Time to fly
This family meeting features the paper airplane - a trusted companion of children with limitless possibilities for fun.
🎉 Opening Ceremony 🎉
For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man. My disease has increased in severity and I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money if not my life.
– Wright Brothers
Ask the family
Do you have any “diseases”?
Do you think the Wright brothers died wealthy?
What’s the equivalent of flight today? Something that seems impossible.
︖ Probing Question ⸮
If you could fly anywhere in the world, where would you go?
🧠 Trivia Question 🧠
Q: What year was Amelia Earhart’s first flight?
A: 1920
📙 Word of the Week 📙
Aerodynamics - the qualities of an object that affect how easily it is able to move through the air (Source: Merriam-Webster)
🎙️ Main Event 🎙️
Paper airplane contest
Give each participant ample paper and 5 minutes to build a paper airplane. Demonstrate if needed. For extra fun, throw them from somewhere extra high (ie out a window)
First contest: Distance
Second contest: Time in the air
🎶 Closing Ceremony 🎶
Play “I believe I can fly” (ridiculously loud and encourage dancing)
Close it out with “Fly on 3...1,2,3...Fly!”
🤔 Matt’s Reflections 🤔
It’s amazing how much fun you can have with a simple piece of paper. Try to remember back to the times before Youtube when kids learned about how to make paper airplanes solely by experimenting and hearing from other kids. Enjoy those “good ole days” memories and also lean into new techniques that are available to rapidly enhance our learning.
🧐 Variations / FAQ 🧐
Kids too young to make a paper airplane?
Have them watch you make 5 paper airplanes and let them throw them.
Kids too old?
Yeah, right. Paper airplanes are always cool.
Pump up the learning?
Have participants calculate the speed of their airplane’s flight
Really pump up the learning?
Give participants more time and have them pick a plane from here
Increase the difficulty?
Create a landing zone with masking tape on the driveway. Flights only qualify if they end up in the landing zone
Can’t bring yourself to play an R Kelly song?
Replace it. Here’s a suggestion
Feedback
Feedback is thoroughly enjoyed. I read every single comment and usually reply if a response is merited. Did your family laugh? Did they cry? Were you able to make it memorable? Share your experience.