use an awl to make holes for threading chenille stems (pipe cleaners).

Make the holes in pairs, with as many pairs as you have checklist items.

Thread a straw onto each pipe cleaner, pass the pipe cleaner through the holes, and secure it.

You can slide the straw left and right to mark items as checked.

Since it’s laminated, you can use a whiteboard marker and reuse it over and over, which is really convenient.

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