Hello Parents,
Learn Through Stories is running an amazing summer camp in Brooklyn from July 7th - August 29th.
A big part of that camp will be making 1,000 origami paper cranes throughout the summer.
These stories are about transformation and resilience. Every character must become something more, learn a new skill, or over come a fear. These are great moments to remember with your child when they encounter something difficult. I especially like the Aura’s line
"Just cause you're squished, doesn't mean you're finished. Breathe with me."Read this story with your child and then make something fun out of paper.
I hope you and your kids like it, please post pictures of your paper planes! If you’re in Brooklyn come to the camp!
Here are 2 of our previous series if you haven’t read them already.
Story series on emotional regulation: The Garden of Growing Hearts
Story series on math: Help Me Get this Bike!
Queen Lazy-Legs was snoring on her throne, Paper Cup tucked safely in her pocket. Paper felt a warm glow of satisfaction, happy that he had transformed and was finally useful to someone. But suddenly, the castle shook violently! The queen tumbled to the floor as a servant burst in.
"Your Majesty!" He was out of breath. "A big earthquake just shook the Gami Kingdom! It made a huge crack in the ground that split our land in two! Princess I Can't Even was picking flowers in the garden and now she's stuck all alone on the other side!"
Queen Lazy-Legs gasped. "Oh no! My daughter, Princess I Can't Even, can't do ANYTHING by herself! What will happen to her?"
Paper Cup wiggled in her pocket. "Your Majesty! I have an idea. We can all transform when we need to. I became a cup, and—"
"Oh, be quiet, silly paper!" Then, she crumpled Paper and tossed him out the window.
Paper tumbled through the air, landing at the edge of the Great Divide. The canyon stretched wide and deep, with Princess I Can’t Even visible on the distant side, dramatically fainting onto a flower bed, sighing “I can’t even” as she did.
Paper Cup sighed, feeling wrinkled and useless. "She's right. There's no way to help. What can a paper cup do when there's a giant canyon in the way!"
Just then, a golden light appeared. It was Aura!
Aura smiled warmly, "My friend, shall we stretch together again?"
Paper felt a flutter of hope. "But I'm just a crumpled cup."
"Just cause you're squished, doesn't mean you're finished. Breathe with me."
They breathed deeply together. With each breath, Paper felt himself unfolding, becoming flat again.
Aura guided gently, "Now, let's try some new movements."
Paper folded one way, then another. Each crease felt like discovering a new part of himself.
"Feel yourself becoming lighter. Feel the air wanting to carry you."
Suddenly, Paper felt different. His edges were sharp and pointed. His body was sleek. As the final fold completed, Paper could feel a gentle breeze catching underneath his now-triangular wings, creating a ticklish lifting sensation he'd never experienced before.
"What am I?” Paper gasped
Aura nodded proudly. "You transformed again. Now you're an airplane, now fly!"
Aura sent Paper soaring with a gentle push. For the first time, Paper felt the exhilarating freedom of flight. The wind rushed beneath him, carrying him higher and higher.
Paper shouted joyfully, "I'm flying! I'M FLYING!"
Paper steered himself back to the castle, swooping through the window and landing directly in Queen Lazy-Legs' lap.
"Who are you?" she gasped.
"It's me—Paper! I transformed again! And you can transform too. You need to get up, stop being lazy, and help your daughter!"
Queen Lazy-Legs stared, amazed. "But... but how?"
"Write a message on me. Then throw me across to Princess I Can't Even."
The queen hesitated, then slowly wrote three simple words: "Yes, you can."
For the first time in years, Queen Lazy-Legs stood up from her throne. As she walked to the edge of the Great Divide, her legs wobbled.
"I can do this,"she whispered and with all her might, she threw Paper Airplane.
Paper soared gracefully across the canyon, riding air currents and feeling the wind beneath his wings. As he approached the princess, he aimed himself perfectly and glided down, landing softly in her lap.
Princess I Can't Even jumped in surprise. "Eek! What are you?"
He announced proudly, "I'm Paper Airplane! Queen Lazy-Legs sent me with a really important message for you."
The princess blinked in confusion as she looked at the folded paper creation that had somehow spoken to her.
"Read the message on me," said Paper Airplane.
She read the message: "Yes, you can."
She immediately collapsed back onto the flower bed with a dramatic sigh. "I can't even understand what that means! I can't even get up. I can't even walk. I can't even feed myself—do you know I have a royal chewer who pre-chews all my food? I can't even THINK about doing things I can't even do! How can I possibly do anything when I can't even?"
Paper Airplane waited patiently as she continued listing all the things she couldn't even do.
"I can't even finish my own sentences without saying 'I can't even'! I can't even—"
Finally, Paper Airplane interrupted. "Just try one thing. One small thing."
"But... I don't know how," she whispered.
Princess I Can't Even looked across the Great Divide. Far on the other side, she could see her mother—Queen Lazy-Legs—who hadn't moved from her throne in years, actually standing at the edge, waving her arms excitedly.
"Mom?" Princess I Can't Even whispered in amazement. "You got up?"
The sight of her mother standing and moving gave the princess a strange new feeling inside. If Queen Lazy-Legs could get up, maybe she could too.
"I... I think I can," she said, slowly pushing herself up from the flower bed.
Standing up, Princess I Can't Even felt wobbly but proud. "I DID IT!" she shouted across the Great Divide.
Queen Lazy-Legs jumped up and down with excitement, something no one in the kingdom had seen in decades.
Paper Airplane felt proud. Today, it wasn't just paper that had transformed.
There are 1,000’s of youtube videos on paper airplanes but these are two I found most helpful!
I’d love to see photos/videos of the paper airplanes you make with your kids. Post them in the comments!
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