Lovely childcare

[Childcare] Fun to Make! Recommended Craft Ideas for Spring

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.
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.

In spring, with new admissions and moving up to the next class, you can see children in all sorts of states—excited, nervous, and everything in between.

Many teachers are probably hoping that the children will come to enjoy their days at the preschool/kindergarten.

So this time, we’re sharing craft ideas perfect for spring.

We’ve gathered plenty of motifs that evoke the season—like cherry blossoms, tulips, and ladybugs—as well as ideas you can use for events such as Easter and Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day).

Decorate various areas to wrap your room in a spring atmosphere, and the children are sure to feel cozy and smile!

Give them a try.

Note: Since the things the children make are treated as “artworks,” we refer to them as “seisaku (制作)” in the text.

[Childcare] Fun to Make! Recommended Craft Ideas for Spring (131–140)

Koinobori made with tissue paper

[Easy to make with kids♪] Simple Koinobori craft using tissue paper 🎏 #preschoolcrafts #nurseryteacher #earlychildhoodideas #teachertrainee #teacherlife #withkids #constructionpaper #walldecorcraft #paper crafts #koinobori

Koinobori made with tissue paper

How about making a fluffy koinobori using a plastic bag and tissue paper? Tear and crumple tissue paper and put it into a clear plastic bag.

Some children will tear boldly, some will crumple small pieces, some will use a single color, and others will make it colorful with many colors.

Since even infants create with their own preferences and intentions, it’s best to value their free ideas and let them proceed as they wish, as long as it’s safe.

Attach fins, an eye, and scales to the filled bag, then fix it to a stick made by rolling up paper—and it’s done! Take your koinobori along and enjoy a walk.

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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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Hanging weeping cherry (branch)

Kimie Gangi: “Weeping cherry blossoms” made with tissue paper and a vinyl umbrella #hangable #tissuepaperart #goshikizuru #shidarezakura #cherryblossom #sakura #diycrafts #seasonaldecor

Hanging weeping cherry (branch)

Great for events too! Let me share an idea for a hanging weeping cherry blossom decoration.

You’ll need a clear plastic umbrella, string, tape, glue, a stapler, scissors, pink tissue paper, and light pink tissue paper.

First, use the two colors of tissue paper to make cherry blossoms.

If you trim them into a forked shape with scissors, you can capture the characteristic look of cherry blossom petals! Next, glue the tissue paper blossoms onto the string.

Finally, tape them to the clear umbrella and you’re done.

It’s portable too, so give it a try!

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Easter Bunny made of fluffy cotton

[Easter Craft] Fluffy Bunny Made with a Plastic Bag 🐇 #PreschoolCrafts #NurseryTeacher #TeachingIdeas #TeacherTrainee #TeacherLife #WithKids #Easter #EasyCraft #EasterCraft #Bunny

Easter Bunny made of fluffy cotton

A plastic bag that’s often used for crafts.

This time, let’s use this plastic bag to make a bunny that children love! We’ll also use cotton, so before you start, let the kids enjoy the feel of the cotton.

After they’ve explored the texture, pack the cotton into a white plastic bag with handles, and once it’s filled, tie the handles together.

The tied part will look like bunny ears, so you might hear the kids exclaim, “Bunny!” Hide the knot with a ribbon, draw the eyes and mouth, and it’s complete.

It’s fluffy and looks like a little doll.

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Easter garland

Easter Garland [Craft]

Easter garland

Let’s make the venue festive for the Easter event! Here are some ideas for Easter garlands made with construction paper.

Prepare construction paper in your favorite colors, decorative materials like stickers and washi tape, jute twine, a pencil, a ruler, double-sided tape or tape glue, scissors, and a hole punch.

Cut the construction paper into egg shapes and decorate them however you like! Using sparkly materials and patterned washi tape will make the finish even more vibrant.

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clover

[Origami] How to Make a Clover (Clover Basics and Applications)

clover

When spring comes, clover spreads across the fields.

The four-leaf clover, a symbol of luck and love, is perfect for wall decorations, too.

First, fold the origami paper into a triangle with the green side facing inward.

Open the pocket as you would when folding a crane and flatten it into a square.

Fold the front corner up to the center, then fold it up again where the creases intersect.

While pinching the center, open it up and fold the middle inward.

After that, fold each section back while overlapping them slightly to shape the leaves, and it’s done.

If you decorate with butterflies and flowers as well, it will feel even more like spring.

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Cherry tree made with stamps

Craft by a 21-month-old | Let’s make a cherry blossom tree! | LET’S MAKE A “CHERRY BLOSSOM TREE” WITH A 21-MONTH-OLD GIRL!

Cherry tree made with stamps

Cherry blossoms blooming in the schoolyard and outdoors—their delicate pale pink color is so beautiful, isn’t it? Let’s try making them easily with paint stamping.

Once you’ve prepared drawing paper with branches and a trunk drawn on it, have the children use pink paint to stamp the blossoms.

They can go bold using their fingers or palms, but stamping with the bottom of a plastic bottle is fun too! Depending on the bottle’s shape, the stamp can look like a flower, so it might be interesting to try different bottles and wait for the children to notice the patterns themselves.

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