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Hedgehog crafts for daycare and kindergarten! A collection of ideas to enjoy autumn in childcare

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.
Nursery Teacher Mom Writertsukada moe
After working for five years at an after-school childcare club and three years at a nursery school, I began working as a freelance writer. I’m a mother of two children. Inspired by playing the flute in the school wind ensemble in elementary school, I joined a jazz club at university. I’ve also incorporated ukulele and piano performance into childcare. Playing, laughing, feeling sad, feeling frustrated—through all kinds of experiences, I want children to grow.

Speaking of autumn, hedgehogs are also popular with children.

In fact, you can represent a hedgehog’s quills using fallen leaves, acorns, yarn, or origami paper! Here, we’ll share hedgehog craft ideas that children ages 1 to 5 can enjoy at daycare or kindergarten, tailored to each age group.

Beyond their cute appearance, choosing, sticking, and arranging different materials helps develop fine motor skills.

Enjoy the feeling of autumn nature with the children as you make prickly little hedgehogs together.

You’re sure to meet a variety of wonderfully unique hedgehogs! Because the children’s creations are treated as works of art, we use the term “production” (制作) in the text.

Hedgehog crafts for daycare and kindergarten! A collection of ideas to enjoy autumn in childcare (1–10)

[Age 5] Memo stand made with twigs

How do you make a memo stand? An easy clip craft for preschool teachers [Hedgehog Edition]

[Age 5] Memo stand made with twigs

Let’s make a simple hedgehog memo stand using twigs.

Collect twigs during a walk and trim off any unnecessary parts.

As a guideline, each twig should be about the thickness of one chenille stem (pipe cleaner).

Shape clay into a teardrop to form the hedgehog’s body, then insert twigs into the body section to represent the spines.

Stick eye stickers on the face and let it dry.

Thread a chenille stem through the spring of a clip, twist to secure it, then pull out one twig from the top of the body.

Insert the chenille stem with the attached clip in its place to finish.

Try using it to hold your favorite notes or cards.

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[Age 5] 3D pinecone hedgehog

Let's try making a hedgehog out of a pine cone!

[Age 5] 3D pinecone hedgehog

In the world of haiku, pine cones are known as a seasonal word for autumn.

There’s also the children’s song “Matsubokkuri,” so kids are probably quite familiar with them.

Here’s an idea for making a hedgehog using a pine cone.

Place the pine cone on its side, then use glue to attach a clay-made face to the base.

Next, make the limbs and attach them the same way, and use paint to draw the eyes and nose.

Finally, color the cheeks pink with a colored pencil, let it dry, and your hedgehog is complete.

If you want to make it a bit more colorful, you can paint the pine cone as well.

It’s a perfect idea for an autumn craft.

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[Age 5] Three-dimensional paper clay hedgehog

[Craft with Scrap Materials] Using Acorns You Picked Up! How to Make a Hedgehog Ornament

[Age 5] Three-dimensional paper clay hedgehog

Autumn is a comfortable season, so lots of kids go out for walks.

When they find acorns, they can’t help picking them up.

How about using those acorns to make a hedgehog? Shape some paper clay into a teardrop, then embed the acorns—standing in for spines—into the clay.

Since you’ll have acorns of various sizes, place them while checking the overall balance.

Embed a bead for the nose and stick on eye stickers.

Finally, insert colorful pipe cleaners between the acorns, and you’re done! It makes a perfect autumn room decoration.

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Hedgehog crafts for nursery and kindergarten! A collection of ideas to enjoy autumn in childcare (11–20)

[Age 4] Spiky Origami Hedgehog

[Kindergarten/Preschool] Spiky Origami Hedgehog Art & Craft

[Age 4] Spiky Origami Hedgehog

Here’s a craft idea for making a hedgehog that uses accordion-folded origami to represent the spines.

First, prepare two sheets of origami paper.

Accordion-fold both sheets, then fold each in half.

Glue the inner folded sides and attach the two pieces together to form a half-circle.

Glue this half-circle onto a piece of construction paper cut into a hedgehog shape, and add a construction paper nose.

Finally, draw the face to complete your hedgehog.

Prepare a variety of colors and patterns of origami paper so children can choose their favorites.

You can glue the hedgehog onto a backing sheet and decorate around it, or use it as-is for a wall display.

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[Ages 2 and up] Hedgehog made with various stamps

Among living creatures, hedgehogs are a cute autumn motif that kids love.

Let’s make a hedgehog with stamping! First, cut the hedgehog’s body out of construction paper.

If you’re working with one-year-olds who can’t use scissors, a teacher or guardian should prepare it for them.

Next comes the kids’ turn: stamp onto the hedgehog’s body using forks or clothespins, however they like.

That’s all it takes to make an adorable hedgehog! If you stick it onto a sheet of paper with a drawn background, it will look even cuter.

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[Ages 3 and up] Hedgehog with masking tape

Let’s make a colorful, cute hedgehog using washi tape! First, cut out a hedgehog shape from construction paper.

Depending on the children’s ages, the teacher can handle this part, or draw guide lines and have the children do the cutting themselves.

Once you’ve cut out the hedgehog shape, simply stick strips of washi tape in various colors and patterns randomly over the area where the hedgehog’s spines would be—and you’re done! You’ll have a very stylish hedgehog with spines in all sorts of patterns.

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[Ages 4 and up] Paper-tape Hedgehog

This wall decoration features an adorable hedgehog with colorful, spiky quills! Hedgehogs are popular animals that often appear in picture books, and in recent years they’ve grown in popularity as pets too, so kids are sure to have a great time with this activity.

Once you’ve prepared the hedgehog-shaped construction paper as the base, simply cut strips of paper tape and stick them on freely.

When you’re done, draw in the eyes and nose to finish it off.

For cutting the paper tape, you can tear it by hand, use scissors, have the teacher pre-cut it, or choose whatever method best suits the children.

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