[For 3-year-olds] Winter craft activities and bulletin board decoration ideas for use in childcare
In winter, there are many ways to have fun with children—big events like Christmas, New Year’s, and Setsubun, as well as chances to experience the changing climate and nature through snow and ice.
Many teachers may be thinking about incorporating that wintry feeling into their art and craft activities as well.
So this time, we’re introducing craft ideas to make in winter with three-year-olds.
We’ve gathered a wide range of ideas, from those related to winter events to themes unique to the season—like snowmen and mittens.
We’ve selected activities that will spark children’s interest and curiosity, so please try using them in your childcare setting.
Because the children’s creations are treated as works, we use the term “制作” (seisaku, ‘creation/work’) in the text.
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[Age 3] Winter craft activities and bulletin board decoration ideas you can use in childcare (21–30)
Kagami mochi made with paper clay
It’s said that we display kagami mochi at New Year’s to welcome the gods and have them watch over us so we can live healthily and happily.
For this craft, divide paper clay into three equal parts to make two mochi layers and one daidai (bitter orange).
Roll the clay to form the kagami mochi, and for the daidai on top, mix orange paint into the clay and knead in the color as you shape it.
A key point is to knead the clay so the color blends evenly throughout.
Reading New Year’s picture books and doing New Year’s fingerplay is also recommended—it deepens knowledge and enjoyment by teaching about the origins of the holiday.
Let’s make a hat with wax-resist painting!
Let’s enjoy wax-resist painting with winter-themed motifs! First, draw a hat and a pair of mittens on white paper.
Have the children trace the outlines with a white crayon, then let them add any patterns they like.
Since they’ll be drawing white on white, it’s hard to see—but hang in there! Once the patterns are done, paint over everything with watercolor diluted with water.
This will make the patterns drawn with the white crayon appear as if they’re popping out.
A spinning top you can make with paper plates!
Simple yet spins great! Here’s a spinning top idea made from a paper plate.
Prepare one paper plate, two plastic bottle caps, tape, and crayons.
First, color the surface of the paper plate with crayons.
You can draw pictures or patterns—design it however you like.
Once it’s colored, use tape to attach a bottle cap to the center.
Attach another cap to the center on the back side the same way, and your top is complete.
Pinch the caps and give it a strong spin.
It spins especially well on hard surfaces like hardwood floors.
Penguin footprint art
This penguin footprint art is perfect for recording children’s growth.
You don’t need many materials, so it’s easy to try! First, trace both of the children’s feet onto colored paper, cut them out into penguin shapes, then add eyes made from round stickers, a beak, and feet to finish.
If you’re going to display them on a wall, you can tear origami paper to look like ice and combine the pieces, or add other animals like seals and polar bears to create a wonderful piece.
The step of taking the footprints will likely become a memorable experience for the children as well.
Make It with Resist Painting! Gloves and Hat
Are you familiar with the crayon-resist technique? It’s a method where you paint watercolor over a drawing made with white crayon, and the paint is repelled by the crayon so the drawing emerges.
Because you can barely see what you’ve drawn in white crayon, applying the paint can lead to surprisingly delightful results.
Try drawing on colored construction paper cut into winter-themed shapes like scarves, hats, and gloves.
If you plan to display the artwork, you can mount it on a backing board afterward.
Winter origami! Cute kotatsu
Here is an introduction to making a kotatsu out of origami.
First, fold a sheet of origami paper in half in the color you like.
Since it’s a kotatsu, a patterned paper might be cuter.
Then fold back about one-third.
After folding, unfold it, fold it to half that width, and return it.
On the back side, fold back one-third as well.
Next, fold the back diagonally to create the kotatsu’s slope, and the main body is complete.
Now make the tabletop for the kotatsu.
Use a quarter-size sheet of origami paper for this.
Next, make the mandarin orange, which is essential for a kotatsu.
This one is very small, so have an adult help you.
Snowman made with tissue paper
A fluffy snowman made with tissue paper—the tissue snowman.
It’s a great idea for a collaborative craft that kids and adults can make together.
Fold the four corners of a tissue and secure them with tape, then fold it further into a rounded shape; make two of these pieces.
Tear some tissues and glue them onto a backing sheet to represent piled-up snow, then stick on the two rounded pieces you made earlier.
Create a snowfall scene with small torn bits of tissue, and use a long, thin strip of tissue to make a scarf.
Finally, draw the snowman’s face, the scarf pattern, and a hat with colored pens to complete it.
