How to Teach Origami to Kids

All of us desire the best for our kids and want to give them a complete education that helps them to become a better human being. But most parents stress so much into academics that they forget that kids also need to learn extra curricular activities. Arts and crafts is one such segment that is very much neglected nowadays. Most kids plonk themselves in front of the television or play video games in the name of pastime. For all round development of your children, you need to involve and encourage your children into learning some crafts. Paper craft such as origami, is one such craft that kids will take an interest in and it is easy for them to learn as well. For teaching kids origami you need to take a slightly different approach. Simply making them practice the different types of folds in origami and insisting that they master them is not going to work.

Teaching Origami to Kids

Teaching origami to kids has its rewards. It not only enhances their creativity, but also helps in developing hand and eye coordination and increases concentration. Recent research has shown that children who suffer from ADHD or children who have a short attention span show great improvement after learning origami. To teach origami to children, you need to first start with the basic and simple origami folding instructions. Try making simple origami like a boat or a hat. Teaching them how to make small animals like swan, whale and rabbit works really well to pique their interest.

You need to remember that children have slower hand and eye movement than adults. So you need to wait for them to finish each fold before you proceed in teaching the next fold. If you are teaching origami to a group of small kids, make sure that each kid finishes a particular fold, before you proceed with the next. Some kids might lag behind and it is your duty to see to it that they finish with their peers. While teaching kids one needs to be patient and refrain from hurrying or nagging a slower kid. As mentioned earlier, it is always wise to teach simple and easy origami that can be completed within five to six folds. You can take guidance from websites that give step by step instructions for creating origami crafts for kids.

Always use large patterned origami paper for teaching kids this wonderful craft. Many parents and teachers try to cut cost and give kids old newspapers for making origami. This is counter productive since newspaper sheets are too thin for making origami crafts and kids are not inspired to make origami objects with black and white newsprint. On the other hand giving them colorful and patterned origami paper will make them more interested towards origami. Even with the simplest of folds, you will find that there are kids who make the wrong folds and come up with a different origami altogether. In such a case do not reprimand the kid in front of other kids. Origami for kids are all about having fun so you need to be patient and go slow.

One of the best ways to teach kids origami is to let them make mistakes. If you see a kid struggling to make a particular fold or crease, do not rush to help him. Assisting him/her too much will undermine his/her confidence. Another important thing to remember is that a particular origami object that a child creates is his. You should not take over the project and try to create the perfect origami object for the child. And lastly, know all the folds for making an origami object yourself before you attempt to teach it to kids. Kids will not appreciate you browsing the Internet searching for the next fold while they are left hanging in the middle of the project. So you need to do your homework well before you go about teaching origami to kids.

These were some ways in which you can teach origami to kids. Teaching origami might seem challenging, particularly to those kids who are easily distracted and fidgety. But if you persevere, they are sure to learn this wonderful art and enjoy it too.