Lovely childcare

Craft ideas for 1-year-olds to enjoy in spring: flowers and koinobori (carp streamers)

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.
Nursery Teacher Mom Writertsukada moe
After working for five years at an after-school childcare club and three years at a nursery school, I began working as a freelance writer. I’m a mother of two children. Inspired by playing the flute in the school wind ensemble in elementary school, I joined a jazz club at university. I’ve also incorporated ukulele and piano performance into childcare. Playing, laughing, feeling sad, feeling frustrated—through all kinds of experiences, I want children to grow.

Curious and eager to go and try things, one-year-olds often have a strong desire to explore.

They also show interest in making things, and their motivation to “give it a try” grows.

For those wondering what kinds of projects to enjoy with one-year-olds, here are some spring recommendations.

We’ve gathered ideas for creating fun motifs like flowers, animals, and carp streamers (koinobori) using a variety of materials and techniques.

These activities will make craft time exciting for the children, so please use them as a reference.

Because we treat children’s creations as works of art, we use the term “seisaku (制作)” to mean “art/craft projects” throughout the text.

[For 1-year-olds] Craft ideas to enjoy in spring: Flowers and koinobori (21–30)

[Decalcomania] Butterfly

Easy Crafts at Home! We made butterflies using lots of different techniques 🤗 Fun to play with, cute, and educational too❣️ Make them with your kids and feel the warm spring vibes 💝

[Decalcomania] Butterfly

Would you like to try making butterflies using the transfer technique called decalcomania? It’s an exciting activity because you never know what kind of patterns will emerge, so give it a try with one-year-olds.

First, fold a sheet of construction paper in half and cut it into the shape of a butterfly.

Open the paper and put paint on either the left or right side.

Any colors are fine.

Let the children apply the paint using brushes, their fingers, or other tools.

Once the paint is on, close the paper, press it down firmly, and then open it.

You’ll find a beautiful pattern has appeared.

Finally, attach antennae made from pipe cleaners, and you’re done!

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[Crepe/Tissue Paper] Rapeseed Blossoms

Making Rapeseed Flowers with Tissue Paper (from around age 1)

[Crepe/Tissue Paper] Rapeseed Blossoms

Let’s make spring flowers—rapeseed blossoms—using tissue paper.

Cut the flower base, stem, and leaves out of construction paper.

Tear the tissue paper into long, thin strips and have the children crumple them into small balls.

If you make small cuts in the tissue paper beforehand, even one-year-olds may find it easier to tear.

Stick the crumpled tissue paper onto the flower base, which has double-sided tape on it.

Finally, attach the stem and leaves to complete the flower.

Make several and display them on the wall to create a lovely rapeseed field.

Using a single color of tissue paper works, but using different shades of yellow is also recommended.

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Strawberries made with torn-paper collage

[Something to make in spring] Tingly Stick-on Strawberry Torn-Paper Collage 🍓 #preschoolcraft #nurseryteacher #teachingideas #withkids #origami #origamicraft #tornpapercollage #strawberry #easycraft #shorts

Strawberries made with torn-paper collage

Let’s create using our fingertips! Here are some ideas for making strawberries with torn-paper collage.

You’ll need red origami paper, patterned origami paper, a backing sheet, glue or double-sided tape, scissors, flower-shaped cut paper, and strawberry calyx-shaped cut paper.

Use your fingertips to boldly tear the origami! It’s fun that the sound changes depending on how fast you tear.

Even things that seem obvious to adults can deepen the activity when you enjoy children’s discoveries as you work together.

Paste the torn pieces onto the backing sheet, then have a caregiver or teacher cut the sheet into a strawberry shape with scissors to finish.

It’s also great if the children can glue on the strawberry calyx themselves.

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Ants’ Errand

Here’s a craft project featuring the familiar “Ant’s Errand” from the song.

Prepare black construction paper and crayons, and let’s get started.

Have the children draw pictures on the construction paper using crayons.

When cutting out the ant’s parts from the paper, the key is to cut from the areas where the children’s drawings are.

Once all the parts are glued onto the base sheet, stick on round stickers for the eyes, add a mouth cut from construction paper, and it’s complete! Adding stickers or torn origami around it gives it a warm, handmade feel—highly recommended.

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Onigiri Boy

May has the perfect weather for field trips, doesn’t it? Here’s a craft that lets you enjoy a field-trip mood: making a little rice-ball buddy.

Gather construction paper, scissors, crayons, kitchen paper (paper towels), double-sided tape, and clear tape, and let’s get started.

Use crayons to draw rice-ball fillings on the kitchen paper.

It’s fun to use lots of different colors.

Wrap a tissue with the illustrated kitchen paper, shape it into a triangle, and keep forming it.

Cut black construction paper into a nori (seaweed) shape and stick it on to finish.

It would be great to enjoy pretend field trips with the delicious-looking rice balls the children make!

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Colorful Eggs Made with Tissue Paper

Fun for babies and toddlers! Here’s a colorful egg craft idea using tissue paper.

It’s an activity even infants can enjoy, so it’s perfect for anyone spending time with a baby class.

The bright colors make it a cute, pop-style craft.

You’ll need construction paper, tissue paper, scissors, glue, and crayons.

Cut the construction paper into an egg shape, then tear the tissue paper and stick it on with glue.

For easier participation, try applying the glue directly to the egg-shaped construction paper so the children can simply press the tissue pieces onto it.

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Koinobori of Kashiwa Mochi

Let’s make a Kashiwa-mochi carp streamer using kashiwa mochi, which is eaten during the Boys’ Festival (Tango no Sekku).

Cut construction paper into a leaf shape, draw the veins with a white crayon, and paint over it with green paint to create a wax-resist effect.

Cut another piece of construction paper into the shape of a carp streamer and draw patterns with crayons inspired by kashiwa mochi.

Place the leaf on top and glue them together.

Attach a face and a samurai helmet folded from origami, then stick them onto the carp streamer to finish.

It also sounds fun to choose parts of the project according to the child’s age and ability!

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