[Childcare] Feel May! A special feature of fun craft ideas to make

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.
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, with its warm and refreshing breezes, is full of exciting events for children!

Many teachers may be thinking about creating crafts that capture the feeling of the season.

In this article, we’ll introduce recommended craft projects for May.

We’ve gathered plenty of fun ideas you’ll want to make—from event-themed crafts to insects and fruits seen in May, as well as vividly colored plants.

Feel free to adapt the activities to match children’s interests and curiosity, and enjoy making them together.

Because the pieces children create are treated as works, we use the term “seisaku” (production/work) in the text.

[Childcare] Feel May! A special feature of fun craft ideas to make (31–40)

Polar Bear-chan’s Underpants

Recommended for kids in the middle of potty training! Here’s a fun idea for “Polar Bear’s Underpants.” Let’s make our own version of the popular picture book “Shirokuma no Pants,” which features unique underpants and clever gimmicks, together with the children! Use crayons and paint to create the underpants with a resist technique to bring out each child’s individuality.

Then, let them freely attach the polar bear’s facial parts using glue or double-sided tape to create a variety of expressions.

Have fun customizing as you go!

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Shirokuma-chan’s Hotcakes

Here’s an introduction to making a craft inspired by the popular children’s picture book, Shirokuma-chan’s Pancakes.

Prepare construction paper, paint, brushes, scissors, and glue.

Cut out and assemble a plate and pancakes from the construction paper ahead of time.

If you prepare plates in several colors, children may enjoy choosing their favorite.

Use paint to represent butter and add color to the pancakes with a brush.

Form butter shapes from cellophane or origami paper, then glue them on top to complete a delicious-looking pancake.

For Shirokuma-chan’s eyes, we recommend using round stickers.

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Soramame-kun’s Bed

Here’s an introduction to making a fava bean bed craft that’s perfect for May.

Gather paint, sponge stampers (tanpo), construction paper, cotton, colored pens, and glue, and let’s get started.

Stamp paint onto construction paper cut into the shape of a pod to create the fava bean’s bed.

Use colored pens to freely draw grass on the base sheet of construction paper.

Glue the pod onto the base, add the cotton, and the fava bean bed is complete.

Kids can enjoy the feel of the cotton and the color variations created by dabbing with the sponge stampers.

Give it a try!

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Bamboo shoots made with torn-paper collage

@hoiku.labo
[May Recommended Wall Display!] Rip-and-tear origami: Making bamboo shoots ✂️Childcare Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Kindergarten Teacher Childcare job openings Childcare Column #NurseryTeacherThings #IWantToConnectWithChildcareWorkers #Nursery School Craft #DaycarePreparation Nursery School Practicum Childcare student Aspiring childcare worker Childcare Job Lab Nursery teacher skills Job change activities #JobChange #nursery_teacher_job_change Nursery teacher employment Production #Craft work Production drawing paper #ConstructionPaperCrafts Poster Board Craft #Wall Creation
♪ Original Song – Craft Ideas for Childcare ♪ Hoiku Kyujin Labo – Hoiku Kyujin Labo | Nursery Teacher Job Changes and Helpful Information

Here’s a fun torn-paper bamboo shoot craft using origami paper.

Cut construction paper and glue the pieces together in alternating layers to form the bamboo shoot.

Have the children tear the origami paper and stick the torn pieces onto the bamboo shoot.

Draw a face on the shoot to finish it off! Tearing and gluing helps children notice differences in shapes and think about the directions in which pieces are combined.

Incorporating hands-on, fine-motor crafts like this is highly recommended.

Give it a try!

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A little bird made with scribbles

Let’s draw freely with crayons! Here are some ideas for making little birds from scribbles.

Scribbling refers to the bold, free lines and drawings that children create just as they please.

It’s characterized by lines drawn casually with big movements of the hands and arms.

This is an important time to enjoy the fun of drawing and take the first step in self-expression, so let’s make something that makes the most of children’s drawings! What you’ll need: drawing paper, crayons, paper parts (made from construction paper), glue, and scissors.

Give it a try!

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[Childcare] Feel May! A collection of fun craft ideas to make (41–50)

Chick and Four-Leaf Clover

Here’s an introduction to making chicks and four-leaf clovers.

Prepare paint, brushes, a palette, drawing paper, and crayons, and let’s get started.

Put paint on the children’s palms and have them do hand painting to color and create the four-leaf clovers.

Older children can try drawing chicks and ladybugs on the drawing paper.

For younger children, it’s also nice to have them paste pre-made chicks or ladybugs.

For the background paper, we recommend spring-like colors such as pink or light blue!

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Fluffy pancakes

Introducing the Fluffy Pancake Wall Display featuring Shirokuma-chan.

Gather shaving foam, yellow and brown paint, glue, a Shirokuma-chan cutout, a frying pan, pancakes, and orange backing paper, and let’s get started.

Mix yellow and brown paint and glue into the shaving foam, then spread it onto a black frying pan to create pancakes.

Draw Shirokuma-chan’s face with crayons or felt-tip pens.

Once you’ve glued Shirokuma-chan, the pancakes, and the frying pan onto the backing paper, it’s complete! Give this adorable wall art—straight out of a picture book—a try.

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