Lovely childcare

[Childcare] May events and activities at nursery schools and kindergartens

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 for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
9 years of experience as a nursery school teacherShibata Risa
I am an active nursery school teacher with 9 years of experience. After graduating from university, I worked at a daycare center. The time I spent happily with children—playing piano, singing songs, and doing finger-play—are priceless memories to me. Currently, while raising three children of my own, I work at an after-school day service, engaging with children and providing individualized developmental support. Drawing on my diverse experiences as a childcare worker and as a mother, I hope to express and convey my thoughts through writing.

May is full of events themed around nature and growth!

While enjoying the fresh greenery of the season, here are various ideas for celebrating with children in childcare settings.

May also includes Children’s Day.

It’s a great opportunity to celebrate children’s growth and deepen communication between adults and kids.

Be sure to enjoy the warm days of May together with the children.

Through fun events, may both children and adults spend a spring full of smiles!

[Childcare] May events and activities (11–20) at nursery schools and kindergartens

Raise the carp streamers.

[Finger Play / Children's Day] Let's Raise the Koinobori (Carp Streamers) / gaagaaS – Childcare, Kindergarten, April, May, Play Songs, Parenting, Children's Songs

Raise the carp streamers.

Enjoy Children’s Day events! Here are ideas for “Let’s Raise the Koinobori.” Some preschools and kindergartens may display large koinobori in their yards every year.

Working together with the children to raise the koinobori sounds fun and memorable, too.

The hand-play activity “Let’s Raise the Koinobori” is perfect for building excitement for the event, and it also helps children stay mindful about not letting go when raising the koinobori, so it’s highly recommended!

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Let’s make a kabuto (samurai helmet)

Let’s make a special craft just for Children’s Day! Here are some ideas for making a samurai helmet (kabuto).

Even if you’ve finished your main craft for Children’s Day, this is a great idea for something fun to make and play with on the day itself.

Use construction paper in your favorite colors to make a kabuto, then decorate it with stickers and pens.

If you attach string or elastic to the finished kabuto, kids can wear it and enjoy it even more—guaranteed excitement! Be sure to give it a try.

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Family Day

Create memories with your family! Here are some ideas for Family Day.

When you hear “Family Day,” you might feel like you have to do something special, but simply doing the activities you usually do at the preschool together with parents can make for a wonderful time—so feel free to give it a try.

Setting up a workshop corner where parents and children can replant flowers in the garden together is also a great idea.

How about planning a Family Day that makes the most of your preschool’s unique strengths?

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Children’s Day Event

Enjoy Children’s Day with fun all day long! Here are some ideas for Children’s Day events.

What comes to mind when you think of Children’s Day? Things related to the celebration, like koi-nobori (carp streamers), kashiwa mochi (oak leaf-wrapped rice cakes), cool kabuto (samurai helmets), and chimaki (bamboo leaf-wrapped dumplings)! Let’s incorporate these into activities while having fun throughout the day.

For example, you could use paper-theater (peep shows) or panel theaters to explain the origins of displaying koi-nobori, and serve kashiwa mochi as a snack.

It could also be fun to make kabuto out of newspaper or play games using the kabuto! Give these ideas a try.

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Let’s head out with a field guide!

[For 5-year-olds] Let’s take a picture book and go find spring!

Let's head out with a field guide!

Why not head out for a walk with a field guide in hand? In spring, you can spot things like flowers in full bloom and insects becoming more active.

Take your field guide along and look up the flowers and insects you find along the way.

Discover daisies in the flowerbeds and ladybugs on trees for a delightful time.

Children can show each other the bugs they catch, pick flowers, and find natural treasures unique to spring, helping them feel the season.

With so many flowers and insects to discover, the kids are sure to be thrilled.

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Puppet Show: “What Is May?”

[Nursery/Kindergarten May Events Childcare] “What is May?” Paper Puppet Show [Childcare YouTuber]

Puppet Show: “What Is May?”

Have fun while communicating with the children! Here are some ideas for the paper-puppet show “What is May?” A paper-puppet show (peep-show theater) is a handmade play where you attach illustrated characters made from paper or cardstock to sticks and move them as you tell the story.

Use your hands and sticks to move the characters and freely express the narrative.

The charm lies in how moving illustrations and characters makes the story more fun and easier to understand.

It also sounds exciting to think together with the children about what kind of month May is, while having fun!

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[Childcare] May Events & Activities at Nurseries and Kindergartens (21–30)

Children’s Day Kamishibai

The origin of Children’s Day explained at a daycare: an easy-to-understand picture-story show for kids! The Koinobori song ♪

Children’s Day Kamishibai

Let’s learn about the origins and meaning of this celebration! Here are some ideas for a picture-card show (kamishibai) to explain Children’s Day.

Many children may wonder, “What kind of day is Children’s Day?” or “Why is it called Children’s Day?” By learning about the origins and meaning of the event, they can deepen their understanding of culture and tradition, and develop social skills and cooperation.

Using kamishibai makes it easy to convey the message clearly through illustrations and narration—that’s another key point! Give it a try and incorporate it into your activities.

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