CreativeArtsCraftsHobbies

As far back as the mid 1800’s it was discovered that origami was a delightful project for young children. Besides teaching eye hand coordination and developing concentration, the child also had a toy they had made themselves when they were finished. With practice, a child of any age can even create a number of the more advanced figures.

For young children, there is often the satisfaction of being able to fold a piece of paper into a figure that they aren’t yet capable of drawing. Origami teaches children much more than just how to make cute toys. They learn dexterity, and they learn to listen and follow directions. Children learn creativity and perception and, surprisingly, they learn to relax. In a world where so much is rushed, sitting quietly and folding paper figures can bring a sense of balance and peace to even young children.

When doing origami with young children it is important to remember certain things:

1. Practice folding the figures you plan to teach them yourself so you can pick out the steps that may cause them problems.

2. Some figures may need to be slightly simplified for younger children. Maybe just leaving out the final finishing steps will help.

3. Have a light, friendly workplace for the children and plenty of materials

4. Be sure to explain each fold in simple words, showing them (possibly on a large piece of paper) what they need to do each step of the way.

5. Be sure the children understand what they need to do and make sure you give them enough time to work it out themselves – don’t jump in too quickly to help them.

6. Let them try to fix their own mistakes without too much assistance. Let them know they can “try again” as many times as they need.

7. Children enjoy the repetition and they need time and repetition to work things out

8. Praise, praise and more praise – if the figure is somewhat crooked or a little wrinkled, so what?

9. Let the child express what he thinks of his piece. Everyone has different taste and opinions as to what is nice.

10. Children and abstract forms don’t always mix well. If it helps to let them color or paint faces on their animals – let them!

Some tips for beginners – pick a well lighted relaxing area to work in, start with simple figures and work your way up (some figures will have both simple and advanced instructions for the same animal). Don’t use really good paper to start with and for true beginners one of the best pieces of advice is to start with a larger piece of paper than what is called for. Make your folds as sharp and precise as possible; press down on the center of the fold with one finger and then run a finger from your other hand across the fold in both directions.

You can give your piece a somewhat different look or create an entirely different piece just by making a fold in a slightly different place.

It is very difficult to try to determine the history of origami since not even the experts can agree on what or where it began. While most people think of Origami as being a strictly Japanese art form, many say it actually has its roots in China, going all the way back to the first or second century. Back in those early days paper was so rare and expensive that origami was a pastime reserved for the wealthy. Certain set shapes were fashioned from folded paper for special occasions such as weddings, while serrated strips of white paper were used to adorn sacred objects in the shrines, a practice that continues to this day. There was not a lot of origami
used just as an art form at that time.

In Japan, from the early 1600’s through the late 1800’s, several forms of entertainment were developed for the common people; origami, having become an art form, was one of those entertainments. The popularity of origami was due in part to its simplicity and the fact that there was no need for special tools. The popularity of origami continued to grow through about the middle of the 19th century. Then, except for ceremonial usage, its popularity started to decline during the modernization of Japan.

It has been argued by some people that since paper was invented in China in 105AD, then logically paper folding must have followed shortly after. On the other hand, since there are no known records of Chinese paper folding and the oldest Japanese records only go back to the 18th century, some still believe that the invention must have been Japanese.

Buddhist monks brought paper with them to Japan in the late 6th century along with the art of paper folding. Although paper was very expensive, it was still used quite extensively in Japan, particularly in its architecture with paper screens, doors etc. The Shinto religion incorporated the use of origami in its ceremonies, and these shapes have remained unchanged for centuries.

Although the experts can’t agree on where origami originated, most of them agree that the Japanese are the ones who developed the traditional art form. This art form was passed down from generation to generation with nothing in writing. Due to all information being passed on orally, only the simplest designs were passed on. Around the year 1797 the first written instructions appeared. The publication they were in was called the Senbazuru Orikata (Thousand Crane Folding). It was followed nearly 50 years later with an encyclopedia that contained a full collection of these figures.

Modern origami has progressed to what it is today, in great part due to a man named Yoshizawa Akira who, in the early 1950’s, published books containing all new figures. In collaboration with San Randlett, an American, he developed the diagram symbols that are still used today. Today Yoshizawa is remembered as the grandmaster of origami and there are thousands of origami lovers worldwide. Thanks to the development of the diagram symbols it has been easier to record the instructions for the new shapes as they come along, ensuring future generations of the information.