[Childcare] A collection of craft ideas for enjoying Setsubun
As Setsubun approaches, nursery schools and kindergartens get busy preparing for bean-throwing.
Crafts that incorporate Setsubun-specific motifs—like oni (ogre) masks, bean boxes, and eho-maki—are a wonderful opportunity to deepen children’s interest in the seasons.
Here, we’ve gathered ideas for Setsubun crafts that you can enjoy using familiar materials such as origami, paper plates, and construction paper.
By drawing cute oni expressions or designing their own horns, each child can create a piece that shines with their individuality.
How about enjoying the Setsubun festivities while making things together with the children?
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[Childcare] A collection of craft ideas to enjoy Setsubun (61–70)
Demon-slaying pretend play
Wouldn’t it be great to enjoy a demon-slaying pretend play using familiar scrap materials? This time, let’s play with toilet paper rolls.
Make balls by crumpling newspaper.
Secure any parts that stick out with tape.
Cover the toilet paper rolls with construction paper to resemble oni (demons).
Use any color you like for the face, and of course make the pants yellow! Attach hair and horns, then draw patterns on the face and pants to finish.
Enjoy “Oni Bowling” by throwing the newspaper balls to knock them down.
Making lots of oni and stacking them up is fun too.
There are also ideas using cardboard and balloon-based demon-slaying games, so be sure to check those out for inspiration.
Production that can also create a demon-slaying game
Here’s a two-in-one idea that’s fun for both crafting and play: an oni (ogre) bean-throwing game for Setsubun.
Cut solid-color or patterned origami paper and glue it onto a paper tube.
Using various patterns and colors will make it bright and cute.
Make horns with gold origami, and crumple tissue paper to create hair and attach it.
Draw the face with colored pens, and make “beans” from tissue paper to finish.
Both the crafting process and playing with your own creation will make wonderful memories.
It’s also great that you can make it with items from a 100-yen shop or with recycled materials—give it a try!
target practice
Kids are sure to get fired up by this stubborn ogre that pops right back up no matter how many times you hit it with a ball! Pack clay into the bottom half of a capsule toy capsule, make a hole at the tip of the top half, and insert a bamboo skewer.
Prepare two identical ogre illustrations of the same shape and size, and attach them on either side of the skewer.
That completes a target that springs back up even when knocked over.
Try making balls by crumpling newspaper or combining thinly cut sections of a toilet paper roll, then throw them to take on the target!
Ogre Chattering Puppet
This is a chomping oni puppet you can make with a single paper cup.
Cut a deep slit in the side of the cup, then make an identical slit on the opposite side and open it up.
The bottom part becomes the mouth, so paint it pink or attach pink origami paper.
After that, attach the oni’s face to the top part of the cup and the body parts to the lower part, and you’re done! The best part is that kids can not only display the oni they made but also move it themselves and play with it.
During Setsubun bean-throwing, it might be fun for the teacher to make it chomp and use it as a target, too.
A rollable sushi roll toy you can play with
Here’s an idea for felt sushi rolls that can also be used for pretend play.
For little ones who aren’t old enough to eat sushi yet, why not add to the Setsubun fun with this toy? It’s easy to make! For the fillings, just roll them up and secure with fabric adhesive tape.
For the seaweed, cut black felt into a rectangle and attach hook-and-loop fastener to the edge.
For the rice, stack three pieces of white felt in different sizes.
Place the rice on the seaweed, add the rolled filling, roll it up, and fasten with the hook-and-loop—done!
