Kite Making

Indonesia is known for it's kites. Normally during dry season you can look up into the sky and see dozens of kites being flown in the sky. It's my favorite. You can also often see dozens of kites stuck in trees or on power lines as you drive around the city. If you have ever seen or read "The Kite Runner" you might have a picture in mind of kite fighting. That also takes place here in Indonesia. Given the rich culture of kites in Indonesia, I decided to incorporate them into my Geometry class. As we finished up our unit on Quadrilaterals in which we study kites and their properties, I decided to have my class try to make and fly kites. One of our Indonesian staff is known for his expertise in making traditional Indonesian kites. His name is Pak Oo. I invited him into my class to teach the kids about kites and help us make them. It was much harder than I imagined it would be. According to Pak Oo everything had to be just right, down to the detail of how we tied our knots and where we tied the bamboo together. It took us a couple of days to make the kites and then we finally got to fly them. That day was a beautiful day, sunny and windy, just right for kite flying. So, so fun. To view the whole gallery of photos (we took lots!) click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyinbandung/KiteMaking# Otherwise, here is a brief version:

The first step is to tie the two bamboo pieces together. Just to make sure we had it right Pak Oo marked for us where they should cross.

Getting closer for a better look at how to do the tying.

Pak Oo with the students.

A true international student.

Time for flying... good thing Steven's done this before so he could teach others.

A beautiful day.

Pak Oo made this giant snake kite and then gave it to me when we were done.

I now have it hanging up on the wall in my classroom.

Where did my kite go?

Sang Eun looks like he is having fun.

I think the students enjoyed it... I know I loved seeing them make and fly their kites.