[Nursery/Kindergarten] Crafts you can play with after making them
At daycare centers and kindergartens, there are many opportunities to make toys using familiar recycled materials.
Making their own toys and playing with them lets children enjoy the process of creating, builds confidence, and gives them a sense of accomplishment—benefits that greatly support their development.
Let’s actively incorporate lots of these activities.
This time, we’re introducing craft ideas that kids can play with after making them.
Tops, pinwheels, puzzles—ideas that are sure to spark children’s curiosity!
Feel free to adapt them while incorporating the children’s ideas, and create one-of-a-kind toys bursting with originality!
They’ll surely grow attached to them, and the fun will double.
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[Nursery/Kindergarten] Crafts You Can Play With After Making (21–30)
Paper cup spinning top
A paper cup spinning top is also great for practicing twisting motions like turning faucets and doorknobs.
The idea is to cut and open a paper cup, then add decorations to turn it into a top.
The appeal lies not only in the making process but also in the many ways to experiment while playing—try figuring out how to spin it well or invent different ways to use it.
Depending on the situation, caregivers or teachers can offer prompts that spark creativity, such as, “What happens if you spin it the other way?”
voice-changing microphone
https://www.tiktok.com/@miigomama_chiiku/video/7308329275525057810Let me show you how to make a fun voice-changing microphone using just two paper cups and aluminum foil.
First, cut a round hole in the bottom of both cups.
Next, cover the mouth (rim) of one cup with aluminum foil, then stack the other cup over it—done! Now try speaking through the holes you made… Huh!? Your usual voice transforms into an alien voice! It’s a simple build, but kids will absolutely love it, so teachers, please try making it together with them! Adults will surely find themselves saying, “We come in peace,” in a wobbly alien voice!
[Nursery/Kindergarten] Crafts You Can Play With After Making (31–40)
Make and Play! New Year Hagoita (Battledore)
Hagoita paddles that can be simply made with paper plates are easy for kids to create.
Prepare paper plates, wooden chopsticks, cellophane tape, and origami, and let’s get started.
Fold the left and right sides of the paper plate so they form an even shape.
Insert a chopstick inside to make a handle, then secure everything in place by taping it all around with cellophane tape.
Make sure to fasten it firmly so it doesn’t come apart easily.
Once you stick flower decorations on the surface, it’s complete.
Playing with a hagoita you made yourself can be fun and full of discoveries and new insights.
Make It with 100-Yen Shop Items! Daruma Otoshi
https://www.tiktok.com/@sayacky_be.child/video/7458612859551894802How about making the classic New Year’s game “Daruma-otoshi” using items from a 100-yen shop? It’s very easy to make, and you’ll end up with a toy you can enjoy over and over.
First, fill a dessert cup with small stones, put the lid on, and that will be the body of the Daruma.
Create the face base and patterns with tape, stick them on, then draw the eyes and mustache with a pen to finish.
For the mallet, stack and glue four plastic bottle caps together, then attach a wooden chopstick as the handle.
If the Daruma is too light, it won’t stack properly when it falls, so be sure to put plenty of stones inside.
3D horse made of Perler beads
Iron beads are a handmade toy you can even find at 100-yen shops.
You arrange small pipe-shaped pieces on a pegboard and fuse them with the heat of an iron to enjoy all kinds of designs.
Basically, you make flat designs, but like this horse idea, you can combine flat pieces to create three-dimensional results too.
Iron beads are sold in a wide variety of colors, so try making a horse in your favorite shades.
Add a horn and it might even become a unicorn!
Puppet horse
You can put it on your hand and make the mouth chomp! Here’s a handmade horse puppet idea.
You’ll use a sock, foam sheets, felt, yarn, and googly eyes.
Stack two half-circle pieces of foam sheet and tape the straight edges together, then attach them to the cut end of the sock with a hot glue gun.
Line the contact surfaces of the foam with pink felt and glue on teeth made from white felt.
Finally, add the facial features, a yarn mane, and felt ears—and you’re done!
Make a clear horse out of a plastic bottle!
Why not try a craft project using recycled materials? In this idea, you’ll make a horse out of plastic bottles.
Cut the bottles with scissors and glue the pieces together while imagining the overall shape of the horse.
Instead of fixing the shape from the start, you’ll turn the cut parts into a horse by using them creatively—an idea that really stimulates creativity.
Use clear plastic bottles to create a mysterious, beautiful transparent horse.
Since you’ll be assembling as you glue, a hot glue gun will come in handy.