Lovely childcare

Preschool: Lantern craft ideas to make in summer!

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 for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: 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.

Lantern crafts perfect for Tanabata and summer festivals.

Making them with children is fun, but it can end up being the same method every year, or sometimes the process feels difficult.

So here, we introduce lantern-making ideas you can enjoy with kids.

From simple to slightly challenging, there are various materials and techniques.

You might find options suited to the children’s ages.

By creating while having fun, you can spend time that becomes a lasting memory.

子どもたちと一緒に、すてきなランタン作りをぜひ楽しんでください！注：子どもたちが作ったものは作品として扱われるため、本文では「制作」と表記しています。

[Childcare] Lantern craft ideas to make in summer! (11–20)

Cute origami lantern

[Preschool Craft] Summer craft! Cute lanterns made with origami ♪ | Cute lanterns with origami

Cute origami lantern

Mini-sized and perfect for decorating anywhere! Here are some cute origami lantern ideas.

When you think of making lanterns, many people probably picture using construction paper.

This time, let’s try making lanterns with origami paper, which comes in a wide range of colors.

You’ll need origami paper, pipe cleaners, scissors, glue, and clear tape.

Plain origami works well, but using Japanese patterns or washi-style paper can create a lovely atmosphere—give it a try!

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paper lantern

How to make an origami lantern (chōchin) – Origami paper lantern instructions

paper lantern

Many children are probably looking forward to the summer festival.

As an idea to boost the festive mood, I’d like to introduce lantern origami.

In this project, you make the lantern part by shaping your favorite color of origami paper into a circle and then recreate the look by combining it with a frame made from black origami paper.

It looks lovely as is, but you can also write characters on the lantern and use it as a wall decoration for events.

You can draw illustrations to make it cute, or draw a face and turn it into a lantern ghost, too.

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[Age 5] Milk carton lantern

[Lantern Making] A simple milk-carton craft for preschool use (Target age: 5-year-olds)

[Age 5] Milk carton lantern

Why not try making a slightly elaborate lantern using an easy-to-find milk carton? Use a milk carton that’s been cut open and flattened.

As preparation, the teacher should cut off any unnecessary parts.

After drawing freely with a pen, fold it in half and make slits with scissors, leaving the top edge uncut.

Try to keep the spacing even.

Open the milk carton and staple the top and bottom, then crease outward along the fold line.

Finally, punch a hole with a hole punch, thread a string through, and you’re done!

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[Ages 0 and up] Skeleton Lantern

This is a skeleton lantern that’s easy even for infants to make.

First, prepare two clear cups and stuff colored paper inside.

Tissue paper or colored cellophane is easy for children to handle and looks beautifully translucent from the outside.

Once they’ve packed in their favorite colors, align the cup rims and tape them together.

Next, decorate the outside of the cups with stickers or tape.

Larger stickers are easier for infants to handle, so keep that in mind when preparing materials.

Finally, use glue to attach black construction paper bands to the top and bottom, and your cute lantern is complete.

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lantern garland

A summer festival at home! How to make a lantern garland

lantern garland

How about a lantern garland that’s perfect for summer festival decorations? First, prepare as many sheets of construction paper as you need with printed lantern illustrations.

Using two or three colors will give it a festive and cohesive look.

Next, cut out the lantern shapes.

If children are using scissors, please have the teacher assist with the finer parts.

Punch two holes in the band section of each cut-out lantern.

Thread a string through the holes to connect the lanterns, and you’re done! It’s a perfect lantern decoration for indoor displays.

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[Construction Paper] Foldable Lantern

[Construction Paper / Papercraft] New! How to Make a Construction Paper Lantern — You can fold it and draw on it, too!

[Construction Paper] Foldable Lantern

Let’s make a collapsible paper lantern and enjoy the mechanism.

First, cut the construction paper to the specified size.

If you prepare two colors for the outer paper, the lantern will look beautifully colorful.

Fold the black construction paper for the band in half, and fold the inner paper into 5 cm widths.

If you draw the fold lines in advance, even children can work smoothly.

Cut the outer paper diagonally at the 2 cm mark.

The teacher should prepare this cutting beforehand.

Attach the band and the outer paper to the inner paper, and it’s done! Because the outer paper slides in to connect, you can remove it and fold the lantern flat.

Try making it while chatting with the children—“How does this work?”—to spark their curiosity.

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[Childcare] Lantern craft ideas to make in summer! (21–30)

A lantern made from construction paper with slits

Craft: Making a lantern from a milk carton

A lantern made from construction paper with slits

Let’s make a lantern with a striking shape using drawing paper and a milk carton.

First, cut off the top of the milk carton, then attach drawing paper to all four sides of the carton using double-sided tape.

Decorate it cutely by adding stickers or washi tape on top.

Next, take a slightly longer sheet of colored paper, cut vertical slits into it, and wrap and attach it over the decorated carton.

Punch holes and thread chenille stems (pipe cleaners) through to finish.

You can also add patterns to the colored paper you put on top.

Give it a try!

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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