Happy Easter/ Revenge of the Fifth!

The good thing about Lebanon, as I always say, is its diversity. We have so many sects and confessions that sometimes it's hard to keep track, but whenever one of them celebrates a holy day or has some kind of commemoration, everyone gets a holiday. If you miss Western Easter like I did this year, then you can still have your chocolate eggs on Eastern Easter. So Happy Easter to whoever celebrated today!

Here are some fun models you can try with your kids.

A little candy basket.

Bunny Basket

 

And here are some slightly more complex ones. 

A rabbit by Jun Maekawa. I thought the face
looked more like a fox's. I guess I did
something wrong...

A hatching chick by Peter Engel. If you look closely,
you can see a little beak popping out.

 









This last one may look simple, but you'll be surprised to know that it was the most complex model in this whole post.


On another note, it also happens to be May 5th, so if you missed May the Fourth (as I did), then there is always the Revenge of the Fifth! What does Star Wars Day have to do with Easter? Nothing. But that's what happens when I get behind on current events.

I made this little guy last year.

Fumiaki Kawahata's Yoda

I like doing "Fan Origami" so much, or as I will henceforth call it, Fanigami (because it's late and I've been listening to an audio book of the Iliad all day), that I couldn't let Star Wars Day pass by without posting a few clumsy models that have been on my list for a while. Here are some of the space crafts from the beloved saga, now in kami paper!

A simple X-wing

 

A clumsy Naboo Starfighter

TIE Fighter by Jeremy Shafer

Simple TIE Fighter

And finally, I am embarrassed to even post these, but they go well with the collection. Note: this is not what they're supposed to look like.

Shu Sugamata's Millennium Falcon

I also made a lightsaber, but I can't possibly post it as it turned out thoroughly inappropriate.

Origami Third Lesson

It's really rewarding when you are teaching and you can tell that your students have learned something from you. My kids are really getting the hang of some of the folds. They don't even need to be reminded of how to make their preliminary folds anymore, and simply proceed to making them on their own.

This lesson, I wanted to try out some slightly more complex models (as in, with more steps; I am still going for the pretty simple) and I chose some fun ones with a twist. The last two, however, were the kids' own choices. They provided some of the paper and the book we used. I was pleased to see that they prepared the material in anticipation for the lesson. That's how I know I must be doing something right.


We started with these balloon bunnies. The kids loved the part where we had to blow them up.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Origami really teaches you concentration, patience and controlling the urge to tear the paper to shreds. Over time, it has really become a way for me to channel stress and frustration into something productive. But this was not always the case. There was a time when it was me and the paper locked in a desperate battle and neither of us would come out entirely unscathed.

I once tried my hand at a Robert Lang model. Big mistake.
This bunny may look cute, but it was a nightmare to make. Too many tiny details and annoying folds. In the end, I think I failed quite miserably.

I had to fold a bunch of these simpler rabbit models to make me feel better about myself. One day, Robert Lang, one day...