![[Childcare] Perfect for 3-year-olds! October craft ideas](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/DnnB5U2vnyI/maxresdefault.webp)
[Childcare] Perfect for 3-year-olds! October craft ideas
October brings a stretch of autumn-like weather.
Many preschools and kindergartens are likely planning events such as field trips and sports days.
Children grow in both mind and body as they gain a variety of experiences.
Here are some craft ideas perfect for October.
You can create activities that connect seamlessly with everyday care, using seasonal materials or motifs from seasonal events.
Let’s watch over the children so they can stay focused and enjoy their time.
Because the children’s creations are treated as works of art, we use the term “制作” (seisaku: creation/production) in the text.
[Childcare] Perfect for 3-year-olds! October Craft Ideas (1–10)
Tear and stick! Potato pretend play
Here’s a craft idea perfect for October as autumn deepens, using sweet potatoes as the motif.
Children can tear colored paper—browns and purples that evoke sweet potato hues—and have fun with it.
Next, have them paste the torn pieces onto drawing paper while imagining the shape of a sweet potato.
It’s fine for the teacher to lightly sketch the sweet potato shape beforehand.
Adding leaves or the children’s self-portraits at the end makes it even nicer! Torn-paper collage is also great for developing children’s fine motor skills, so why not give it a try?
Popping Bubble Wrap Mushroom
Why not try making mushrooms using bubble wrap, a cushioning material handy for shipping items? First, cut out a mushroom from construction paper.
Be sure to cut the cap and the stem separately.
Next, cut the bubble wrap into the shape of the cap and stick it onto the construction paper cap.
After that, just let the children color freely with markers or pens.
If they color in the round bubbles, it creates a pretty polka-dot pattern.
If you plan to use them as wall decorations, mushrooms alone can look a bit plain, so draw autumn leaves and other motifs on construction paper and have the children cut them out as well.
steaming hot roasted sweet potato
As an October-themed craft, how about making a piping-hot roasted sweet potato? Use handprint stamps to depict a campfire, then crumple newspaper to form the potato shape and paint it—combine the two and you’re done! For 3-year-olds, let them try the steps of stamping their handprints and crumpling the newspaper.
If they’re up for it, they can also try painting with tempera or watercolor.
You could even prepare a real sweet potato so the children can observe it while they create.
Seasonal crafts like this will enrich children’s hearts.
Rolling Acorn
https://www.instagram.com/p/CiHvQ9Qt_Dn/Let me introduce a cute craft that can also be used as a wall decoration: “Rolling Acorn.” This project is made in two parts: the leaf and the acorn.
For the acorn, fold an acorn out of origami paper, then use a pen to draw the cap pattern and the face.
For the leaf, color it using a rolling art technique, draw a leaf shape on the back, and have the children tear along the lines.
Finally, glue the acorn onto the leaf to finish.
The impression of the leaf changes depending on the construction paper and paint colors, so let the children enjoy it with their own sense of color.
Leaf Lion
This is a project to make a “Leaf Lion” using the frottage technique.
First, place a leaf under a sheet of white paper and rub over it with a crayon.
If the leaf’s pattern appears, you’ve succeeded.
Make rubbings of leaves in various colors, then cut them out to leaf shapes with scissors.
Next, create the lion’s face with yellow paper, and attach the leaves you made as the mane.
Finally, draw the lion’s facial features, and it’s complete.
If you use crayons in many different colors for the leaves, you’ll get a very vibrant lion.
Exploration Dragonfly
https://www.instagram.com/p/CihfOg8rxZx/Here’s a fall craft idea that kids can keep playing with even after they finish making it: dragonfly glasses! Dye kitchen paper towels with colored water to create pastel shades and let them dry thoroughly.
Then tear the paper towels and paste them onto dragonfly parts made from construction paper.
Next, attach the parts to a chopstick decorated with masking tape.
Add cellophane to the dragonfly’s eyes so that when children look through them, they can experience a world of colors different from usual.
It’s a craft that can excite both kids and adults!
A jack-o’-lantern that can stand upright
Let’s make a jack-o’-lantern—perfect for a Halloween craft! Using toilet paper rolls, a common household item, you can try it easily and at little to no cost.
Wrap origami paper around three toilet paper rolls, connect them with double-sided tape, then add the pumpkin’s face and stem.
With only a few steps, it’s easy enough for three-year-olds to try.
You can even adapt it into a ghost or a witch, not just a pumpkin.
It stands upright, so it’s sure to shine as a Halloween decoration!