Paper Airplane Fun for Kids

If your children enjoy folding paper airplanes, My First Origami Book: Paper Planes provides an easy to follow introduction to some of the possibilities that exist beyond the basic dart plane.

There are 17 different planes in all in My First Origami Book: Paper Planes, each one designed to fly slightly differently. Most of the designs are the original creations of Nick Robinson, with the exception of the Twirly Bird (Kosho Uchiyam), Bevan’s Flyer (Bevan Brookes), Cuffe Bomber (Thomas Cuffe), and Logan’s Flyer (Logan Hinders).

Logan is my nine-year-old son, who came up with the idea for the plane while helping me with one of my tutorials for About Origami. He, of course, is thrilled to have been part of this project.

This book is unique because it features designs made from square paper. The vast majority of paper airplane designs are made from rectangular shaped paper. So, learning how to fold a few of these models will give your child an easy way to impress friends at school. Just remember to make sure your child knows that throwing paper airplanes at the teacher is not a good idea!

Each airplane design is explained throughout the use of diagrams and written instructions. The book is intended for children, so all of the designs are very easy to fold. I would say that most children ages six and up would be able to make their own planes with some adult assistance.

The book includes 24 sheets of solid colored origami paper for your child to use to practice making planes with. I think it would have been more appealing to kids to have patterned papers with folding lines so they could make decorated airplanes. But, the advantage of plain paper is that your child can fold the same airplane multiple time if he wishes.

If your child likes to decorate his creations, try adding stickers or drawing on the paper with permanent markers before folding the plane.

Photo credit: Amazon