Paper Bag Kites

A paper bag kite is one of the fastest crafts you can make with a preschooler—twenty minutes from idea to flying—and the payoff is immediate: you take it outside and run. These kites aren't going to fly 50 feet up on a calm day, but on a breezy day or even just from the running speed of an excited four-year-old, they billow, flutter, and soar in a way that is genuinely satisfying.

The craft teaches basic aerodynamics through direct experience: your child will discover, through running and watching, what angle holds the kite up, how speed affects flight, and what happens when the wind catches the opening. These informal physics observations stick because they come from firsthand discovery.

What You'll Need

• Paper lunch bags — The rectangular flat-bottomed type. One per kite.
• Markers, crayons, or paint — For decorating the kite.
• Crepe paper streamers or ribbon — Cut into 18–24 inch strips for the tail. Three to five tails add visual drama and stabilize flight.
• Hole punch — For making two holes at the bag's opening.
• Yarn or light string — About 3 feet for the flying string. Longer strings don't work well for this type of kite.
• Optional: stickers or tissue paper — For added decoration.

How to Do It

1. Decorate the bag before assembly.

Lay the paper bag flat and let your child decorate both sides with markers, crayons, or paint. The kite should be bright—it will catch more eye in the air. Rainbows, faces, geometric patterns, stars: anything goes.

2. Add streamers.

Tape three to five strips of crepe paper streamer to the closed end of the bag (the bottom when the bag stands up, which will be the tail end of the kite when flying). They should hang freely and trail behind during flight.

3. Make the flying holes.

Use a hole punch to make two holes at the open end of the bag, one on each of the wider sides, about an inch from the edge. Reinforce each hole with a small piece of tape to prevent tearing.

4. Attach the flying string.

Thread one end of the yarn through one hole and tie it. Thread the other end through the second hole and tie it. The string should form a handle loop about 6–8 inches long. Tie a knot in the center of the loop to hold it together—this is where your child grips the kite.

5. Test the flight.

Go outside and have your child hold the string loop and run. The opening of the bag should face forward into the wind, scooping air. The bag will billow and the tails will stream. On a good wind day, even walking briskly will keep it aloft.

6. Adjust for better flight.

If the kite dips or spins too much, try shortening the string slightly or moving the hand grip closer to one side. Adjust tail length—longer tails create more stability. Experiment together.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• Aerodynamic Thinking — Discovering through running that the kite flies higher at speed, or that turning into the wind keeps it up, builds informal physics intuitions about air, lift, and drag.

• Gross Motor Development — Running, turning, adjusting speed, and learning to feel the kite's response through the string is dynamic physical play that develops coordination and proprioception.

• Cause and Effect — The direct connection between running speed and kite altitude makes the cause-effect relationship immediately visible and personal. "I ran faster and it went up" is a child's first aerodynamics experiment.

• Creative Expression — Decorating a kite that will be seen in the air combines aesthetic decision-making (what looks good?) with a sense of audience (who will see this?).

• Patience and Adjustment — When the kite doesn't fly perfectly on the first run, adjusting the string, the tail, or the grip and trying again builds the iterative problem-solving that learning requires.

Tips & Variations

• Windy day upgrade: On genuinely windy days, extend the string to 6 feet for more dramatic flight. Tie the end of the string to a stick for easier holding.

• Two-bag kite: Make two bags and attach them end-to-end (tape the openings together) for a longer, more dramatic kite shape with more surface area to catch wind.

• Glow kite: On an evening with reliable wind, attach small glow sticks to the tails. A glowing kite at dusk is spectacular.

• Giant kite: Use a large paper grocery bag. Same construction, much more impressive scale, requires more wind or faster running.

• Kite festival: Make multiple kites—each family member and any visiting friends. Run them all at once. A backyard kite festival is a remarkably joyful sight.

My Two Cents

There's a particular joy in running with something you made and feeling it catch. The moment a child's paper bag kite lifts and stays up—even for five seconds—produces a kind of delight that I think is partly about aerodynamics and mostly about agency: I made this, and it flies. That combination is rare and worth chasing.