Does
your child like to fly kites? Help her make a simple kite and learn
about shapes at the same time. All you need is a paper bag, string,
something to draw with, and a windy day.
A great
way for your child to learn about shapes is to draw them. As she
does, discuss how they are alike and different. Help her name each
shape. Count the number of sides and corners. Are the sides all the
same length or are some longer than others?
Skills: geometry, shape recognition
Age Range: 3-6 year olds
Paper Bag Kite
Take It Further
Check out a book about
shapes from your local library. Make sure the book contains lots of
pictures of the different kinds of shapes. Read the book with your
child and discuss the different kinds of shapes you see on the pages.
-
A paper lunch bag or grocery bag
- Strong string or yarn
- Child-safe scissors
- Markers, crayons, or water-based paints
- Hole puncher
- Masking tape
- Newspaper, plastic grocery bag, or colored streamers
- Glue or tape
How to Do It:
- First,
decide on the size of your kite. Use a lunch bag for a small kite or
a grocery bag for a big kite.
- Tell
your child that you are going to help her decorate the kite with
shapes. Use markers, crayons, or water-based paints. Have the shape
book you just read nearby, so your child can use it to help her
remember what each shape looks like.
- As
she draws a shape, ask her to name it and tell you how many sides it
has. This will help her remember the shape.
- Open
up the paper bag and use the hole puncher to punch a hole in each
corner of the bag’s open end. Make the hole about one inch
down from the edge. If you don’t have a hole puncher, use the
point of a pencil to punch through the paper. Strengthen the holes
by covering them with masking tape and punching through the tape.
- Cut
five pieces of string or yarn, each about a yard long. Loop one end
of each piece of string through a hole and tie it.
- Gather
the strings together about six inches from the opening (a foot if
you are using a grocery bag), and tie them with one end of the fifth
piece of string. Make a knot. Cut off the four pieces at the knot,
leaving you with just one string extending out from the kite. This
is the string you will hold to fly the kite.
- To
the bottom of the bag, use glue or tape to attach streamers made out
of strips of newspaper, crepe or tissue paper, or a plastic grocery
bag.
- Now
your kite is ready to fly! Hold the kite by the string, face into
the wind, and run. The wind will fill the bag and lift it into the
air. The longer the string, the higher it will go.
Did you know that
everyone is either a square or a rectangle? Measure the length of
your arm span, from the tip of one finger to the tip of the other
finger. Now measure your height. If the measurements are the same you
are a square. If they are different you are a rectangle. Measure the
whole family and find out how many squares and rectangles there are!
Kite Flying, by Grace Lin
Mouse Shapes, by Ellen Stoll Walsh
The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, by Dr. Seuss
Shape Vocabulary:
circle, oval, square, triangle, rectangle, hexagon, octagon, pentagon
Play the game “Huff-Puff- a-Tron” on PBS KIDS
