An incredibly fun thing to do on a rainy day at home for kids is playing catch. Instead of playing catch with a ball or frisbee, try a simple game of catch with paper airplanes! It's a great indoor activity because you won't have to worry about paper airplanes damaging anything at home.
This simple game will keep your kids busy for hours and away from screens. The best part is, there's almost no preparation needed and all you need is some paper. I've also added challenges to keep things exciting and the boys wanting more.
PREPARATION
The first thing to do after getting some paper for your kids is to have them start making paper airplanes. They probably already have their favorite paper airplanes to make, however, encourage them to try some new ones. Give them a goal and make a fun research out of this. To get them started, I've created a bunch of step by step paper airplane folding tutorials here:
www.coolpapera...
The easy to make paper airplane the boys are flying in the video is called the Smoothie. You can find a tutorial on how to make this paper airplane here:
www.coolpapera...
A simple goal for your kid(s) can be to find and fold 10 paper airplanes that fly far. If you have more than one child, have them compete for a small prize, like an ice cream cone. My boys love challenges and getting rewarded!
HOW AND WHERE TO PLAY
Playing paper airplane catch can be a fun rainy day activity for kids and teenagers alike, you just need to set the rules accordingly. Start them off throwing the paper airplane back and forth approximately 4-5 meters apart (10-15 feet). If the room is large enough, keep moving back and increasing the distance apart. In the video, we were playing in our living room which is 8x4.5 meters (25 by 15 feet). Throwing a paper airplane back and forth is more challenging than it sounds. Give it a try!
MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT
For younger kids, throwing an airplane back and forth is a challenge in itself. It's like playing Bow Masters (a computer game), they need throw it at a good angle and with the right amount of power. This get easier as they get older so you can make the game more challenging with the following ideas:
- Add furniture, pillows, and cushions as obstacles for the paper airplane to fly over.
- Try catching the airplane with your weaker hand.
- Hop around on one leg.
- Use one eye only and see how this affects their 3D judgement.
- Come up with your own ideas by changing around movements and adding achievement goals and contests with little rewards as encouragement.
EDUCATIONAL
When the game starts to slow down, have your kids fold another paper airplane to test out. Each paper airplane design flies differently so its a different experience every time! You can also challenge your kids to figure out how to tune a paper airplane by making different folds on the wings and body. Add a paper clip to the nose of the paper airplane add see if this improves flight. What happens if you add the paper clip to the back?
There are a lot of neat things you can do to adjust the paper airplane to fly to the right, left, upwards, and downwards. Play catch with your new adjustments! See your kids get more confident with making adjustments and getting more intrigued with why paper airplanes fly. This can be their first lesson in aeronautics, the study of the science of flight.
MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
You'll notice in the video that Kyle, the younger boy, catches the paper airplane with strong grip sometimes crushing it. Cory, however, is able to catch it precisely pinching the body of the paper airplane. It requires a lot of motor skills to play paper airplane catch.
For the one throwing, the child needs to throw it straight, at the right angle, and with enough power to make it to the catcher. The catcher needs to catch it gracefully so the paper airplane doesn't get damaged and make a judgement about where the paper airplane will fly based on how it is thrown.
CONCLUSION
Rainy days are tough especially when you have bored kids at home. For me personally, the boys automatically ask if they can work on a new paper airplane project or have a contest with a prize when they see rainy weathers. They love taking videos, trying new folding techniques, and getting prizes. For them, this is one of the most fun things to do on a rainy day at home.
On the next rainy day, give paper airplane catch a try. How did you kids like it? Do you have any good ideas not posted in this video? Did your kids try playing paper airplane catch outdoors?
27 сен 2024
