![[Childcare] Recommended crafts and activities for March, such as Hina Matsuri (Doll’s Festival) and cherry blossoms](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aKnHYMIk3k8/sddefault.jpg)
[Childcare] Recommended crafts and activities for March, such as Hina Matsuri (Doll’s Festival) and cherry blossoms
March, when you can feel spring arriving.
The warm, sunny spring weather naturally lifts the spirits, doesn’t it?
This time, we’ve gathered recommended craft ideas perfect for March.
From events like Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day) and graduation ceremonies to seasonal themes such as cherry blossoms, butterflies, and strawberries, there are plenty of ideas that capture the feeling of spring!
Before you start making things, we recommend going on a walk with the children to see and touch the charming spring plants and insects unique to the season.
It will surely expand their image of spring and help them create wonderful works!
Display what you make around the room and fully enjoy the spring atmosphere.
Because items made by children are treated as “works,” we refer to them as “seisaku (制作)” in the text.
[Childcare] Recommended crafts and activities for March, such as Hinamatsuri and cherry blossoms (1–10)
Also for Hinamatsuri! Cherry Blossom PapercutNEW!
Let’s cut origami paper and make lots of cherry blossoms! Fold the origami into a triangle twice, then open it once.
With the widest angle at the top, crease it in half from the top.
Fold both ends toward the far edge to form a shape like a triangle with three spiky points at the top.
Next, cut it into the shape of a single cherry blossom petal and unfold—done! If you want a papercut-style design, use the same folding method, but while cutting the petal shape, also cut out the center.
When you unfold it, each petal will look slightly hollowed out.
Make them in various colors and sizes, and decorate with plenty of them!
horsetail
If children attend kindergartens or daycare centers in the city, they may not have many chances to see horsetails.
Since they can only be seen in spring, why not include them in an art project so the children can learn about them? The method is simple: pre-cut parts like the horsetail’s head, stem, and joints (hakama), then have the children paste them onto a base.
Children old enough to use scissors can cut out the parts themselves.
For the head’s crisscross pattern, using a cotton swab dipped in paint gives just the right textured look.
Dandelion wall decoration
How about decorating your room for spring with a dandelion wall display, one of the flowers that symbolize the season? The shapes of the petals and leaves are each quite intricate, but if you use free downloadable templates, you won’t have to draw them from scratch—so even teachers who aren’t confident with drawing or drafting will be fine! Once you cut them out and add the creases, all that’s left is to glue the pieces together, making it a great step for children to help with.
You can also tell them, “After the yellow flower, it turns into white fluff!”—and they’ll enjoy spotting dandelions on your walks even more.
Fluffy wall-hanging Hina dolls
Let’s make a fluffy wall-hanging Hina dolls craft using a paper plate, with decoration balls as a highlight to resemble arare rice crackers.
Prepare a deep paper plate, decoration balls, cotton, glue, and construction paper.
Drip glue onto the paper plate and attach the cotton.
Cut construction paper into a round, egg-like shape, then glue on the kimono and parts for the Empress (mebina) and Emperor (obina), and draw their faces.
Once you attach them to the base, finish by gluing on the fluffy decoration balls that look like arare.
It’s also recommended to cut and glue sparkly origami onto the decoration balls for extra shine.
cute plum blossom decoration
A mobile, often called a “moving sculpture” because light materials are suspended by thread or rods, adds a touch of elegance to any room with its appearance.
Making it in the shape of plum blossoms for spring lets you enjoy the season while soothing the heart, so it’s highly recommended.
Adults should handle the more complex tasks, such as using a stapler or adhesive.
You can make it flat, but creating it in three dimensions will make it even more beautiful—so try it if possible.
Hinamatsuri bag
In preparation for Hinamatsuri, let’s make the perfect bag with the children for holding hina-arare! For the base of the bag, overlap two pieces of construction paper with slits cut into them so they form a heart shape, then weave them together like a basket.
Once it’s finished, attach the Emperor and Empress dolls to the top “peaks” of the heart, and finally add a handle to complete it! Weaving and cutting out the doll parts can be a bit challenging, so it might be best for the teacher to prepare some of it in advance and have the children help by drawing the faces and decorating the bag.
Various kinds of rapeseed flowers
https://www.instagram.com/p/Co7GLsEJgLR/Rape blossoms are cute with their small yellow flowers.
How about incorporating them into your crafts in various ways? Prepare fluffy yellow construction paper shaped like the whole flower, and try different techniques for the little blossoms: stamp them with a stamper, use finger stamping, apply round stickers, make torn-paper collages, or crumple tissue paper and glue it on—there are many ways to express the look.
Crumpled tissue paper adds a three-dimensional feel, and with finger stamping you can try using various warm colors, too.
They’re perfect for wall decorations.
