How to Make a Paper-Bag Kite

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Things You'll Need

  • Brown paper grocery bag

  • String or twine

  • Hole punch

  • Scissors

  • Paste or glue

  • Reinforcement rings (for holes in notebook paper)

  • Markers, crayons, paints, or colored pencils

  • Lightweight decorations like buttons or glitter (optional)

  • Lightweight colored paper (optional)

  • Crepe paper

  • Plastic bags (optional)

Let's go fly a kite!

Who doesn't love flying a kite? It's the perfect family activity. You can make it even more fun by making your very own kites. This project is fast and fun, and even the youngest preschooler can make a kite with some help. And better yet, you probably already have everything you need lying around the house somewhere. When you've completed your kites, go outside with them and find an open area away from trees and wires. You'll be able to run and let this kite get caught up in the wind, soaring high overhead. Follow the "Three Cs" of Kite Flying – courtesy, caution and common sense – and, in the immortal and timeless words of Mary Poppins, "Up through the atmosphere, up where the air is clear, oh, let's go fly a kite!"

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Step 1

Use the hole punch to make four holes in each corner of the top of the paper bag.

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Step 2

Stick reinforcement rings around each hole on the outside of the bag. Then stick another set of them around the holes on the inside of the bag. This will strengthen the paper bag so that the holes won't rip through it when the wind grabs the kite.

Step 3

Cut two pieces of string about 30 inches long. Tie each end of the two strings to a hole in the bag, creating two big loops.

Step 4

Cut another length of string about 3 to 4 feet long and thread it through the loops that you created in Step 3. Knot the ends of this piece of string together to form the kite's handle.

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Step 5

Decorate the kite with markers, crayons, colored pencils or crayons. Create a dragon by cutting some wings out of colored paper or crepe paper and gluing them to the kite. Make a fish by coloring on eyes and gills, and creating fins from crepe paper or colored paper. Lots of glitter is a must. Just be sure to keep your decorations lightweight, or the kite will be too heavy and won't fly very well.

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Step 6

Glue crepe paper streamers to the bottom of the bag to form tails for the kite. Plastic bags cut into strips also will work well. Make sure all the glue and decorations have dried completely before attempting to fly the kite.

Step 7

Open the bag completely and fly the kite by holding the handle string tightly in your hand. Now run as fast as you can so that the wind will fill the kite with air, and the kite will flutter right above and behind you.

Tip

Experiment with different lengths of handle string, especially for larger children and adults. The longer the handle string, the higher it will fly.

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