Kite Making

Kites are great fun to make and play with! Here’s a simple kite you can make anytime with very little equipment. It’s a pull kite so it can be used inside and out!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
 

• 1 x A4 piece of Paper – Sugar paper works best as its lightweight and can catch a breeze. It’s also nice and colourful! If you don’t have sugar paper, normal paper is good to use, you’ll just need to jazz it up a bit with some decorating!
• 1 x Very lightweight stick – We use bamboo skewers but any light stick will do. Just make sure its not too heavy as that it will weigh down the kite!
• Hole punch, Celotape & String. Streamers optional, we use tissue paper.
• 1 x thick stick or pen to use as the kite handle (optional)

HOW TO MAKE:

• Using the diagram above:
• Fold the paper as shown. This is the tricky part so you might want to ask an adult to help.
• Once folded at stage 3 then add a strip of sticky tape down the centre of the fold to make sure it stays together.
• Add your lightweight stick, taping it in place across the kite as shown in stage 5.
• Hole punch the front bottom section of the kite (the fold that hangs down below the nose of the kite).
• Tie a piece of string to the kite through the hole punch. Any knot will do, go for a shoelace one or a double overhand knot.
• Attach your thick handle stick to the other end of the string. This is what you will hold onto when you pull your kite! 
• Add streamers and plenty of decoration to the kite. Then you’re ready to go! To use the kite hold it by the handle and start running! The air will gather under it and your momentum will pull it up. Remember it’s a pull kite so it relies on your movement, if you don’t move then the kite will just go into snooze mode!

SAFETY TIPS: Never fly your kite near roads, busy areas or powerlines. Always pay attention to where you are running when pulling your kite. Tree's are not soft when you run into them, I learnt the hard way so you don't have to! 

RIDDLE: What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

FUN FACT:  Squirrels forget where they hide about half of their nuts.   While not all squirrels bury their nuts, the ones that do only recover around 26% of them. Sad times for the squirrel but also great for trees as those buried nuts are their seeds and will have a chance to grow!