Teaching origami in classroom is very easy. Origami requires absolutely no equipment other than one small sheet of paper. It is both safe and manageable and can be enjoyed by anyone. I usually cut different size of poster paper in square shape and use it to teach different origami projects to kids in Nursery class.
Using origami as an educational tool:
The German pedagogue and the founder of kindergartent, Friedrich Froebel (1782 – 1852) , was the first to introduce Origami into formal education.. Froebel recognized the value of children learning through play and exploration. He considered the manipulation of the paper as a mean for children to discover for themselves the principles of math and geometry. Piaget, the renowned child development psychologist held that “motor activity int the form of skilled movement is vital to the development of intuitive thoughts and the mental representation of the brain”.
“When the paper folds the mind unfolds”
Origami is an activity that requires both hands and activates the whole brain. According to a research done on the brain by Dr. Katerin Shumakov and Yuri Shumakov, when both hands are engaged, impellent motor impulses activate the language portion of the brain.Benefits of using origami as an educational tool:
1. The origami training stimulating high motor activity with simultaneous use of the right and left hands will render different influences on the activity of the brain's hemispheres of children from different sex-age groups.
2. The motor skills of both hands and their asymmetry will change during dynamics of training with respect to the real cerebral lateralization type of children.
3. The asymmetrical bimanual activity during origami training influences the individual - psychological features of children of different sexual-age groups. The prevalence of the left hemisphere is reflected in verbal abilities (speed of verbal thinking), and prevalence right hemisphere is reflected on nonverbal abilities (nonverbal intelligence, spatial imagination).
4. The asymmetrical bimanual activity during origami training will affect the creativity of children of different age groups and will stimulate development of creativeness.
Scientific proof how origami helps to develop skills: Ph.D. thesis by Katrin and Yuri Shumakov (Left Brain and Right Brain at Origami Training)
Useful links and Related posts:
* Origami in Education and Therapy
* The Educational Benefits of Origami
