Spring Family Activities: Go Fly a Kite

Kite flying is family activity that is easy to begin and can develop with your children. It is a good way to get everyone out of the house and to encourage a little exercise, and children adore controlling that colorful bit of stuff from a distance and mastering tricks. They even love the crash landings.

It is important to resist the temptation to purchase a $2 kite at the grocery store when your children beg for them. Yes, it is handy to pick them up when you're there anyway, but they are usually so poorly built that they are difficult to fly. Instead, invest in a good kite from a hobby store. You can find a wide variety of shapes and styles, generally in a more durable nylon fabric

A good quality hobby store kite will launch more easily and fly far better than the super-cheap plastic cartoon character models because they weigh less and are better balanced. They often have fiberglass rods instead of rigid plastic, which makes them stand up to going down better, as well. In the long run they will cost you less than replacing the inexpensive ones every few weeks.

Once you've established the love of kite flying in your little ones (and it doesn't take too many trips with a soaring, dipping kite to do so) you may want to get a bit more advanced. As your family grows in size and expertise, they will be ready to tackle such fun diversions as trick kites and building their own. Again, quality materials will make a difference in the "flyability" of a kite.

If your kids are older, they may be ready to investigate what makes a kite fly and develop their own designs. There are literally hundreds of books and web sites devoted to the topic, and it's a good way to sneak a bit of aerodynamics into their leisure time (we parents are always thinking about education). Such inexpensive materials as wooden dowels and yard waste bags or even newspapers can be used to create three-dimensional designs that they can be proud to show off to their friends.

Your family can have contests to see who can fly their kite the highest or launch it the fastest. You can build kites together or compete to see who can make the biggest or the most colorful. This even makes a good craft for a small birthday party held at a local park - have each family build a simple kite and the award prizes for different categories like most creative, longest tail, and best crash.

All it takes is the investment of a little money and a sunny, breezy day in an open meadow to build some beautiful memories with your family and to begin a hobby that may last for years or even generations.