Lovely childcare

Let’s make it at nursery school and kindergarten! A special collection of handmade New Year’s card 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.

Welcoming the New Year at nursery school or kindergarten—how about making heartfelt New Year’s cards together with the children? We’ve gathered lots of ideas full of handmade warmth: the soft hues of pastel art, the fun of dabbing and spreading color with sponge daubers, and keepsakes like footprint records of growth.

From simple steps to puffy, three-dimensional finishes, every design lets each child’s individuality shine! Create one-of-a-kind New Year’s cards with the children—cards that will warm the hearts of those who receive them.

Let’s make it at daycare and kindergarten! A special collection of handmade New Year’s card ideas (21–30)

Zebra coloring page

[Crying-Stopping Coloring Book for Babies] Zebra / Fast-Forward Coloring Video Series That Makes Kids Focus and Stop Crying [Oekaking]

Zebra coloring page

If drawing from scratch is difficult, how about trying coloring pages? There are many coloring illustrations available online for free, so using those makes preparation easy.

Since small illustrations can be hard for children to color, use large ones for the coloring itself, then reduce the finished piece with a color copier and paste it onto the New Year’s card.

I think decorating the blank spaces with stickers would also look lovely.

A horse illustration is fine, but I also recommend using a zebra—something more familiar to children from places like the zoo.

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Horse made with torn-paper collage

[Origami Play] Horse: Uma / A Perfect Educational Activity for Kids Using Origami [Collage]

Horse made with torn-paper collage

It’s fun to see small torn pieces come together into a big picture! This is one of the projects we hope children will enjoy making together with teachers or guardians, appropriate to their age.

You’ll need paper or postcards, origami paper in various colors, glue or a tape runner, and a pen for sketching.

For preschool classes, it’s also a good idea to adapt the activity as practice in cutting pieces to a suitable size with scissors.

If the pieces are made too small, the pasting step can become difficult, so proceed with care as you work toward the finished piece!

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Let’s make them at nursery school and kindergarten! A special collection of handmade New Year’s card ideas (31–40)

Song for drawing the Horse

Drawing Song: The Twelve Zodiac Animals (7) - Horse (午) Edition

Song for drawing the Horse

Perfect for when you want to draw a horse but don’t know how! Here’s an idea for drawing the zodiac Horse using a drawing song.

First, use ovals to represent the head and body, then imagine raindrops as you draw the neck and legs.

Use the “horns” part of the lyrics for the ears, and the “grass” part for the mane and hooves.

Finally, add the eyes, nose, and tail, and you’re done! By drawing along with the song, kids can easily draw a horse.

Start with a pencil sketch so you can erase, then trace over it with a pen to finish.

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Horses to enjoy coloring with

[Crying-Soothing Coloring] Horse / Fast-Forward Coloring Video Series That Helps Kids Focus and Stop Crying [Oekaking]

Horses to enjoy coloring with

How about a New Year’s card idea that’s finished just by coloring? Drawing a horse’s entire body is difficult even for adults.

It’s not an animal we see every day, and capturing the head, torso, and legs in good balance all at once is quite a challenge.

But if you use a coloring-page illustration that’s already complete, all you need to do is add your favorite colors! Coloring is a classic activity for kids, so it should be fun to work on.

Once you’ve enjoyed coloring, make a smaller print using a color copier, and paste it onto your New Year’s card.

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Draw with colored pencils! Cute horse

[Colored Pencil Drawing] How to Draw a Horse | Year of the Horse | New Year Illustration | New Year’s Card Illustration

Draw with colored pencils! Cute horse

It’s a fun idea to draw and color while capturing a horse’s characteristics.

For the infant class, let caregivers or teachers make a rough sketch, and then try coloring it with paints, colored pencils, or crayons.

Choosing colors freely and tracing lines can be very stimulating.

For the preschool class, try drawing while looking at picture books or encyclopedias, or draw the horse you imagine and aim to finish it by coloring with colored pencils! In the video, they intentionally draw on textured paper to create a certain atmosphere—that’s a nice touch too.

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Easy one-sheet horse origami

[Origami] Easy one-sheet horse folding tutorial 🐎 How to make a paper horse #horse #uma #Horse #ghoḍā #Kuda #马 #午 #YearOfTheHorse #말 #競馬(racing) #origami #paper #paperfolding #DIY

Easy one-sheet horse origami

For someone who’s far away, a child’s growth can feel incredibly fast, right? Here’s an idea for a New Year’s card: attach a horse made from origami.

Origami is said to nurture not only fine motor skills but also thinking skills and the ability to plan ahead.

The recipient will likely be delighted to see that the child can now create such a lovely piece with origami.

You only need one sheet of origami paper, and adding eyes with a pen or round stickers gives it a cute finish.

Recommended for preschoolers in the middle to older age range.

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Cute! How to draw a horse

https://www.tiktok.com/@uka_0618/video/7160985524067503361

Among animals, many people find horses particularly difficult to depict in illustrations.

Unlike dogs or cats, they aren’t animals we see up close every day, and drawing just the face—let alone the whole body—raises the difficulty quite a bit.

So here, we’ll introduce an easy way to draw a horse! Surprisingly, you start with the ears.

Draw two ears, connect the space between them, and then sketch a longer outline for the head.

The key to making it look like a horse is to add the mane and pay attention to how you draw the nose.

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