[For 4-Year-Olds] Feel the Spring Up Close! Fun and Easy Craft Ideas You’ll Love
Spring is when colorful flowers bloom and insects begin to move about energetically.
Many teachers may be thinking, “I want children to feel the charms of spring!”
So this time, we’ve gathered spring-themed craft ideas recommended for four-year-olds.
Packed with fun projects that incorporate spring motifs familiar to children—like cherry blossoms, dandelions, butterflies, and ladybugs!
These ideas focus on enjoying self-expression while expanding their imaginations, as well as experiencing a variety of techniques and materials, so be sure to check them out.
Because the children’s creations are treated as artworks, the term used in the text is “制作” (seisaku), meaning “art/craft production.”
- [For 4-year-olds] A collection of April craft ideas that capture spring, such as Easter and cherry blossoms
- [Origami] Easy spring-themed origami ideas to enjoy with 4-year-olds
- [Childcare] Recommended crafts and activities for March, such as Hina Matsuri (Doll’s Festival) and cherry blossoms
- [Childcare] Recommended for nurseries and kindergartens! Cherry blossom craft ideas
- [For Age 3] Let’s make it in April! A collection of craft ideas to feel spring events and nature
- [Childcare] Spring craft ideas to enjoy with 2-year-olds! Techniques and materials included
- [For 5-year-olds] Let's make it in April! A collection of craft ideas using recycled and natural materials
- [Childcare] Fun Spring Activities: Ideas for Nature, Movement, and Crafts
- [April Crafts] Useful for childcare! Spring craft ideas for 1-year-olds
- May: Craft Ideas That Excite 4-Year-Olds!
- [Childcare] Simple origami ideas for kids, perfect for spring
- [For 4-5-year-olds] Folding is fun! A collection of January origami ideas to enjoy with preschoolers
- For 5-Year-Olds: Let’s Make It! A Collection of Craft Ideas to Feel the Spring
[Age 4] Feel the coming of spring up close! Fun and recommended craft ideas (21–30)
Strawberry cake made with paper cups
The strawberries look so realistic and delicious.
Let me show you how to make a strawberry cake using a paper cup.
Get a paper cup, paint, tissue paper (hana-gami), crayons, red and green construction paper, and glue ready.
Use the paper cup as the cake base and paint it.
While the paint is drying, make the strawberries with the construction paper.
When drawing the center of the strawberries with crayons, I recommend coloring with pink first and then layering white crayon on top to add a three-dimensional effect.
Once you’ve glued the tissue paper onto the paper cup to look like whipped cream, stick the strawberries on top and you’re done.
It’s also fun to try different colors of tissue paper and paint.
Pill Bug Made with Paper Plates
Pill bugs are one of the insects that children love.
Their trait of curling up into a little ball when touched is part of what fascinates kids.
Let’s try making a pill bug out of a paper plate.
First, draw patterns on the paper plate with crayons, then paint over it with black paint.
Enjoy the way the paint resists the crayon.
Next, cut the paper plate into six equal sections, stack all the small triangles together, poke a hole at the tip, and insert a split pin (brad).
Finally, add the face and legs to finish.
It even reproduces the pill bug’s unique movement, so kids are sure to be captivated.
Give it a try!
Plum blossoms perfect for the New Year
The video uses 7.5 cm origami paper, but that may be too small for a three-year-old, so try using regular-size origami paper.
Fold the paper in half into a square and open it, then fold the top and bottom edges to meet the crease.
Repeat the same process with the left and right edges.
Flatten the folded left and right sections to make two boat shapes, then squash both ends of each boat into squares to create four petals.
Turn the paper over and make cuts about halfway along the center creases on all four edges.
Fold the corners created by the cuts slightly inward.
Fold the front petals and the remaining four corners the same way.
Draw the stamen in the center with a pen, and you’re done.
Easy flat tulip
Let’s make a flat tulip.
We’ll make the flower on the first sheet, and the stem and leaves on the second.
First, for the flower: fold the origami paper into a triangle twice, then unfold it once.
Fold the left and right corners up diagonally to form the petals.
Tuck the left, right, and bottom corners slightly to the back, and the flower is done.
For the leaves and stem, follow the same steps up to unfolding after the first triangle.
This time, fold the left and right edges down to meet the center crease.
Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner, then pull the two small front triangles on the left and right outward—these will be the leaves, so adjust the angle to your liking.
Attach the flower and stem/leaves together, and you’re finished.
Cherry blossom petal wreath
Make it with origami! Here’s an idea for a cherry blossom petal wreath.
What you need: eight quarter-size sheets of origami paper and glue.
The origami cherry blossom petals look like they’re connected, which is really cute! You can make it using only pink paper, but it’s also lovely to mix in petals made from light pink or white origami paper.
Using washi-patterned origami changes the vibe even more, so it’s highly recommended.
It’s a perfect idea for decorating a room wall or the entryway.
Paper and yarn garland
Decorate with yarn dandelions and bring a touch of spring to your room! Wrap yellow or white yarn around four fingers, slide the bundle off gently, and tie the center with a short piece of yarn.
Snip the loops on both the top and bottom, then trim and fluff it into a round dandelion shape to finish.
Make leaves from construction paper and attach them to the dandelion with glue.
If you insert the leaves slightly into the dandelion as you glue, it will look more realistic.
They’re cute on walls or hallway displays, and also charming when hung as decorations.
Garland made with paper strips
Here’s a charming cherry blossom decoration made from paper strips.
You’ll need pink construction paper, a stapler, scissors, a pencil, a ruler, and thread.
Prepare one strip measuring 2 cm by 30 cm and another strip measuring 2 cm by 20 cm from the pink paper.
Fold the 20 cm strip in half, then fold each half again to form an M shape.
Fold the 30 cm strip in half as well, mark 5 cm from the loose/fluttering end, fold at the mark, then continue folding it into an accordion with 5 cm-wide sections.
Slightly fold the mountain-fold edges to shape them like cherry blossom petals, staple the ends together, and finally turn the loop inside out to finish.
Make lots of them and thread them onto a string to decorate!