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[For 4-year-olds] Winter craft ideas to enjoy at daycare and kindergarten

Children who attend kindergarten and nursery school are likely looking forward to celebrating Christmas and winter events together with their friends and teachers.

In the chilly winter, some people may be looking for events that can be enjoyed not only outdoors but also indoors.

In this article, we’ve compiled a collection of recommended winter craft ideas for four-year-olds in childcare settings.

We’re also introducing activities that involve using their hands and thinking about what to make as they work, which can help nurture concentration and thinking skills through play.

Try making these items that are fun to create and fun to play with!

Because the children’s creations are treated as works, we refer to them as “seisaku” (制作, craft/creation) in the text.

[For 4-Year-Olds] Winter Craft Ideas for Fun at Nursery School and Kindergarten (61–70)

Great for New Year’s cards too! Easy-to-use stamps

[New Year’s Cards 2024] Perfect for New Year’s cards too! Easy stamp-making 🎍 #preschoolcrafts #nurseryteacher #childcareideas #traineeNurseryTeacher #nurseryTeacherLife #withKids #tamponStamp #stampPlay #NewYearsCard #NewYearCraft
Great for New Year’s cards too! Easy-to-use stamps

This is a New Year’s card featuring Mount Fuji made with construction paper and stamping.

It’s an easy project that kids can enjoy.

First, cut out the base of Mount Fuji from blue construction paper.

Cut it to postcard size, imagining a trapezoid shape.

Once cut, dab white paint onto a sponge dauber and stamp the upper area.

This creates the look of snow-capped Mount Fuji.

After the paint dries, glue it onto the postcard and draw the sun in the blank space to represent the first sunrise of the year.

Finally, write the year in Western numerals, and you’re done!

Let’s make postcards with vegetable stamps!

Don’t waste them—let’s make postcards with vegetable stamps!
Let's make postcards with vegetable stamps!

There are parts of vegetables that we cut off and don’t use in cooking, right? Let’s try turning those usually discarded parts into stamps and make New Year’s cards! You can use any vegetables you like—onions, green peppers, carrots, lotus root, spinach, and so on.

Prepare several vegetable stamps with different shapes.

Once you’ve got your veggies ready, dip them in paint or ink and start stamping.

They might look like flowers or animal faces—your imagination will surely expand.

Try expressing the design side of the postcard with your stamped artwork.

Snow Fairy! How to Fold a Long-tailed Tit (Shima-enaga)

[Origami] Easy and Cute Animal: Long-tailed Tit Folding Method / Bird, Snow Fairy, Winter Decoration — Origami Long-tailed Tit
Snow Fairy! How to Fold a Long-tailed Tit (Shima-enaga)

Let’s make a long-tailed tit using a single sheet of origami paper.

Fold the paper into a triangle, then fold both corners up to meet the top corner.

Fold the left and right corners inward to form a triangle, then rotate the paper to swap top and bottom.

Align with the top corners of the left and right triangles, and fold the two bottom corners outward to open them—these will be the wings.

Turn the paper over, squash-fold the triangular wings into squares, then fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner and change the wings to black.

Tuck in the left and right corners of the black section to refine the shape, and flip the paper over.

Round out the remaining white area in the center, and you’re done.

Draw the face to finish it cutely.

Cute mittens origami

Nursery Ideas: Winter Origami — Easy Mitten Origami (Kids Can Make It Themselves!) · Origami Gloves Easy
Cute mittens origami

Here’s an idea for making mitten gloves out of origami.

First, fold the paper in half twice to create a square and make crease lines.

Place the paper with the colored side up, then fold the bottom edge up to align with the central crease.

Fold the left corner of the folded-up section downward to form a triangle, then unfold the bottom edge once and make a roll fold along the crease.

Turn the paper over, and fold the left and right edges diagonally so they align just outside the center line.

Next, fold the top left and right corners toward the center line.

Finally, fold down the top corner to finish.

When making the second mitten, reverse which corner you fold into a triangle so you get the opposite hand.

Easy! Torn-paper Christmas tree

https://www.tiktok.com/@hoiku.labo/video/7446285535447944455

Let’s create a Christmas tree with torn-paper collage! Prepare a base with the tree trunk already glued on, and have the children tear several sheets of origami paper into small pieces.

If tearing is difficult, you can prepare pre-torn origami paper.

Apply glue in a triangle above the trunk, then attach the torn paper on top to form the tree.

Finish by decorating with round stickers as ornaments.

Mixing patterned origami with solid colors will make it look more festive.

Choose sticker colors that won’t be overpowered by the origami colors.

Pompom Stamping! Christmas Tree

https://www.tiktok.com/@hoiku.labo/video/7445125954743110919

Here’s a Christmas tree craft idea where you dab on color with stamps.

Prepare a tree template, stamps, paint, and drawing paper.

First, fix the tree template onto the base sheet and have the children stamp paint onto it.

Green is the main color, but adding a little white can make it look like a snow-covered tree.

Once the stamping is done, remove the template and glue on a trunk made from construction paper to finish.

After the paint dries, decorating with sticker ornaments could be fun, too.

Christmas activities for 0-year-olds

As part of a Christmas-themed activity, why not try making Christmas trees and ornaments? Use a stamp made by covering a lactic acid drink bottle with fabric to print patterns on construction paper, or decorate ornaments with stickers to make them festive.

In the end, you can even decorate a big tree drawn on the wall! Even children who don’t yet understand what Christmas is will surely deepen their understanding while having fun through play.

Prepare ornaments and stickers with different motifs and colors, and let the children choose for themselves.