Blogging From A to Z Challenge: O is for Origami

*waves* Hi! In case this is your first stop at the blog this month, I'm participating in the annual Blogging from A to Z Challenge and my theme this year is 26 Super Fun Learning Activities You Can Do From Home. That's right, I'm conjuring up 26 "educational" ideas to keep you busy while you're safe at home. But don't get too hung up on the word "educational"—so far, they've all be fun activities. Honest!

Just to recap, I kicked off the challenge with Art for the letter A. Next up was B was for Baking. My sister and I did some chemistry for the letter "C," and I rounded off the first week with a family dance off. "E" was for exercise (which was way more fun than you think) and "F" was all about family. We did some gardening for "G," celebrated Poetry Month and the letter "H" by writing haikus. And of course, "I" was for Invention. Week two ended with juggling. We started week three of the challenge with knitting, on Tuesday we talked about learning a new language, and on Wednesday we did some fun math. It was fun, right? 

Well, I hope you got outside yesterday for some nature activities because it looks like we could be in for some rain. Which means, my sister and I are back inside for today's "O" activity. Ready? It's a good one!

O is for Origami 

We have quite a bit of construction and coloured paper in the house—so much we could probably open a stationary store. Amelia is always doing some kind of art project (like doodling bugs), and every year, we make homemade Christmas cards to send out to the family. (I think this year we'll be making birthday cards, too!)

So when Grandpa suggested we try "Origami" today, it wasn't a question of supplies that made me hesitate—I just didn't know how it would classify as an educational activity. Boy, did I learn a lot!

In case you don't know, Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper—and if you take a look at pictures on the internet, then you'll see that you can fold paper into all kinds of shapes. And I don't just mean the popular ones, like swans and frogs and airplanes. I saw a shark this morning that I'm going to try!

But Origami can also teach you math skills—which is almost as fun as playing cards or using a Rubik's cube (which I talked about on my "M" post the other day...) For instance, if you have a square piece of paper, what shape does it make when you fold it in half? (Two rectangles, of course!) You can also learn about sequences and patterns, important math concepts.

The other subject Origami can teach you about is social studies—specifically, learning about other cultures and traditions. Maybe you could write an essay about the origins of Origami, or maybe how it has been used throughout Asian culture?

First up, though, giving it a try.

You can scroll the internet for all kinds of Origami ideas, but I love this one. Since we can't get a real dog, maybe this will be enough. (Not really, but I'll pretend.)

Gotta jet! Happy paper folding...share some of your creations in the comments or email them to chase.superman.duffy@gmail.com. And if you're on Twitter, be sure to tag @SupermanDuffy! See you tomorrow for the letter "P."

~ Chase Superman Duffy