[For 1-year-olds] Fun to make! A collection of winter craft activity ideas for use in childcare
Winter is full of exciting events for children, like Christmas, New Year’s, Setsubun, and Valentine’s Day.
Many teachers are probably looking to enjoy winter-themed crafts together with their children.
In this article, we’ll introduce winter craft ideas for one-year-olds.
Along with ideas tied to seasonal events and holidays, we also feature motifs unique to winter—like snowmen and mittens—that are rich in seasonal atmosphere.
We’ve gathered craft ideas that use unique techniques to keep one-year-olds fully engaged, so we hope you enjoy creating together this winter.
Since the children’s creations are treated as works, we refer to them as “seisaku” (productions/crafts) in the main text.
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[For 1-year-olds] Fun to make! A collection of winter craft activity ideas for childcare (21–30)
Setsubun Oni Made with Sponge Stamps
Enjoy a fun stamping activity! Here’s a recommended way to make a Setsubun ogre craft for 1-year-olds.
Materials: colored paper cut into ogre face parts, a sponge, chopsticks, paint, and a pen.
First, prepare the ogre parts in advance.
Mask size is recommended.
Cut the sponge into a size that’s easy to stamp and stick it onto a chopstick.
Let the children choose their favorite paint colors and stamp the sponge onto the ogre’s hair area.
Finally, draw the face with a pen, and it’s done! You can also turn it into a mask and wear it for Setsubun events—give it a try!
Snowman made with paper clay
Make it with air-dry clay! Here’s a simple snowman craft.
For one-year-olds, let them enjoy sticking with glue and drawing with crayons.
Materials: air-dry clay, crayons, colored construction paper, a stick-like item, and glue.
First, tear the clay and shape the snowman’s head and body.
Insert the stick into the center of the body and attach the head.
Flatten the bottom of the body.
Glue on the snowman’s facial parts made from colored construction paper.
Next, fold a piece of colored construction paper in half and draw a snowy background on the top half with a white crayon.
Finally, glue the snowman onto the bottom half, and it’s done!
Paper-plate Wobbly Snowman
Fun to play with! Here’s how to make a wobbly snowman toy using a paper plate.
Since you’ll use glue, it’s also great for 1-year-olds to practice their fine motor skills.
What you’ll need: snowman parts made from colored construction paper, one paper plate, and glue.
Prepare the snowman parts in advance.
Fold the paper plate in half as well.
Have the child glue the snowman onto the paper plate, and it’s done.
You can use round stickers for the snowman’s eyes, and it’s also a good idea to let the child enjoy making the parts themselves, adjusted to their age.
Fun for childcare! Indoor winter activities
Let me introduce some winter indoor activities that include crafts.
You can roll up cotton to look like fake snow, or put it into a plastic kiddie pool and play dynamically as if it were a bubble bath.
Use stamps on black construction paper to represent snowflakes, then glue origami penguins on top to create a winter-themed wall display.
A glowing tunnel made by sticking phosphorescent stickers onto cardboard is a space where kids will want to stay forever.
Why not fully enjoy winter indoors while incorporating children’s free ideas along the way?
Newspaper Rip-Rip! Eurhythmics with a Snow Song
Here’s a eurhythmics activity that starts with a newspaper play element.
Give each child a sheet of newspaper and, at the cue of “1, 2, 3,” have them tear it into pieces.
Once it’s torn into small bits, pretend they’re snow and have fun letting it fall from above to the tune of the children’s song “Yuki” (Snow).
After the eurhythmics session, pack the used newspaper pieces into a clear bag to make a snowman.
It’s a winter-themed idea from start to finish, so please enjoy it with the children.
Recommended for infants! Daruma handprint craft
Paint white ink on your palm and stamp your handprint onto red construction paper! Cut the paper into a daruma shape and draw the face.
Then punch flower shapes out of gold origami paper and stick them on as decorations to finish.
For the face, try dipping your fingertip in black paint and enjoy making finger-stamp features.
If you use a different color for the handprint, it’s best to first make a white paper base for the face and then draw the eyes and mouth.
Create daruma in various colors and expressions to celebrate the New Year!
Fun to draw! Snow globe
@tensaikids1031 January craft activity for the 1-year-old class ⛄️Genius Kids ClubNursery teacher / Childcare workerNursery teacher / Childcare workerProductionAspiring childcare workerChildcare Ideas
♬ My Binky – Baby Version – HeyKids Nursery Rhymes
This is a recommended craft activity for infants.
They’re making snow globes.
On circles cut from construction paper, children draw spiral circles with crayons and add shiny round stickers to represent the snow globes.
Showing them a real snow globe before starting can help spark their imagination.
Provide crayons and stickers in various colors and let them freely create their own snow globe worlds.
Crafts that use stickers are also perfect for practicing fine motor skills!