[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.
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[For 4-year-olds] Winter Craft Ideas for Fun in Nursery School and Kindergarten (111–120)
Triangle Santa
How about making a charming, triangle-shaped Santa Claus? Before you start, it’s a good idea to read the picture book “Triangle Santa” aloud to set the mood.
The teacher can prepare the base—a regular triangle Santa—by adding the face area and belt, and pre-making the face parts as well as the legs using yarn and plastic bottle caps.
Children will enjoy gluing the parts in place and drawing the face with a pen.
A fun bonus is that if you connect lots of the triangle Santas together, they form something like a Christmas tree!
[For 4-year-olds] Winter Craft Ideas Enjoyable at Daycare and Kindergarten (121–130)
A daruma gently swaying back and forth
Let’s try making a wobbly daruma that’s perfect for New Year crafts and decorations! Using a paper plate, you can easily create a mechanism that gently rocks.
First, cut out the daruma parts from colored construction paper or origami paper.
Combine the pieces to form the daruma body, then attach it to a paper plate folded in half—and you’re done! The steps are very simple, making it suitable for 4-year-olds to practice fine motor skills.
Another great point is that the design of the daruma lets each child show their individuality! Lining up many of them to brighten up the classroom would look wonderful.
Snowman made with a plastic bag
A cute snowman you can easily make with a plastic bag is also great for a pre-Christmas craft activity.
First, stuff cotton into a plastic bag.
Tie the handles, then tie a red string slightly above the middle of the whole bag.
Next, attach eyes and a nose made from colored construction paper or origami using glue or paste.
You can use round stickers for the buttons on its clothes.
Add a paper-cup hat and arms made from wire, and your charming snowman is complete.
Its soft, fluffy feel will warm your heart, too.
Christmas wreath made from paper towel/toilet paper rolls
This is a Christmas wreath you can make using familiar scrap materials: the cardboard cores from toilet paper rolls.
First, wrap the rolls with origami paper in Christmas colors like green and red.
Secure with tape, and fold any excess paper at the ends into the inside of the roll.
Cut each wrapped roll in half.
Thread yarn through the pieces and connect them in a circle to form the base of the wreath.
For decorating, prepare plenty of stickers, ribbons, acorns and other nuts, cotton, and so on—you can enjoy freely arranging the decorations however you like!
Handmade karuta
We’d like to introduce a handmade karuta set that’s perfect for New Year’s craft time! Kids can learn hiragana and other characters, and by drawing pictures that match the chosen characters, they can develop their thinking and imagination too.
It’s also fine to let children pick their favorite characters.
The method is very simple: use colored construction paper with the characters on it, then cut out and paste on the pictures the children have drawn.
You can also come up with the clue cards’ sentences together with the kids to make playing this karuta even more enjoyable.
Battledore made from a milk carton
As New Year approaches, many preschools and kindergartens incorporate crafts and games related to the holiday.
A great activity for that time is making a battledore (hagoita) out of a milk carton.
First, cut open the milk carton and cut out the shape of a battledore.
Next, take two pairs of chopsticks wrapped with vinyl tape and combine them with another pair that’s been split, then tape them to the milk carton with duct tape.
Finally, close the milk carton so it sandwiches the chopsticks and secure it in place—done! Decorating it with that year’s zodiac animal would make it even cuter.
Children can have fun while learning about Japan’s traditional New Year games.
Fukuwarai (a traditional Japanese “lucky laugh” face-making game)
Let’s make a homemade Fukuwarai, perfect for New Year’s playtime, and enjoy it together with the kids! First, use construction paper to create the base face, such as an Okame or Hyottoko.
Then make the facial parts like eyes, nose, and mouth to match.
Children who can use scissors can try cutting the construction paper themselves! To play Fukuwarai, you blindfold the player and have them place the facial parts onto the face.
It’s a craft activity that will have both the children and the teacher smiling as they see what kind of face is created!