Froggy Memories
While planning for lessons today, I pondered long and hard over what to do for a lesson on colors for my 3-year-olds. A few weeks back I filched a pack of origami paper from my manager and knew I wanted to use the brightly-colored paper. But how? Create folders and have them sort colors? Bo-ring. Then it hit me: origami frogs. I would make one for each color and they can pull them out of a bag. Perfect. Twenty minutes later I was awash with the critters while my coworkers played with them and asked me to teach them how to make them.
Some of my frogs.
Fifteen years ago I was a 6th grader at May Morley Elementary school in Lincoln, Nebraska. Back then they had a special unit for the 6th graders: the origami frog competitions. Looking back on it now, I really don't see a point to it all from an educational point of view, but man was it fun. Not only did we have frog races (yes, these frogs really jump!), we had competitions for which frog could jump the highest, which could jump the farthest, who could make the biggest frog, the smallest frog, etc. I have no idea how many dozens of frogs we each made, but 15 years later I can still sit down and make an origami frog without any hesitation while I can't even remember my 6th grade teacher's name.
The kids loved them, of course. And not just my 3-year-olds. After my last class of the day (8- and 9-year-olds) I knew one of my kids was feeling down and got them out to cheer him up. I ended up with five kids around me, begging me to show them how to make them. I naturally obliged. During the impromptu lesson a coworker walked by and I cracked a joke about how ironic it was that I, the gaijin, was teaching the Japanese kids how to do origami. Life is truly strange sometimes.
Some of my frogs.
Fifteen years ago I was a 6th grader at May Morley Elementary school in Lincoln, Nebraska. Back then they had a special unit for the 6th graders: the origami frog competitions. Looking back on it now, I really don't see a point to it all from an educational point of view, but man was it fun. Not only did we have frog races (yes, these frogs really jump!), we had competitions for which frog could jump the highest, which could jump the farthest, who could make the biggest frog, the smallest frog, etc. I have no idea how many dozens of frogs we each made, but 15 years later I can still sit down and make an origami frog without any hesitation while I can't even remember my 6th grade teacher's name.
The kids loved them, of course. And not just my 3-year-olds. After my last class of the day (8- and 9-year-olds) I knew one of my kids was feeling down and got them out to cheer him up. I ended up with five kids around me, begging me to show them how to make them. I naturally obliged. During the impromptu lesson a coworker walked by and I cracked a joke about how ironic it was that I, the gaijin, was teaching the Japanese kids how to do origami. Life is truly strange sometimes.