We’ve been trying for weeks to go kite flying. We’ve had our kite ready to go. We’ve had several afternoon playdates scheduled with friends at an open park that would be great for kite flying. We’ve even practiced running the kite around our yard (though not too much – we have far too many trees to be a good yard for flying a kite). However, our repeated attempts have all been thwarted by a long string of afternoon thunderstorms. The moisture is wonderful for keeping down the fire danger, so we’re definitely not complaining about the rain. Instead, we decided to schedule a morning park playdate, so hopefully we could get our kite flying in before another afternoon thunderstorm struck.
We brought two kites to the park, and when we laid them out, all four boys (my two boys, plus my friend’s two boys) could hardly wait to get them up in the air. My 6-year-old wanted to be the one to run with the string, since one of the kites was his, he got the first go. I held the kite aloft as he charged down the hill, three other boys running wildly behind him.
After a couple of failed attempts, my 6-year-old finally figured out how to get enough upward momentum to actually lift the kite into the air. While there wasn’t a steady breeze sufficient to hold in the air for long, it would fly for a minute or two and then come back down. This worked out well, as there were only two kites, so helped to ensure that everyone spent lots of time running as well as making sure that everyone got to have fun flying a kite.
Even my toddler had fun running all over the park. Whether holding his own kite above his head as he ran (by it’s guide strings, not by a long spool of string), or simply running after the big boys, it was great fun for everyone.
My 6-year-old burst out rousing rendition of “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins. The rest of us laughed and sang along. There was even an attempt to fly a kite from some of the playground equipment, though that was quickly abandoned when the kite almost got stuck on the top of a rocket-ship-shaped climbing structure.
The boys spent some time playing on the playground equipment, and then we attempted a few more flights before it was time to reel the kite back in and return home. Flying a kite was a great way to spend time outdoors and get our bodies moving. We’ll definitely do it again soon.