Lovely childcare

[January Childcare] Traditional New Year’s Games! A Collection of Ideas to Enjoy with Children

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.

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!

[January Childcare] Traditional New Year’s Games! A Collection of Fun Ideas to Enjoy with Children (21–30)

How to Make a Kite You Can Enjoy Playing With on New Year’s

[Let's make and play] New Year's play (kite flying) #handmade toys #nursery teacher #child-rearing support #Osaka #Aiikuen

How to Make a Kite You Can Enjoy Playing With on New Year’s

Here’s an idea for making spinning tops with acorns—very popular as an autumn craft.

You can buy acorns online, but since they’re often found on the ground in season, it’s great to use ones you’ve collected.

If you do, be sure to wash them and disinfect them with boiling water to prevent bugs before using.

The method is very simple: just make a hole in the acorn and insert a toothpick.

If the acorn is hard and difficult to pierce, have an adult help.

Drawing faces or patterns with a pen makes them extra cute!

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New Year’s fun with traditional games! A milk carton bamboo-copter (taketombo)

[Handmade Toys] Let’s enjoy New Year’s with traditional games 🎍 Let’s make an easy bamboo-copter (taketombo) using a milk carton ^_^

New Year’s fun with traditional games! A milk carton bamboo-copter (taketombo)

Watch “New Year’s fun with traditional games! A milk carton bamboo-copter (taketombo)” on YouTube

A bamboo-copter is tricky to fly at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s lots of fun.

Here’s an idea for making one using a milk carton and a straw.

First, cut out one side of the milk carton, then cut it into a strip that’s about one-third the width.

Next, fold the strip in half, and about 5 mm from the valley fold, make mountain folds on both sides.

This completes the wing.

Then, cut a slit into one end of the straw and attach it to the wing as a handle.

If you color the white side of the milk carton with markers, it will look pretty when you fly it.

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Make and Play! New Year Hagoita (Battledore)

[7th New Year Hagoita] Make-and-play for parents and kids! Easy craft!

Make and Play! New Year Hagoita (Battledore)

Hagoita paddles that can be simply made with paper plates are easy for kids to create.

Prepare paper plates, wooden chopsticks, cellophane tape, and origami, and let’s get started.

Fold the left and right sides of the paper plate so they form an even shape.

Insert a chopstick inside to make a handle, then secure everything in place by taping it all around with cellophane tape.

Make sure to fasten it firmly so it doesn’t come apart easily.

Once you stick flower decorations on the surface, it’s complete.

Playing with a hagoita you made yourself can be fun and full of discoveries and new insights.

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Make it with origami! A New Year’s mini wreath

[Origami] New Year Mini Wreath – Festive Japanese New Year Decoration

Make it with origami! A New Year’s mini wreath

Let’s make a New Year’s wreath that’s perfect for decorating at the start of the year.

Prepare 16 sheets of origami paper: four different patterns or colors, four sheets of each.

Fold each sheet into a square twice, then unfold to create crease lines and shape the parts.

When folding a triangle in half, make sure both sides are even.

Hold the piece so that the overlapping section is on top, and assemble by inserting both the front and back of one piece into the pocket of another.

Repeat to make 16 parts in total.

It may be easier to connect them in sets of four first, and then form the entire wreath at the end.

Attach a string and hang it indoors to enjoy the New Year’s decoration.

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paper-clay kagami mochi

New Year’s Craft: Easy-to-make Kagami Mochi for preschoolers aged 3–4

paper-clay kagami mochi

Let’s make a handmade kagami mochi that brings warmth and a sense of the season—perfect for New Year’s decor.

Prepare clay, a clay board, paints, brushes, and a clay spatula.

Divide the clay into three equal parts and designate them as large, medium, and small.

For the mandarin orange part and the leaf part, knead the appropriate paint colors into the clay.

Shape the large and medium portions into the two tiers of the kagami mochi.

Place the mandarin on top, refine the overall shape, and your kagami mochi is complete.

Let it dry thoroughly before displaying it, and welcome a wonderful New Year.

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Pop-up! Shishimai Lion Dance Toy

New Year’s games and Setsubun fun! A pop-up Shishimai (lion dance) toy [craft] [handmade toy]

Pop-up! Shishimai Lion Dance Toy

The lion dance popping out of a paper cup is so cute! Let’s get started by preparing a paper cup, chopsticks, yarn, vinyl (plastic) tape, construction paper, double-sided tape, and scissors.

Poke a hole in the bottom of the paper cup big enough for a chopstick to pass through.

Cut a plastic bag to fit the mouth of the cup and tape it around the rim of the cup.

Reinforce it from above with vinyl tape, push the tip of the chopstick through and secure it with tape, then make the lion dance face out of colored construction paper and attach it.

Wrap the entire paper cup with construction paper, and you’re done.

This is a craft that even little kids can enjoy for New Year’s, so give it a try!

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Make It with 100-Yen Shop Items! Daruma Otoshi

@sayacky_be.child
🌟 Materials list • ⚠️ Notes & Tips below 🌟 (Follow before you forget ▶︎ @sayacky_be.child) [Materials] • Dessert cups (DAISO) • Vinyl tape or masking tape, etc. • Four plastic bottle caps • Flat-style chopsticks • Small stones or other weights (mine are from DAISO) Handy to have when making it • Permanent marker 🌟 Points 🌟 ▶︎ At first I thought just a few stones would be enough, but it didn’t work well at all 💦 Filling it up works better! ▶︎ Cups slide against each other easily, so I put vinyl tape on the bottom of the cups to add friction 🙌🏻 ▶︎ For New Year’s play, try daruma; for Setsubun season, oni characters—lots of different characters would be cute 🤭 ▶︎ It helps practice things like adjusting force, controlling your hits to tap only the middle cup, and other strength/control skills ❣️ ▶︎ Because of the screen size, I couldn’t stack them high, but try stacking 4 or 5 and give it a go 💕 ⋆┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⋆ Nice to meet you! “Let’s play like kids!” ✨ I’m Sayacky, a nursery teacher and mom of two 🥰 I share activities that excite both kids and those who were once kids ❣️ Please follow me 💓 @sayacky_be.child ▲ See other posts here ໒꒱ ⋆┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⋆#Sayakki-World #HandmadeToys #Childcare Crafting Craft Play #Childcare topic #AtHomePlay #StayHomeTime #100-yen shop DIY Simple craft Kids' crafts #DarumaOtoshi #Daruma Otoshi #NewYearGames
♬ Original Song – Sayakki ┊︎ Truly Moving! A New Kids’ Craft – Sayakki’s Play Atelier

How about making the classic New Year’s game “Daruma-otoshi” using items from a 100-yen shop? It’s very easy to make, and you’ll end up with a toy you can enjoy over and over.

First, fill a dessert cup with small stones, put the lid on, and that will be the body of the Daruma.

Create the face base and patterns with tape, stick them on, then draw the eyes and mustache with a pen to finish.

For the mallet, stack and glue four plastic bottle caps together, then attach a wooden chopstick as the handle.

If the Daruma is too light, it won’t stack properly when it falls, so be sure to put plenty of stones inside.

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