Matthew the Teacher

Matthew really likes origami, so much so that he volunteered to give a lesson to his cub scout pack. He was very excited for weeks in advance, and spent several hours planning his lesson and examples.

That night, he was ready.

When he came home I asked how it went. "It was great mom!" And that was about all he said. I received a call later from his scout master who was very, very impressed by how well he did. We were told that he was very well prepared. That he had 40 minutes and he filled the whole time with 2 projects, had his finished samples displayed, helped the boys who needed assistance, redirected those that got distracted, and was very patient. Apparently all the boys had a good time and each completed a folding eight point ninja star and a rabbit.

The primary president called Matthew a natural teacher. He certainly has had plenty of practice trying to teach his sister things; with varying amounts of patience and mixed results, I might add.

This took place back in January, but I was reminded of it during the Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet recently where he received recognition for his lesson. Good job, son!

Origami

Matthew discovered Youtube origami tutorials a few months back. He's learned how to make cranes, butterflies, frogs, boats, rabbits, flowers, rings, ninja stars, and flapping birds all from watching Youtube.

(a trio of frogs)

Matthew also likes to experiment with folds to create new designs. He has a entrepreneurial streak and hawks his wares to anyone who willing buy. He sold a how-to lesson to one of his buddies, Conner, and to Conner's Dad, plus some paper with which to practice.

This boy has generous heart too. A lady we know was in the hospital with cancer, and he volunteered to make some colorful origami animals to brighten her very bare walls. He filled a small sack with his creations, and was so pleased that she liked them.

Jonathan bought him about 500 sheets of origami paper to use for his new hobby- he's going to have to buy some more pretty soon...


Recently a friend of mine asked Matthew where he learned how to fold origami. He replied, "I learned from Youtube. Did you know you can learn everything from Youtube? You can even learn how to kiss!" What?! "Yup, they had a video posted on the side of the tutorial I was watching. I didn't watch it though. Yuck!" We laughed and laughed to Matthew's puzzlement.

(Guess we need to keep a closer eye on what pops up on Youtube's related videos. Though how kissing is related to origami is beyond me!)