Lovely childcare

[Nursery/Kindergarten] Crafts you can play with after making them

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.

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.

[Nursery/Kindergarten] Crafts You Can Play With After Making (31–40)

Role-play! Cardboard Crafts

Role-play! How to Make a Cardboard Craft “Horse Headpiece/Helmet”

Role-play! Cardboard Crafts

This is a piece sold as a horse headgear kit, but since you can see a rough unfolded pattern in the video, I think it’s possible to make it yourself.

The official purchase page also offers a free template for the mane, so make use of that as you build.

Prepare some thin cardboard, draw the unfolded pattern, cut it out, and use a ruler or a scoring tool on the parts that will be mountain folds.

Have fun painting it with paints and expressing your own unique horse.

Once it’s finished, put it on your head and play by fully becoming a horse.

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Let’s make horse hoof sounds!

[Science Play 152] Horse hooves: pakaran♪ pakaran♪

Let's make horse hoof sounds!

The sound of hooves striking the ground is quite distinctive, isn’t it? In this idea, we recreate that “pakaran” sound using a simple craft.

You’ll need three paper cups, one pair of chopsticks, and some twine.

Prepare three pieces of twine in different lengths.

First, use an awl to make a hole in the center of the bottom of each paper cup.

Thread the twine through the hole and secure it on the inside with tape.

Finally, fasten the other ends of the twine to the chopsticks in order from shortest to longest, and you’re done! Hold the chopsticks with both hands and press the paper cups against a hard surface like a desk or flooring.

If you tap them in a steady rhythm from the shortest to the longest, it should sound like “pakaran,” just like hooves.

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You can make it with a plastic bottle! A cute little horse

[Summer Vacation Crafts] [Plastic Bottle] How to Make a Cute Horse and Unicorn [Easy Craft]

You can make it with a plastic bottle! A cute little horse

This is a craft idea for making a horse by using tissue-stuffed plastic bottles as the head and body.

For the horse’s neck and legs, use construction paper rolled into tubes.

Create the mane with slitted construction paper and the ears with paper cut into triangles.

Wrap some construction paper around the tip of the head to represent the horse’s distinctive nose.

Use tape for most of the assembly; instead of clear tape, which can look too plain, we recommend using brightly colored tape.

It will act like a pattern and give the piece a festive finish.

Finally, draw the eyes with a pen to complete your horse.

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Make it with pipe cleaners! Chigaya horses

I tried making a Chigaya horse using pipe cleaners! [Nerima City Kitamachi Children's Center]

Make it with pipe cleaners! Chigaya horses

Chigaya horses, a traditional Tanabata decoration often made before the war.

They are made from chigaya, a type of kaya grass, and are typically displayed as a male-female pair.

This idea is to make those chigaya horses using chenille stems (pipe cleaners).

Fold a pipe cleaner in half, twist and secure it as you shape it into a horse.

Use pipe cleaners in your favorite colors to create a vibrant finish.

Since it’s a Tanabata decoration, you could also write a tanzaku (wish strip) and adorn it with a chigaya horse as an accent.

It’s a wonderful idea that also lets you learn about Nerima’s traditions.

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Craft Challenge! Clippity-Clop Horse Riding

Meiji Delicious Milk Fun and Tasty! Craft Challenge: “Clippity-Clop Horse Riding”

Craft Challenge! Clippity-Clop Horse Riding

Let me introduce an idea for making a horse that makes a clacking sound when it moves.

Use one milk carton each for the head and neck, and two cartons each for the body and legs.

Use Meiji “Oishii Gyunyu,” the type with a screw cap.

The main step in this idea is connecting the milk cartons to form the shape of a horse.

Use masking tape to fix each part in place, and attach rubber bands to the caps of the milk cartons where the head connects to the neck and the body connects to the legs.

This creates a restoring force that returns the parts to their original position after moving, making the motion smoother.

Draw eyes on the face, attach a string, and it’s complete.

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