Keep those little fingers folding... it's Origami time!!

There is a beautiful little story that I told my kids one night, it's about a little girl who was hit by a bomb in a town called Hiroshima a long time ago. She was so sick from the bomb that she told herself that if she could fold 1000 paper cranes, she would get better. Sadly that dream never came true. I then showed the kids some paper folding tricks. Surprisingly my 7 yo boy really got into it. We got some old paper and tore them into squares and started making simple things like hats, boats, and purses. That was my origami repertoire. I then bought him a beginner's book on origami with some cool coloured paper. He spent quite a lot of time concentrating on the folding. At first the folding was a little bit of a hit-and-miss (the lines weren't straight, the folds weren't precise) but after 3 weeks or so, he's brilliant. He made me a lotus flower tonight! He is attempting the origami crane.... The great thing about origami in this case is that as my son is very active, this short space of concentration (quiet) time is fantastic for him and me. Paper folding in this precise manner is also good for his hand-eye skills, as well as for refining his motor skills. One of the best things that I felt had come out of this is that he now READS instructions and tries to comprehend them! He is I feel, a typical boy. He wants everything done and done quickly. With the origami book, he sits down, picks up his paper and follows each step carefully and precisely. Sometimes a new object takes a whole 10 - 15 minutes but he keeps going... I tried a bit of this with him yesterday... I surprise myself... it's actually quite relaxing!! It's a lovely way to spend a bit of quiet time with the kids.