Anybody know what "oru" means in Japanese? How about "kami"? And what on earth do you get when you put them together? "Oru" means fold, while "kami" means paper. Put them together and you get what we know as origami, a paper folding technique used to create intricate and beautiful shapes.
In the ancient days, homemade paper was considered a "luxury" item in China and Japan. As such, paper folding was stictly reserved for ceremonies, some of which were religious. As paper became a more widely accessible resource, origami became more widespread as the instructions for the folds were printed on paper.Modern origami has developed today into a widespread hobby that features many folds and even many pieces of paper combined to form a single shape.
As my teaching part of this project I decided to teach my fiance how to make the traditional origami crane/swan. For our reception I have to make about 200 for decorations, so I thought this would be a productive teaching moment! It doesn't seem like too much of a task to fold paper, I know. However, when you don't have much space left and you are folding a tiny little piece of paper, it can get pretty tricky. My favorite part of the crane is that, when you are done, if you pull the tail and the home at the same time, it appears to be flying. Here is a video you can check out if you are interested in learning how it's made.
It was a lot of fun passing on folk knowledge because you can find something in common with another person that you both enjoy. I obviously don't have kids, but I imagine that it will be fun to pass things on to them that I enjoy and to then be able to do those things with them. As we have studied folk knowledge, I have felt more and more that that is a purpose or result of it. I feel strongly that it can bring us together as we share something with someone and they take it and run with it. You are connected because you will, in their minds, always be the person that taught them that thing. There is a lot of value in teaching others what we know. Both parties are edified.
I love the point you make about the connection we feel with those who teach us something, particularly something outside of book-learning. I can't count the number of times I've been making my bed or doing some other routine task and just smiled at the memory of learning that from one of my parents.
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