First Origami For Kids

Yep, we love origami!  Many children may think they don’t know what origami is.  Perhaps the most common origami project in the West is folding paper airplanes.  And of course those famous cootie catchers I remember from my younger years.  But there are soooo many more things that can be made from a simple piece of paper.  I still have and treasure a few pieces of origami that some of my students made for me during my time in Japan.  Here are some great origami for kids projects.

We were so pleased to open up a box sent to us from Tuttle Publishing to discover 2 fantastic origami sets inside!  I just couldn’t wait to share them with you as they would make fabulous gifts for children! Or anyone who would like to try their hand at origami.

Talk about great timing, too!  We watched the Principia space launch this week and there’s plenty of great information in the Ultimate Paper Airplanes For Kids.  In addition to the 48 printed sheets of paper for 12 projects, you’ll also find the following information on planes and flying:

It certainly is a book in its own right, not just paper.  And should you use all of the paper in the book, the instructions will also work with other paper as well, so then the kids can create their own designs and logos.

Each design has information about special features unique to this origami design.  Is it faster, does it turn?

Ultimate Paper Airplanes For Kids would be fun for birthday parties, clubs, snow days, or indoor recesses.  Have a race, see who can land on the included pull-out airport, or just have some good old fun with them.

Kallista has been working her way through the origami designs in My First Origami Kit.  It contains 60 pieces of double-sided paper, 20 projects, and 150+ stickers to help finish off the projects.

Of course, the day of Tim Peake’s launch to the ISS, Kallista also made a paper airplane!  In addition, she’s also made the butterfly, penguin, and mouse.  Her first project was the butterfly, and she needed a little help with it, but she quickly caught on and then created the penguin all on her own by following the diagrams in the included book.

We have tried origami previously to make jumping frogs and from a very beginner’s book a friend sent us from Japan, but now the children are a year older and have had some practice and are able to most if it themselves.  In fact, just last week Kallista and I were doing origami at the library while Tristan was in a book group.

Us girls spend this time together doing something special, and now we can continue to have origami fun.  One of the great things about origami is that the papers are small, light, and easy to transport.  Just perfect to take with you when travelling!  Pull them out when waiting for transfers, during flights, on the train, bus, or even while out at a restaurant to keep the kids busy while waiting for their meals.

I’m thinking we’ll have to turn some of the origami ‘art’ into greeting cards for family and friends.  Handmade cards are always very special for the recipient.  Being light, they would easily go through the mail.

Origami can also be great for small world play.  Kallista wants to recreate some of the scenes from the instruction book, and has had her animals chatting away to each other!

The children are thoroughly enjoying their very own origami sets and spend time just looking through their books trying to decide what to fold next.

Have you and your children tried origami?  What do you think of it?  Did you know it’s actually considered to be math?

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