If you’re looking for an easy rainy day activity for your kids, look no further. One of the most fun and simple activities to do with a paper airplane is to play catch. Instead of using a ball or frisbee, try playing catch with a paper airplane! It’s super fun and can be played outdoors and indoors. If you’re at home, you won’t have to worry too much about the paper airplane breaking your favorite vase.

Cory and Kyle love playing paper airplane catch at home. Every time we discover a new paper airplane design, we play catch to test it out. In the video, we were testing out a simple paper airplane called “The Smoothie”.

Playing paper airplane catch doesn’t require any preparation and it’s educational. While they’re having fun making new paper airplane designs, have them also learn about why paper airplanes fly and how to tune them so they fly farther in our learning center.

PREPERATION:

This is one of the cheapest and easiest activity to prepare, all you need are some pieces of paper! Next, start folding your favorite paper airplanes. If you don’t know how, start with folding some easy paper airplanes.

Here are a bunch of other step by step cool paper airplane videos tutorials.

Try several paper airplane designs and fold a couple of them so you have a good arsenal to fly back and forth. When making paper airplanes, make sure to fold the wings evenly so your paper airplane flies straight.

WHERE & HOW TO PLAY

Playing catch with a paper airplane doesn’t require a lot of space and can be played practically anywhere, indoors and outdoors. The point of the game is to throw and catch the airplane back and forth.

If you’re playing indoors, throw the paper airplane back and forth at least 4-5 meters apart (that’s around 10-15 feet). In the video, we were playing in our living room which is approximately 8 by 4.5 meters (or 25 by 15 feet). As space is usually limited at home, throw the airplane in a straight line. Remember, tune your paper airplane periodically to make sure it flies well.

If you’re playing outdoors, you’re free to stand farther apart. The Guinness world record distance for throwing a paper airplane is more than 69 meters (or around 226 feet)! While I wouldn’t expect you to get to world record distances, start with throwing the paper airplane back and forth 20 - 30 meters (60-100 feet) apart. Throw it at 45 degree angle as hard as you and see how far it will go. Who knows, you maybe the next Guinness world record holder.

MORE FUN CHALLENGES!

If the good ol’ game of paper airplane catch is getting too easy for you, give the following suggestions a try:

Indoors

• Add obstacles such as furniture, pillows, and toys for the paper airplane to go over and pass through.
• Catch the paper airplane with only your left hand.
• Try catching it while hoping on one foot.
• Close one eye and see how it affects your motor skills. It’s not that easy anymore, is it?
• Go back to square one and fold a new paper airplane!

Outdoors

• Keep moving farther and farther apart.
• Choose a paper airplane that glides well and throw it high into the sky. Let the catcher wait for it to glide down to catch. The paper airplane usually ends up flying in unexpected ways.
• Try throwing or catching the paper airplane while jumping in the air or in between your legs.
• Let the paper airplane land perfectly into your hands or shirt.
• Come up with your own interesting ideas!

MOTOR & THINKING SKILLS

Playing catch with a paper airplane is actually pretty tough and a real challenge specially true for kids. It’s like playing Bow Masters (a game app), you need to try throwing the paper airplane at different angles to find the ideal flight path. You’ll also need to tune the paper airplane periodically to make sure it flies straight.

The challenge for the catcher is to not crush the paper airplane when catching it. In the video, you’ll notice that Kyle (the younger one) had more trouble controlling his catch. Every catch is helping with his fine motor skill development.

IT’S EDUCATIONAL

The coolest thing about making paper airplanes is that it is fun and educational. While there are relatively easy paper airplanes to make, there are also complicated ones that takes brain power to fold correctly. Watch our step by step paper airplane videos and follow instructions carefully!

If you’re preparing this activity for kids, spend some time teaching them about why paper airplanes fly and how to tune them effectively. Afterwards, give them a tuning task such as making a paper airplane that only flies to the right. Offer them a small rewards for their efforts.

They’ll probably spend the next hour trying to tune the paper airplane. Wow, you’ve just given them their first lesson in aeronautics, the study of the science of flight! It will pave way for them to be good at the many other activities you’ll find on this website.