half-dozenroses Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 This may seem like a strange question - but my 10 yo ds struggles to make a basic paper airplane. It is starting to affect his self confidence when he sees boys much younger than him whipping them out! I got him the Klutz book,which seemed like a really great book - step-by-step, highly visual - and he finds their "beginner" still to difficult. He has trouble remembering the steps and making the folds. He tries and tries, and ends up on the verge of tears. he can with Dad's and my help make one even simpler than that, but those precision folds only work about 1/2 the time. This is a kid who is very smart academically but has this frustration. He uses scissors fine, has decent handwriting, grips his pencil normal, etc. What to do?? Give him more paper craft type things (origami would send him through the roof with frustration, probably) - or is there a way to come at this skill from a totally different direction?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I think at 10 I would take a more global look at it. Are the there any other indications of fine motor issues you should have checked? Is he fine with small legos? Does he play piano or other more fine motor instrument? If it's just airplanes, then I'd make airplanes. Lots of them! And have a blast with it (I think you can print some online too if you need them!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
half-dozenroses Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 (edited) Yes to piano and legos - he can do both just fine (good questions, btw). And he is normally a pretty patient kid. This just gets his goat! Edited July 27, 2010 by half-dozenroses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Those paper airplane kits are so annoying. Ds hasn't been able to make one of them work. The paper is too heavy. I would pick the most basic airplane and work on that. Do it a few times every day until he gets it, not all in one day. It may be more of an issue with remembering the steps rather than fine motor. Ds often looks for youtube tutorials when he has trouble with things. (like transforming a Transformer:glare:) Perhaps he can find some airplane tutorials. If it's any consolation, ds couldn't consistently make a paper airplane until a few months ago. He still has trouble with shoe tying, and can't ride a bike no matter how hard he works on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Get a couple of reams of paper and let him just practice. If I could only tell you how many tears were shed over origami before they started to get the hang of it. Practice is key. Try to turn it into a lesson about perseverance and about how to manage frustration and perfectionism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starwarsmomma Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 use lighter paper and a popsicle stick to put a deep crease mark in the papers. Works for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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