Origami for Children

Yesterday’s toy exhibit had such a great display of origami that I was inspired to investigate more about this ancient Japanese art. Origami uses a small number of different folds, but they can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs. In general, these designs begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be different colors. There are a wide variety of books on origami; many are designed specifically with children in mind.

Friedrich Froebel, the German founder of the Kindergarten Movement, introduced paper folding into kindergarten as one of the childrens’ recreations. Though he wasn’t aware of the Japanese word “origami” he was definitely on to something. Jane Healy in her book: Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think and What We Can Do About It points out that performing crafts such as origami helps kids to develop their mind. Origami uses both the left hemisphere - responsible for logical thinking, number skills, reading, speech, and scientific ability, and the right hemisphere – responsible for insight, three-dimensional perception, imagination, and musical and art abilities. It is thought that because origami uses both the right - creative, and left - logic hemispheres, it helps to develop the pathway between the two. When this pathway between the two hemispheres is used frequently then children can have a richer imagination and manipulate ideas better.

I found a website Activity Village.co.uk that has easy fun origami patterns for kids. My kids have been playing with their creations all afternoon!

Sheila Cason, MD