[October] Craft ideas for 1-year-olds: Halloween, mushrooms, and more
October is a month when you can feel the essence of autumn, from the colorful leaves to the crystal-clear skies.
We want children to have plenty of experiences during this comfortable season, don’t we?
In this article, we’ll introduce October craft ideas recommended for one-year-olds.
Autumn offers a wealth of materials that can be expressed through crafts—from seasonal delicious foods like grapes and pears to sensory elements like bell crickets and the moon that you can see and hear.
From these, we’ve gathered many craft ideas perfect for October.
Be sure to let children experience lots of autumn through crafting!
Because the things children make are treated as works of art, we refer to them as “seisaku” (creations) in the text.
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[October] Craft ideas for 1-year-olds: Halloween, mushrooms, and more (21–30)
Easy Ghost Origami Instructions
Here’s an origami ghost that’s perfect for autumn Halloween.
Prepare one sheet of origami paper and fold it into a triangle.
Then fold the left and right corners in toward the center line.
Tuck the loose, fluttery corner downwards.
Fold the whole piece toward the center line, then fold the tip downward to shape it into a ghost.
If you fold the bottom part of the ghost at an angle, it adds movement and makes a cute ghost.
Once it’s finished, draw a face and stick it on a Halloween bag or wand to enjoy!
Tissue paper mushroom
Let’s make colorful, cute mushrooms using tissue paper! First, cut out a fairly large stem shape from construction paper and prepare it.
Depending on the children’s ages, the teacher may want to have these ready in advance.
Next, have the children choose their favorite colors of tissue paper and crumple them into small balls.
Once they’ve made a good number, place them on a sheet of plastic wrap, then wrap and shape them to form the mushroom cap.
When it’s done, attach it to the stem made from construction paper to finish! If you like, add a face or other details to the stem.
Pom-pom mushrooms made from toilet paper rolls
Let’s decorate the mushroom caps using toilet paper rolls like stamps! First, cut out the shapes of the mushroom stems and caps from construction paper.
To make things smoother, teachers can prepare the cutouts in advance according to the children’s ages.
Once the paper is ready, dip the open end of a toilet paper roll into paint in any color you like, and stamp it onto the cap with a gentle dabbing motion.
After creating patterns as you like, combine it with the stem piece to complete the mushroom! It’s also a great idea to draw a face on the stem with a pen or add round stickers.
Maple leaves and ginkgo
Let’s make maple and ginkgo leaves—perfect autumn crafts for two-year-olds.
First, let the children experience the feeling of tearing origami paper.
Then, have them glue the torn pieces together to form the shape of a maple leaf to finish.
For the ginkgo leaf, fold a sheet of origami paper into a triangle twice, add a stem, and it’s done.
The goal for two-year-olds is to become familiar with origami, so rather than folding perfectly, we want them to enjoy the process.
Both activities are designed so that two-year-olds eager to try new things can have fun while they work.
Acorns with crayons and stickers
Here’s a fun acorn craft you can tackle using your creativity with crayons and stickers.
First, cut and paste construction paper to make the acorn.
If you create the cap and the body separately and layer them, it will add a three-dimensional feel.
Then, decorate the acorn with stickers and add facial features made from construction paper.
It’s interesting because you can work while thinking, “What kind of face should I make?” or “How can I make it look cute?” Everyone’s will turn out differently, so sharing them afterward will likely be a lot of fun.
Halloween ghost
Speaking of autumn, kids just love Halloween, don’t they? How about a ghost craft that 1-year-olds can enjoy making? Prepare the parts like the ghost’s eyes, mouth, and hands in advance, and put double-sided tape on the back.
First, attach a sponge to the end of a chopstick and secure it with a rubber band.
Dip the sponge in white paint and use it to draw a big ghost on black construction paper.
Next, peel the backing off the tape on the parts and let the children stick them on.
Let them freely enjoy both drawing the ghost and placing the parts! You’ll end up with very unique and adorable ghosts.
Halloween bag
Speaking of Halloween, getting treats is one of the big highlights, isn’t it? To make the holiday even more fun, I’d like to recommend making Halloween bags.
In this activity, you create your own original bag by cutting out ghosts and monsters from construction paper and pasting them onto a paper bag.
With a cute bag, the joy of collecting sweets is sure to double! Dive in with excitement as you think, “What design should I choose?”