[Childcare] Playing with scrap materials: Toys you can make from recycled items

Puzzle made from cardboard

[Handmade Toy] A DIY toy that keeps children engaged [Nursery/Kindergarten] [Demon Slayer]

Why not make a sliding puzzle using cardboard? Since it’s a bit complex, it’s recommended for five-year-olds and school-age children.

First, prepare three pieces of cardboard of the same size.

On two of them, draw a frame with a ruler and cut out the center.

Stack the two frames and glue them together.

Next, take the cut-out center piece and divide it into smaller pieces of your preferred size.

Draw a picture on a sheet of construction paper of the same size, glue it onto the cardboard, and cut it along the same divisions.

Decorating the frame and the base to your liking will make it look even nicer.

When playing, remove one puzzle piece first, then slide the pieces around within the frame.

See if you can put it back together—try it with everyone!

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A shooting gallery game using toilet paper rolls

Let's turn toilet paper cores that would become waste into a shooting game.

Cardboard toilet paper tubes are easy-to-get recyclables, so let’s make good use of them in childcare activities.

With just a little effort, you can create a shooting game.

First, make a hole through the center of one tube and insert a straw, securing it in place.

Next, bundle a few cotton swabs and wrap them with paper tape to make the pellets.

Put a rubber band around the area of the hole, pull it back with the pellet, then release! If you make targets using other toilet paper tubes, you’ll have a handmade game that kids can enjoy indoors.

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[For 3-year-olds] Sweets made from recycled materials

[For 3-year-olds] Super Easy! Making Sweets with Recycled Materials ♡♡

Let’s have fun making sweets using recycled materials.

Items like newspaper and milk cartons are perfect for crafts.

Roll up newspaper to form a ring and wrap it with construction paper.

Decorate it with round stickers and you’ve got a donut! Cut the milk carton into squares and color them with markers.

Assemble them into triangles or squares and add cotton inside to make cakes.

Put cotton wrapped in tissue paper into a cupcake liner and you’ve got ice cream.

With a bit of creativity, you can make all sorts of sweets—give it a try!

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[5-year-olds] Making Sea Creatures with Recycled Materials

[5-year-olds] Let the children’s imaginations run wild! Let’s make sea creatures out of scrap materials!

How about letting five-year-olds use their imagination and making skills to create sea creatures? As an introduction, get them familiar with picture books or illustrated guides featuring marine life to help spark their ideas.

Provide plenty of recycled materials and art supplies so they can create in ways that match their visions.

As a supportive facilitator, the teacher can step in if something is missing or if things aren’t going as the children imagined.

The sea creatures they spend time making will surely become treasures for them.

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plastic bottle shower

How to make a plastic bottle shower for water play at daycare

All you have to do is poke holes in the bottom of a plastic bottle with an awl, and your plastic-bottle shower is complete! It’s the perfect toy for water play season.

If you decorate the bottle with waterproof materials like vinyl tape, you can give it a unique, personalized look.

You can also change how the water comes out by adjusting the number and size of the holes, so you can prepare different patterns and have fun experimenting.

Plastic-bottle showers are safe and suitable even for infants, making them an excellent choice.

It’s a good idea to make plenty as summer approaches.

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Scrap Material Stamp

Using 100-yen shop tools! Let’s make easy upcycled stamps ♪ [Cardboard craft]

Let’s make stamps using scrap materials.

You’ll need cardboard and a melamine sponge.

First, draw the shape you want for your stamp on construction paper, cut it out, and make a template.

Next, cut the cardboard and sponge to match the template.

It helps to trace the template with a pen first for smoother cutting.

After gluing the cardboard and sponge together, add a handle.

You can make the handle by rolling a strip of cardboard into a loop.

Create stamps in various shapes and enjoy stamping play!

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Playing with cardboard boxes

[Upcycled Play] So Many Possibilities!! — The Many Forms of Cardboard Play

Let’s collect lots of cardboard boxes that often end up as trash from parcel deliveries and enjoy some cardboard play.

All you need to prepare are cardboard boxes and packing tape.

It’s also a good idea to secure a spacious area so the children can play in line with their imaginations.

When they get stuck or things don’t go as they envisioned, try thinking it through together.

A child’s free imagination is unique to them.

How about letting them enjoy themselves freely with play that has no right or wrong answers? Keeping what they make and expanding on the play in the following days is also recommended.

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