Origami has big benefits

Origami is the art of folding paper. Glue or scissors are usually not used. One of the most popular folding objects is the crane. It is said that 1000 cranes make a wish come true. One thousand cranes are given to people who are sick in order to wish them a fast recovery. The folded crane is also a symbol for peace. Other popular folding objects are flowers, balloons, gold fish, frogs, swans and many more. Even if you are totally new to origami, with a little practice, one will be making beautiful models in no time. How to hold a paper crane: http://www.sadako.com/fold/folding.html

Origami has many benefits to the brain. In the PhD thesis: "Functional interhemispheric asymmetry of a brain in dynamics of bimanual activity at children 7-11 years old at origami training," Katrin and Yuri Shumakov stated that Froebel is one of many educators who knew first hand the benefit of origami on the developing mind. One such study observed a group of seven to 11-year-olds in a week-long intensive origami training. Froebel reintroduced paper folding to the world by including it in the curriculum of his "Kindergarten Movement."

Origami is still taught in schools in Japan to children at a very young age. Researchers found that origami's bi-manual, "two hand" activity stimulated the interaction between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, and improved nonverbal and verbal intelligence of all the children involved. In the older children, they also found that the motor activity of using both hands developed imagination and figurative thinking. Origami has also been known to benefit children with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and emotional problems as it challenges the mind to create and memorize sequences. It fully engages the brain to help train the brain to focus. Origami can also benefit the elderly, the physically handicapped, or anyone else who wishes to keep their mind sharp and their fingers nimble. Who would have thought that a piece of paper could do all that.