[Nursery/Kindergarten] New Year Craft Ideas: A Collection of Projects You Can Enjoy Even After Making Them

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 as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
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.

You want to plan New Year’s crafts at a nursery or kindergarten, but you can’t think of ideas that kids will enjoy while incorporating traditional elements… In times like these, decorations and classic toys made from familiar materials are perfect! Here, we introduce New Year-themed craft ideas ranging from lucky charms like akabeko (red cow), kagami mochi, and shimenawa, to playable crafts such as fukuwarai, kendama, and spinning tops.

They all make use of recycled materials like milk cartons, plastic bottles, and paper cups, so why not enjoy preparing for the New Year together with the children? Since the children’s creations are treated as “artworks,” we use the term “seisaku” (制作) in the text.

[Nursery/Kindergarten] New Year’s craft idea collection! A set of projects you can keep enjoying even after making them (31–40)

Easy! How to Make a New Year Daruma

@lucky_seisaku_hoiku
New Year’s craft darumaChildcare #Nursery school #Kindergarten Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Babysitter child Parenting Childcare New Year Production New Year’s craft translation Translation Daruma toy Handmade JanuaryIf you want to know how to make it, head over to Instagram. Comment “daruma-san” on the Instagram Reel.
♬ Original Song – Lucky-sensei – Lucky-sensei | A preschool theater that makes you look forward to birthday parties 🎂

Making a daruma with balloons is unique and fun for children.

Prepare balloons, paint, construction paper, templates for the daruma’s body and face, eyebrows, mustache, scissors, and round stickers.

Dip the inflated balloon in paint and gently stamp it onto the construction paper.

Kids can enjoy the springy bounce of the balloon and the changes in color intensity as it varies from dark to light.

Place the daruma body template on the painted paper and cut along it with scissors.

For the face, cut white construction paper into a plump half-moon shape and glue on each facial part.

Try creating your original daruma by adding patterns with square-cut origami pieces and round stickers.

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mayumi

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Cute! How to make mandarin oranges

@yuumaama2022
How to Make Mikan (Mandarin Oranges)Translation child Childcare #mikan #Child'sToy
♪ Original song – Yuumaaama – Yuumaaama

One of the classic winter fruits, mikan (mandarins), can also be made using familiar materials.

Crumple up some newspaper and wrap it with two or three sheets of orange tissue paper.

Put the tissue-wrapped newspaper into a small plastic bag, add a leaf, and you’re done.

Even four-year-olds with their small hands should be able to crumple the newspaper and wrap it with tissue to make a mikan.

They’ll probably enjoy squeezing and crumpling the newspaper tightly.

With a slight change of shape and color, you could even turn it into a strawberry.

It also sounds fun to try making various fruits by changing the tissue paper colors and more.

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Nakajima Junko

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How to make a flapping toy

@taniguchi_s_y_d
Japanese traditional toy #diycrafts #tutorial #NewYearGames Tradition
Original Music – Taniguchi Shoyudo Co., Ltd. (Taniguchi Matsuosho-do)

The flip-flop toy, where connected boards topple over in a chain with a flapping motion, is fun to watch and makes satisfying sounds as it falls.

Let’s get glue, scissors, mat board, and origami paper ready and make one.

After preparing several pieces of mat board cut into rectangles, connect them with paper strips.

The key when connecting them is to attach the strips straight.

Be careful not to stick the strips in the wrong positions when linking the boards.

It’s also recommended to draw faces on the boards so their expressions change as they flip back and forth.

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mayumi

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Cute bubble-patterned! How to make a daruma doll

http://www.lemon8-app.com

Here’s a craft idea using bubble wrap, which is handy as cushioning material.

First, paint the bubble wrap with red paint and transfer the pattern onto red construction paper.

Cut it into a daruma shape with scissors and paste it onto a base.

Add facial features made from construction paper and decorative patterns made from gold origami.

Fill the empty space on the base with flower pieces, and it’s done.

The bubble wrap pattern looks like polka dots and is cute, and the texture makes the daruma appear to pop out.

I think it would also look great in colorful variations.

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sasashina

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Daruma-otoshi with masking tape!

@hekimen_25
[Making a Daruma Otoshi with Masking Tape ⚒]▫️ Ages: Preschool (4–5) and up▫️ Goals:- Work on the craft by imagining the finished piece, applying masking tape, and adding color- Develop fine motor skills👩🏼‍🏫 If children actually play Daruma Otoshi first, they’ll have a clearer image and enjoy the crafting process even more 👍💭Nursery teacher / Childcare worker #Nursery school #Kindergarten　#Childcare Crafting New Year New Year’s craft Production process #Production Video #Drawing Masking tape　#Daruma Otoshi
The beginning of a fun time – LoFi Siberinyan

A Daruma-otoshi that even small children can make is a great way to learn about traditional New Year’s games.

Prepare construction paper, scissors, masking tape, and crayons, and let’s get started.

Cut out the face and body parts from the construction paper, then apply strips of masking tape at your preferred widths.

Color over the masking tape with crayons, using different colors as you like, and then peel off the tape.

Attach the face on top and draw the facial expression.

Once you glue together the dropping stick cut from construction paper, it’s complete.

You’ll end up with a Daruma-otoshi that showcases each child’s individuality.

Feel free to adjust the width of the masking tape and the colors you use to your liking.

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mayumi

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