[Childcare] Winter Projects You’ll Want to Try! Recommended Craft Ideas

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.
Nursery Teacher Mom Writertsukada moe
After working for five years at an after-school childcare club and three years at a nursery school, I began working as a freelance writer. I’m a mother of two children. Inspired by playing the flute in the school wind ensemble in elementary school, I joined a jazz club at university. I’ve also incorporated ukulele and piano performance into childcare. Playing, laughing, feeling sad, feeling frustrated—through all kinds of experiences, I want children to grow.

Winter is packed with events like Christmas and New Year’s.

With one fun event after another, children are surely full of excitement.

Plus, winter-specific activities and warm, cozy motifs add color to everyday life.

In this article, we’ll introduce craft ideas to enjoy during the winter season.

If your ideas have been getting repetitive or you’re looking for a hint, please use this as a reference.

Since the things children make are treated as works, we use the term “seisaku” (production) in the text.

[Childcare] Winter Projects You’ll Want to Try! Recommended Craft Ideas (181–190)

Mittens made with a yarn threader and torn-paper collage

When it gets cold, you wear gloves when you go out to keep your fingertips warm, right? Here’s a craft idea for making such gloves.

First, decorate the gloves with yarn threading and torn-paper collage.

Pre-punch the holes for threading with a hole punch, and let the child thread yarn freely on one glove.

On the other glove, they’ll glue torn origami paper, so have them thread the yarn around the edge in a looping pattern to create a border.

Prepare glove templates, origami paper, and yarn in various colors and let the child choose; that way they can create their ideal gloves and enjoy the activity.

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Three-dimensional oden

Oden is a dish you start craving when winter comes.

When oden appears at convenience stores, it really makes you feel that winter has arrived, doesn’t it? So here are some ideas for making oden crafts.

For example: chikuwa made by bleeding brown paint into washi paper and rolling it in bubble wrap; konnyaku made by soaking paint into a sponge; and goboten made by rolling two sheets of construction paper of different colors and stacking them.

There are lots of fun ideas! While valuing the ideas that children come up with, try making the oden you’d like to eat and plating it in a small bowl.

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Snowman made of snowflakes using paper plates

Let’s make a snowman with beautiful snowflakes using a paper plate.

First, cut out the center of the paper plate with scissors.

Secure the cut edge with tape.

Next, draw a face with crayons on the cut-out center piece.

Then, use origami paper to make snowflakes.

After you stick the snowflakes in the middle of the plate’s frame, attach the face on top.

Feel free to prepare accessories like a hat and twig arms as you like.

Each step involves fine work, so it’s perfect for 5-year-olds to try.

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Oni mask made with paper plates and origami

Winter is the season of Setsubun, isn’t it? Some children might be plotting, “How should we defeat the oni this year?” Here’s a craft idea for making an oni mask.

Use a paper plate for the face and glue on torn pieces of origami paper.

The color of the origami changes depending on whether you want a red oni or a blue oni, so prepare several sheets, including other colors as well.

Once you’ve finished gluing the origami, add the facial features, horns, and yarn for hair, and it’s done! It’s an idea you’ll want to use as a wall decoration, too.

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