The year I turned eight years old, I went to a school that had a huge open field my parents used to take us to to fly kites on the weekends. I don’t remember doing much actual kite flying myself, but I loved watching others hold the kite string with the kite high up in the sky.
This post includes affiliate links.
Frustration Free Kites for Kids that Really Fly
Johnny made this Frustration Free Flyer kite when he was in kindergarten. It is still going strong two years later, and it remains the most frustration free kite I have ever seen! I was also excited to see that Amazon is now selling this kite – the Frustration Free Flyer multipack is a better deal, and would be a great birthday party activity since each child could decorate their own kite to fly. Johnny loves to fly his with just the bridle string, but you can attach regular kite string to that string and launch it way up high in the sky; it will still fly beautifully.
Lily’s kite is one she made using a little kit we ordered through Scholastic Book Club. She and Mike apparently got it way up high in the sky the day before, but we didn’t get it more than a few feet in the air the day we were out. It was a blustery day with fickle wind that kept changing direction, and that didn’t help! I probably should have tried launching the kite for her, but I didn’t even think of that until I was writing this post last night. She did have a great time running with her kite behind her. I couldn’t find a link to the kit, but Lily’s kite design is very similar to this simple paper kite from Inner Child Fun.
I made the mistake of trying fishing line out for Emma’s kite because we were out of kite string. I should have given her regular thread instead, because fishing string was way too heavy! Her kite is a trick kite, and if we can get it to work properly I will probably post about it later!
Have you taken your kids kite flying recently? Do you have a kite design that we should try? How about tips for flying kites on days when the wind doesn’t want to cooperate?
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Congrats on your successful kite making! It is a bummer when the kites you make yourself don’t fly!
That’s been on my to do list for years and years.
Your kids would LOVE the Frustration Free flyers – you don’t really make them yourself, but you can decorate them with Sharpie pens.
Terrific photos! You’ve reminded me how much fun kite flying is and that we haven’t tried it in ages!
I hope you get a chance to go again soon!
We have both purchased kites, and A made two different designs in GATE program last year. They were fun to fly. Right now though she is super excited about an RC helicopter she got for her birthday :)