Kite Making

 

Take flying a kite up a notch by making your own kite!  Kids of all ages can participate in this activity. Younger children enjoy adding their own designs to their kite, while older children can practice their measuring skills by assembling their own kite.

What You Will Need

·         24 inch doweling rod or bamboo stick

·         16 inch doweling rod or bamboo stick

·         String

·         1 Sheet of poster board

·         X-Acto knife

·         Ruler

·         Scissors

·         Pen or pencil

·         Glue

·         Materials for decorating the kite, such as ribbons, crayons, markers, glitter, stickers and paints

 

Instructions

 

1.      Make a cross using the doweling rods or bamboo sticks. The 24 inch stick should be vertical, with the 16 inch stick lying horizontally to make a cross. The 16 inch stick should be about ¾ of the way up the 24 inch stick.

2.      Wrap the string tightly around the joint between the two sticks several times. Tie it tightly.

3.      Place a few dabs of glue onto the tied string to help hold the sticks together.

4.      Using the X-Acto knife, saw notches into the end of each of the rods. These need to be big enough to hold your string.

5.      Using a string, thread it through the first notch, wrapping the string around several times to secure it. Continue through the rest of the notches so your kite now has a frame. Remember to wrap the string around each rod several times. Tie it off around the final rod and cut the excess.

6.      Lie your kite down on top of the poster board. Using the pen or pencil, trace around the outline formed by the string, leaving about an inch of extra poster board.

7.      Fold the excess poster board around the string to keep the kite sail in place. Use glue to secure the poster board around the string.

8.      Tie string around each of the ends of the dowels. Use a piece of string to tie all of these pieces together in the middle of the kite. Then, tie a longer piece of string onto the connected strings. This long string will be the string for flying your kite.

9.      Finally, your children decorate the kite and tie ribbons on to make tails for the kite.