Lovely childcare

[For 3-year-olds] Winter craft activities and bulletin board decoration ideas for use in childcare

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.

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.

[For 3-year-olds] Winter craft activities and wall decoration ideas useful for childcare (41–50)

A 3D Daruma you can make with a single sheet of origami!

【New Year with a single sheet of origami】How to fold a free-standing Daruma doll – easy, cute New Year decoration with a cushion

A 3D Daruma you can make with a single sheet of origami!

Let’s make a daruma that’s perfect for decorating your entryway for the New Year.

Prepare origami paper, felt-tip pens, round stickers, and scissors.

Take one sheet of origami paper, fold it into a triangle to make a center crease, then open it and fold both sides toward the center line.

As you firmly crease each fold, carefully adjust the balance of the daruma’s face.

By folding the corners, you’ll create a rounded shape for the daruma’s body.

Use felt-tip pens and round stickers to make the eyes and eyebrows, and it’s complete.

You can also make a small cushion (zabuton).

Enjoy displaying your daruma to kick off the New Year!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

[For 3-Year-Olds] Winter Craft Activities and Bulletin Board Ideas for Childcare (51–60)

3D origami Daruma doll

Origami 3D Daruma

3D origami Daruma doll

Let’s make a daruma doll—an auspicious charm—using origami.

Prepare origami paper, round stickers, a felt pen, and glue.

Open the origami paper and make firm creases into squares and triangles.

As you fold, tuck the paper in while creating rounded volume overall.

When folding the layers in, straighten the tips and shift them slightly as you make careful folds; this will help you create a nicely rounded daruma shape.

Fold the eyes from a separate piece of origami paper, then use black-colored round stickers to represent the eyes and eyebrows.

Attach them to the body to finish.

Try changing the color of the origami paper to make daruma dolls in various colors!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Let’s try playing Fukuwarai!

[New Year’s Games] Let’s make a Fukuwarai!

Let's try playing Fukuwarai!

Why not try making a fukuwarai using crayons, scissors, and construction paper? Fukuwarai is a traditional Japanese game said to date back to the mid-Edo period.

First, draw parts like eyes, nose, and mouth on construction paper and cut around each piece.

Then make a base.

For the base, you can either cut pale orange construction paper into a face shape and glue it down, or draw the face with crayons.

Once everything is ready, start arranging the parts.

You can express different emotions—like a smiling face or a sad face—depending on how you place the pieces.

It’s also fun to arrange the parts while blindfolded.

Raise the rankinglower

Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

Report a problem

Make a stylish snowman!

[Winter Bulletin Board] Stylish Snowman Craft by Preschool Teachers (for 4-year-olds)

Make a stylish snowman!

We usually imagine snowmen as pure white, but let’s get creative and turn them into stylish art.

First, fold a sheet of white origami paper and make several cuts.

The key is to cut it so that when you unfold the paper, it forms a round shape.

You’ll get a circular shape with beautiful patterns.

Children will be excited to see how the snowman’s pattern changes depending on where they cut.

Use the patterned cutouts to make the snowman.

If you stick it onto black cardstock, you’ll have a lovely winter craft.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

For New Year decorations! Mini kadomatsu

@soramame.sensei
Childcare Let's play at home Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Production Translation New Year’s decoration for January New Year #New Year's card Winter Break #WinterBreakProject　#StayHomeTime Translation #diy
♬ Oshogatsu Pico Pico Chiptune Version(1376601) – STUDIO incho3

Let me share a handmade idea for a mini kadomatsu you can make with simple steps.

In this idea, you’ll make a kadomatsu, a folding fan, plum blossoms, and red-and-white gohei from origami or construction paper, attach them to bamboo skewers, and create decorative parts.

Then place floral foam in a cup of your choice, insert the skewers, and arrange the parts for good balance.

Finally, fill any gaps with crumpled flower cores to finish.

If the bamboo skewers are too long, it’s best to cut them; however, they’re hard to cut with scissors, so prepare skewers that have been cut to an appropriate length in advance.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Let’s make it with cardboard stamps! Cute shishimai (lion dance)

@chooobo2
Shishimai making 🎍#Childcare Crafting #Nursery School Craft # January production New Year’s craft
♬ NEW LOOK – MISAMO

If you roll a strip of cardboard into a spiral and dab it in paint, then press it onto paper, it makes the pattern for a shishimai (lion dance) costume! Using that pattern, let’s make a hanging shishimai decoration.

First, take a green sheet of construction paper cut into a rectangle and stamp any pattern you like.

Next, sprinkle on small pieces of gold origami paper to add a festive touch.

Finally, attach a shishimai face made from construction paper to one corner, add a string to the back, and you’re done! A plain backing works fine, but if you stick washi masking tape along the top and bottom, it will look like a hanging scroll and be extra lovely.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Challenge in childcare! First calligraphy play

@miraistep.hoikuen
New Year – January Crafts#Nursery school Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Saitama Prefecture Saitama City Mirai Step New Year First calligraphy of the year #Nursery School Craft #Year of the Snake
♫ Original Song – Mirai Step Co., Ltd. – Mirai Step Co., Ltd.

Kakizome is the first calligraphy of the year, in which people write down their New Year’s resolutions and wishes with the hope of improving their handwriting.

Although it’s an event that assumes you can write characters, it’s the New Year—so why not let children from infants to preschoolers enjoy their own style of kakizome? For older preschoolers who are practicing letters in preparation for school, it’s a good idea to write that year’s zodiac animal in hiragana.

For infants, writing characters is a high hurdle, so encourage them to try it as a drawing activity while letting them feel the texture of the brush and washi paper.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem