Children from age three to teens enjoy flying paper aeroplanes, but few children know how to make them today. Here are a few instructions which may come in handy as a boredom buster or a cheap way to keep children entertained at home or on holiday. They are fascinated with the concept of flight and love to see whose plane can fly the furthest. The design below is for a basic plane (you will need to get involved until the age of approximately 6/7 years). Paper plane folding is a spatial planning and fine motor control activity. Many other designs and modifications can be made to improve the aerodynamics – just ask any dad. The secret to a good paper plane is in the accuracy of the folding.
You will need:
- A4 paper (from your printer or photocopier)
- Crayons or khokis for decorating if you want
What to do:
- Fold the paper in half lengthwise
- Open it out and fold the top two corners of the paper into the middle to form a point
- Fold this point into the middle of the paper, forming a square
- Fold the top two corners of the paper into the middle again to form a point
- Fold the paper in half, creasing well along the centrefold (all the folded bits will be on the inside)
- To make the wings, measure a line approximately 2cms upwards from the centrefold. Fold back the paper along this line and crease well
- For even better aerodynamics, fold the tips of the wings up 1cm
- You’re ready for take off!
