[January Childcare] Traditional New Year’s Games! A Collection of Ideas to Enjoy with Children
Are you wondering what kinds of activities to include in childcare in January? January is a perfect time for children to get familiar with Japanese culture through traditional games and seasonal recreation.
Here, we introduce New Year’s themed play ideas such as invisible-ink drawings (aburidashi), lion dance (shishimai), and shell matching (kai-awase).
Traditional games are full of elements that nurture children’s creativity and concentration.
They offer many ways to play—moving their bodies with friends, using their hands to make things, and more.
These ideas are also perfect for events in childcare settings, so please use them as a reference!
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[January Childcare] Traditional New Year’s Games! A Collection of Fun Ideas to Enjoy with Children (11–20)
Have fun with a hula hoop! Karuta game
Karuta isn’t just fun—it also helps kids learn the names of things and letters, and it builds concentration, listening skills, and reflexes.
Plus, playing with friends offers chances to teach one another, cooperate, and develop communication skills.
There are many kinds of karuta, from sets with cute illustrations to ones with quirky themes, so choosing a set can be fun too.
It could also be great to make your own karuta using pictures you draw yourselves!
Easy Karuta That Kids Can Make Too!
@hoiku.labo New Year’s craft activity: Easy DIY karuta with construction paper that kids can make!ChildcareNursery teacher / Childcare workerKindergarten TeacherChildcare job openingsChildcare Column#NurseryTeacherThings#IWantToConnectWithChildcareWorkers#Nursery School Craft#DaycarePreparationNursery School PracticumChildcare studentAspiring childcare workerChildcare Job LabNursery teacher skillsJob change activities#JobChange#nursery_teacher_job_changeNursery teacher employmentProduction#CraftworkProductiondrawing paper#ConstructionPaperCraftsPoster Board CraftNew Year’s craftKaruta
Year-end Song from 12/26 Onward – [Alexandros]
It looks like making easy-to-create karuta together with children would be fun.
Prepare glue, construction paper, illustrations, and felt-tip pens, and let’s get started.
Once you decide on the first letter for each karuta card, draw illustrations that match the letter.
It might be easier if you split up the illustration work.
After coloring, paste the drawings onto the construction paper that will be the base of the cards.
Stick a small circle of paper in the upper right corner and write the letter on it to finish.
Lay out the completed karuta cards, divide into a reader and players, and try playing.
If you choose a theme like animal karuta or food karuta, it may be easier to come up with ideas for the illustrations you want to make.
Easy Craft! Let’s Play with the Zodiac Sugoroku
An animal zodiac-themed sugoroku game, perfect for New Year’s play, is also a great opportunity to learn about the zodiac of the new year.
Prepare construction paper, colored pens, scissors, milk cartons, paper clay, and paints to make it.
Cut the construction paper into a circle, come up with squares featuring sentences related to that year’s zodiac sign, and lay out the board.
Use a milk carton to build the sugoroku base, attach the construction paper, and write the numbers.
The key is to make the squares equal in size so the board forms a neat square.
For the playing pieces, shape paper clay and paint them.
Sugoroku is ideal for learning numerical concepts and practicing the rules needed to move pieces forward.
Let’s make and play! New Year’s Hanetsuki
Let’s make a handmade hagoita (traditional Japanese paddle) and enjoy New Year’s games.
Prepare a milk carton, wooden chopsticks, vinyl tape, origami paper, glue, and scissors.
Open up the milk carton, draw fold lines for the hagoita, and shape it into the paddle.
By sandwiching a chopstick along the central axis, you can reinforce the core and keep it sturdy.
After applying vinyl tape to the handle and the top part of the paddle, glue origami paper onto the paddle face to finish.
Give it a try!
invisible ink (revealed by heat); rubbings to reveal hidden text
Perfect for New Year’s! Here’s a fun invisible-ink activity using mandarins.
You’ll need a cup, a brush, a mandarin, and paper.
First, squeeze the mandarin into the cup.
Dip the brush into the mandarin juice and draw your favorite letters or pictures on the paper.
After drying the paper with a hair dryer, gently heat it over a stovetop and your drawing will appear.
The acids in the mandarin react with the paper fibers, making the juice-covered areas scorch more easily and change color.
If children are doing the heating, an electric stove is recommended.
omikuji (a Japanese fortune slip typically drawn at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples)
Try making one with your kids! Here’s how to create an original omikuji (fortune stick).
What you’ll need: one cylindrical snack container, one sheet of colored construction paper, glue, an ice cream stick, and wood glue.
First, apply glue to the construction paper and wrap it around the snack container.
Also glue a piece of colored paper onto the container’s lid.
Next, make a hole in the center of the lid measuring 2 cm by 3 mm.
Write the fortune results—such as “Great Blessing” or “Small Blessing”—on the ice cream stick.
Put the stick into the tube, then apply wood glue to the underside of the lid.
Attach the lid, and you’re done!
[January Childcare] Traditional New Year’s Games! A Collection of Fun Ideas to Enjoy with Children (21–30)
Perfect for New Year! Cute origami osechi
Let’s make osechi ryori—New Year’s dishes that taste great when everyone eats together—using origami.
Using black origami paper, make four folded box parts for the outer box and glue them together in a box shape.
Attach them while checking the balance.
Next, make four inner boxes.
Once you set the inner boxes into the outer box, the base is complete.
For the contents, fold shrimp, nori (seaweed), kamaboko (fish cake), kelp rolls, and kampyo (dried gourd strips), making firm creases as you go.
Before you start, reading a picture book about the New Year to learn about its origins and meanings will help you enjoy making them even more.