Origami After School Projects
Origami umbrellas and butterfly art
Four origami pieces organized in a grid
I have taught beginner's level Origami to elementary school children since 2010 in the East Bay, CA. I currently bring my program to 10 elementary schools including neighborhoods in Orinda, Oakland and Piedmont.
Origami is the most fabulous and unique art form on the planet! It engages several of the natural senses from visual to auditory to tactile. Some paper is even scented so now there is one more sense to awaken-smell! If only you could eat the paper!
Origami serves as the perfect segue way to demonstrate and teach basic concepts of Math and Geometry because every which way you manipulate that piece of paper, it is angles and fractions and polygons! Plus, is it incredibly fun AND it is art!!
I design most of the Origami models myself and create and design the weekly themed projects where we build our Origami models into a 3-dimensional diorama display! The children learn a bit about simple paper crafting techniques along with design and composition and they bring their masterpieces home each week.
It is so fun to see the progress of the children over time and I especially love to hear them say "I did it!" and see the glowing smile upon their faces!
During the Covid-19 pandemic I taught my classes online via Zoom which was an experience I will never forget! The silver lining there is that I now have the capability to bring my course to anyone, anywhere in the world!
