Nowadays, origami jumping frogs have gained special popularity, as they are easy to assemble, but children are interested in playing with them, since they bounce high and far.
Where did paper crafts come from?
The art of folding different shapes of paper was born in Japan, where he was given the name "Origami." Having decomposed into two derivatives the words: “ori” - to fold and “gami” - paper, it is obvious what exactly was meant. Simply put, origami is the art of folding paper from various animal figures and other objects. The origami "jumping frog" was very popular.
If you look deeply into the history of the Ancient World, it becomes obvious that the first paper was invented in Japan. At that time it was a rather rare and expensive material, therefore, most often the figures were used in Temples. There is a rather interesting fact that the word "gami" has the second meaning "God." You can immediately note that the Japanese realized that this material can be used not only for recordings, but also for creating a new art of needlework.
Origami is meditation!
The art of collecting origami helps to remove extraneous thoughts from the head and focuses on the embodiment of the figure itself. This lesson calms and entices the assembly itself. It is necessary to carefully monitor the sequence of actions and ensure that all bends and lines coincide. In the process of work, a person focuses and experiences joyful emotions, as his creative potential is revealed. Therefore, the art of origami introduces a person into a kind of meditative state.
What does the frog symbol mean for the Japanese?
All over the world, the Japanese love for frogs is known, they are full in all souvenir shops in the world. But few people know the real meaning of frogs for the Japanese. There is a famous frog symbol with a coin in his mouth that brings wealth. But there is another meaning to this animal. In Japanese, the frog sounds like "kaeru", which has another translation - "returning home without loss." Therefore, on the way, the Japanese themselves made jumping origami frogs out of paper and put them in a suitcase. Frogs are talismans of travelers, and this is after work one of the favorite entertainments of the Japanese. And the most important thing for a Japanese on a trip is to return home safe and sound.
How to collect an origami figure "jumping frog"?
Having learned a lot of interesting facts, you can start assembling a paper frog, which not only looks pretty, but is also able to jump. For assembly, you can use plain paper or use colored printing paper, which is sold in many office supply stores. In some stores, such colored paper is even sold individually. In the process of creating origami for children “jumping frogs” you can learn yourself, but you can also attract children, especially older ones.
- You need to take A4 paper, fold the sheet diagonally and cut off the extra piece, the result should be a square.
- Then fold again on the diagonal and, holding all four corners between the fingers, fold the "triangle", turning the sides inward. The top of the triangle should be the center of the square.
- The lateral corners of the “upper triangle” must be folded to the top to make a square.
- The lateral corners of the “lower triangle” are folded so that the sides converge in the center, and then they need to be bent by half, making “paws”.
- Flip the figure up square and bend the side corners to the middle of the hind legs. Then take the corners to the sides, making the front “paws”.
- Fold the figure across to make the “jumping” hind legs, bending first to one, and a centimeter lower to the other side.
Having finished assembling the origami of the “jumping frog”, you need to turn it on its legs, and then click on the “tail” and release to check how high and far the frog will jump. And then you can safely give the frog to children for fun games.