Get Outside / Fly a Kite

Let’s GoFly a Kite by Rebecca Zarazan Dunn

As I write this, a south wind is priding through Lawrence, growling, “SPRRRRRRRRRINNNNG!” The weather has been like this for several days now reminding me about the time I was in grade school and my little brother and I spent hours flying cheap, grocery store kites in the empty lot next to our house. We lived in Arizona at the time which meant if your kite crashed, you’d have to delicately pluck the line off each cacti, yucca, and paloverde trees, winding the line in without ripping the string, tearing the delicate, plastic wings, or getting pricked in the process.

But it was worth it, because if you happened to get that kite to the elevation where it was at the very end of its line, the kite became a small speck of a sun shining down bound to you.

Because it’s spring and I have been feeling nostalgic for my kite flying days, I decided we would attempt making a kite.

I have never done this before and after looking over a couple similar tutorials online, I fashioned a classic newspaper kite with the help of my 6 and 9-year old. We took it out immediately after and it floated 20 feet off the ground for moments, but there wasn’t enough wind to hold it in the air at the small elementary school field we attempted to fly it.

The next day, we took it to Broken Arrow Park when the wind was just picking up. My daughter looked at me as her hair whipped violently around her face and said, “I’m not so sure about this mom.” Confidently, I reassured her. “It’s going to be great! Be positive and let’s see what happens.”

I opened the car door to pull out the kite, which was instantly whisked away slamming into a nearby tree. Luckily, I still had the reel of string in my hand and slowly wound the kite in. It was still intact. We walked out to the field and got into our kite flying positions. My daughter held the kite and I unraveled the spool walking several yards from her and called out, “On three! One, two, three!” She released the kite into the sky, it launched straight up, did a dizzying whirlwind of spins before an exhale, flailing to the ground, its paper skin ripped from the rod skeleton. Perhaps 25 mph wind was a little strong for a newspaper kite.

I carried the expired kite to the car and traded it for our trusty nylon kite that effortlessly sailed along strong prairie winds. Later I could repair and modify our DIY kite, but it was one of those first warm days of March and neither of us wanted to go home and work on it. Instead, we flew. Chins up, eyes on the sky, my daughter, at an age when she isn’t a young kid but isn’t an old kid smiled, “This is really fun, mom.”

I hope you find the chance to fly a kite this spring, make your own or otherwise.

5 Kite Flying Destinations in Lawrence: Broken Arrow Park / Central Middle School / Clinton Lake / “Dad” Perry Park / South Middle School