For three-year-olds: A collection of craft ideas featuring spring events and creatures that you’ll want to make with your three-year-old
When spring comes, flowers bloom and living creatures become more active.
Three-year-olds are probably discovering many signs of spring through outdoor activities, too.
So this time, we’ve put together craft ideas perfect for three-year-olds to try in spring.
We introduce many ideas that use fun techniques, a variety of materials, and even recycled items.
Please consider incorporating activities that let children experience satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
Because we treat what children make as works of art, we refer to them as “seisaku” (productions) in the text.
[Age 3] A collection of craft ideas (1–10) to make with three-year-olds, featuring spring events and creatures
Cute and fun to play with! Flapping butterfly
You can wear it on your finger and play with it! Let me introduce the Flappy Butterfly.
Prepare a sheet of construction paper cut into a rectangle, origami paper or stickers for the wing patterns, and antenna parts.
First, fold the rectangular construction paper in half to make a mountain fold crease.
Then, leaving about 1 cm of space, add valley fold creases on both sides.
After folding along the creases, draw half of a butterfly shape and cut it out with scissors.
Also make two evenly spaced slits along the folded section.
If you reverse the creases at both ends of the fold that’s now divided into three sections by the slits, you’ll create openings for your fingers.
Attach the wing patterns and the antennae, and you’re done!
cardboard camera
Let me introduce a cardboard camera that’s perfect for a walk.
Prepare cardboard, cellophane, a paper cup, and double-sided tape.
Cut two pieces of cardboard to the size of the camera you want to make.
Take a paper cup that’s cut in half horizontally with slits cut vertically, place it against the cardboard, then cut out a lens shape and fit it in.
Stick colored cellophane over the top, glue the cardboard pieces together, and you’re done! Try adding a yarn strap for walks or changing the cellophane colors and decorating it as you like!
Quick and easy with bubble wrap stamps! Cute beehive
This is a fun stamping activity to make a cute honeycomb using bubble wrap.
Roll the bubble wrap to create a stamp, dab it in paint, and pop-pop it onto construction paper to easily make a honeycomb-like pattern.
Using two colors of paint lets you enjoy the contrast and looks very pretty.
Once the pattern is done, make bees and other parts and glue them on.
Since it’s just stamping, even young children can enjoy it and get absorbed in the activity.
After you attach the parts at the end, your adorable honeycomb artwork is complete!
Let’s make and display it! The Very Hungry Caterpillar
How about making the famous Very Hungry Caterpillar? First, take five sheets of construction paper and cut them into oval shapes to form the caterpillar’s body.
Prepare the antenna pieces as well, then arrange the body segments and stick them onto the backing paper one by one.
After you’re done gluing, use round stickers to decorate freely.
Simply adding stickers in your favorite colors will give you a colorful, cute caterpillar.
Next, draw the face with crayons and add drawings to the background too.
Finally, write your name and you’re done.
Each child’s individuality will shine through in their one-of-a-kind caterpillar.
Let’s play with decalcomania!
Decalcomania, which means transfer, is a technique of expression often used in early childhood education.
Basically, you put paint on one side of a sheet of drawing paper that has a crease down the center, fold it in half, and transfer the paint to the other side to create the image.
The key is to thin the paint with plenty of water! That way, the colors blend and you can enjoy the accidental patterns that emerge.
This introduces two ideas: one is to make a butterfly with decalcomania and then cut it out with scissors, and the other is to use drawing paper pre-cut into a cherry blossom shape to add patterns.
Ladybug origami for spring wall displays too!
Seeing a ladybug makes you feel that spring has arrived, doesn’t it? So let’s try making a ladybug out of origami.
First, fold the origami paper into a triangle, then fold both side corners up to meet the top corner.
Leave the bottom single layer as is, fold the top corner downward, and then tuck the tip slightly to the back.
This will be the ladybug’s face.
Take the top corner you left as a single layer, match the shape, and fold it to the back.
Fold the remaining three corners into small triangles to round out the shape of the origami.
Slightly fold the edges on both sides of the top corner to the back, and add black round stickers for the body’s spots.
Draw the face, and you’re done!
Perfect for spring! How to make fava beans
This is a cute broad bean craft.
Use glue to stick the prepared broad beans and parts onto construction paper.
When you’re done, use stickers and crayons to draw faces and add expressions.
It’s fun to make while thinking, “What kind of face should I do?” The steps are simple, so it’s an easy project for the beginning of a new school year or right after entering school.
If you stick them on construction paper, they make adorable pieces, and if you make a lot, they’re great as wall decorations.
Please use this as a reference and try your own variations!