Paper Helicopter

We discovered a craft project so easy and so fun that I had to post it here! It's a paper helicopter - here's the pattern:

Follow the cutting and folding instructions, then fold up the bottom part by 1/2 inch twice and clip it with a large paper clip. Then you can throw it up high in the air and watch it spin back down.

We have a book called Quick and Easy Paper Airplanes that Really Fly! by Paul Jackson, and it is a very nice paper airplane book. The planes in it really fly! And some of them can really go really far. But it does not include a paper helicopter. We found this in an activity book my mom gave me (365 TV Free Activites You Can Do With Your Child by Steve and Ruth Bennett).

I was really suprised at how it spins around when you drop it. Caleb demonstrates:


It spins so fast this is the best picture I could get mid-air.


I was also surprised at how much it occupied Caleb - our house has a balcony that looks over the living room and he ran up and down the stairs for about half an hour. He didn't even realize he was completely wearing himself out! Bedtime was a breeze!

P.S. I made an error on the pattern, it should be 8 1/2 inches.