[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 Enjoyable at Nursery Schools and Kindergartens (21–30)
Making stew with scissors
Stew is the perfect dish for winter—you simmer vegetables and meat and enjoy it warm.
If you use a stew bowl as the base for your craft, paint the liquid part of the stew with paints, then cut pieces from origami paper to add the vegetables.
The ingredients vary from household to household, so feel free to customize the vegetables to your liking.
Once you’re done, it could be fun to present what ingredients you put in your homemade stew.
Let’s make a delicious stew and keep warm through the cold winter!
A lion dance puppet that can actually bite
The shishimai (lion dance) is a traditional Japanese performing art known for its colorful costumes and dynamic movements.
For this shishimai made with a milk carton, we’ll use a carton cut in half.
To create the base of the shishimai, cut the carton vertically in half.
Be careful not to cut in the wrong direction.
We’ll attach construction paper around it to build the shishimai.
For the hair, tie and fray some raffia (suzuran) tape.
For the body drape, color washi paper with paints.
Once it’s finished, make the milk carton chomp open and shut and have fun moving it around.
Kagami mochi made from paper clay
Kagami mochi is food offered to the deity welcomed during the New Year, right? We’ll make this kagami mochi using paper clay.
After dividing the paper clay into three equal parts, let’s create the mochi portions and the bitter orange (daidai).
For the daidai, the key is to mix in paint and knead it well until the color is thoroughly blended.
For the mochi, make two sizes: one large and one small.
Once they’re finished, stack them and let them dry in a well-ventilated place.
Make a stand for the kagami mochi out of origami, display it, and have a wonderful New Year.
A hagoita with my own face
Hagoita are traditional New Year decorations that carry the wish for girls’ healthy growth.
First, let’s fold the kimono and the shuttlecock feather using origami.
When folding the feather, align it with the center line to create a white diamond; folding along that center line is the key to shaping the feather and forming its base.
Cut drawing paper into the shape of a hagoita, paste on a face, draw your own features, then attach the kimono to finish! It’s a perfect craft for four-year-olds.
Give it a try and make your own original hagoita!
Easy! Snowflake Paper Cutouts
When you look at snowflakes up close, they have such delicate shapes, don’t they? Let’s make snowflakes that capture that delicacy using origami paper and aluminum foil.
Fold the origami paper, then make cuts with scissors.
When you unfold it, you’ll have a unique, intricate pattern like a snowflake.
It’s fun how the pattern changes depending on how you cut it.
Let the children cut it however they like.
Once the pattern is made, glue some crumpled aluminum foil to the back of the origami, and you’re done.
The aluminum foil will create the sparkle of a glittering snowflake.
A hat with a resist painting
This is a piece created using crayons and watercolor paints, depicting items like hats and gloves.
It’s a resist painting technique: you draw with oily crayons and then paint over it with watercolors.
The paint repels the crayon areas, allowing you to color while leaving the crayon lines clear.
In January, many places experience true winter cold.
Even then, many children still energetically play outside.
This artwork features warm items—like hats and gloves—worn for outdoor play on chilly days.
By changing the crayon patterns and designs, as well as the watercolor colors, you can create a variety of different designs.
Easy! Long-tailed Tit Origami
Adorably round! The long-tailed tit known as the Shima-enaga, a wild bird native to Hokkaido.
In recent years, we often see goods and items featuring its cute appearance as a motif.
Here’s an idea to make a Shima-enaga using a single sheet of origami paper, plus a pen and glue.
Once you’ve folded the creases, the base is done.
Making the wings and tail seems like something you could enjoy while teaching and learning together with friends or teachers! It could be fun to give it a smiling expression, too.
If you display the finished pieces lined up on a branch, like real Shima-enaga keeping warm together, both kids and adults are sure to feel soothed.