Bermuda Kite School Project

KITE PICTURE Picture by Nikki Stuart, Primary 6

No one knows how kite flying in Bermuda began. There is a story that a minister tried to attract his congregation to engage in a healthy pursuit on Good Friday as he couldn't get them into church. He encouraged them to fly kites from the top of a hill to bring them nearer to heaven. The kites had the basic structure of a cross. The cross kite is a popular kite to this day. Good Friday is sometimes called 'Kite Day'. Literally thousands of kites fill the sky.Kite making and flying is a popular Spring pastime.

KITE Every year on Good Friday everyone flies kites. Bermuda kites are made by glueing two sticks together to make a cross. Then string is strung around the body. After that tissue paper is pasted over the four triangles. Finally a long string is tied to a corner to make a tail. On Good Friday the skies around Bermuda are filled with kites. by Adrian Black (AJ) P7

ROUND KITE I like Bermuda kites very much indeed. I like the way the string feels as it glides through my fingers. I like the way it climbs in the sky, and then swoops down like a bird. The colors of red, blue, green, yellow, purple and white look beautiful on the Bermuda kite. Bermuda kites are like people. They can either be free or they can be a prisoner. I enjoy flying Bermuda kites on Good Friday. When a whole bunch of Bermuda kites are in the sky together, they look like a flock of birds flying south for the winter. There are different kinds of Bermuda kites such as box and diamond kites, but a lot of Bermudians like to make their own design and style of kites. The traditional Bermuda kites are made of wood, glue, string and different colored tissue paper. I like making Bermuda kites better than buying the store ones because the Bermuda kites are more exotic and more original, and you can make them what ever style and design that you want to, instead of being limited to certain sizes, colors, and designs of store bought ones. I like Bermuda kites because the are "endemic" to Bermuda. As far as I know, no other country or island makes kites as original as Bermuda does. by Natasha Petty, P7


KITE PICTURE Kite by Natalie Sannemalm, P6

Bermuda kites are made of tissue paper, glue, sticks of wood, and string. When Good Friday comes around, everyone starts to make their kites. On Good Friday in some places on the island you can hardly see the sky. Kites of every colour fill the air and everybody wants their kite to go the highest. Some kites get tangled in others and the strings aren't long enough on some. When you make a kite you need : different colours of tissue paper, glue, strips of wood and kite string. First you arrange the strips of wood to a hexagonal shape. Cut the tissue paper to fit each of the triangular sections. Glue the tissue paper securely to each section and tie the string so that it can't slip off. Now you are ready to fly your kite. Have fun ! ! by Leah Furbert, P7

KITE Bermuda kites are one of a kind. They are not made out of plastic, they are made of soft paper and nicely cut wooden sticks. On that April day we all fly kites (or we stay home and eat hashbrowns and hot cross buns! ) There are boxies, roundies, big ones, small ones and every year we have a contest to see who makes the biggest kite in Bermuda. One is even in the Guinness Book of world records. And we have a safety 'Belco Bird' who teaches us all the things to do to fly a kite safely. by Damon Saunders, P7

I like kites. I think it's easy to make one. If you're making a Bermuda kite, all you need is some tissue paper, which can be whatever color you wish, some nails and paste, and as many flat sticks as you want. Then, you can nail the sticks together in your special design. After that, you could cut and paste your tissue on the sticks, making sure that there are no tears or little holes in the tissue. If there are small openings the kite won't fly. If you want to, you can also hook on a tail for your kite. You'll just need a few old rags tied together. It would be better to have a tail because then you would be able to fly the kite steadier and the kite will stay up in the air longer. Don't forget, you may also have a plastic kite, if you wish. It is probably easier to fly a kite than making a kite. All you have to do is have a lot of string on a stick , have somebody to pitch the kite, (the pitcher), and finally, make sure there is enough wind. When the kite is in the sky, just let out enough string and give it a slight pull. If the kite starts to go down at any time, you could start jogging and pulling at the same time to get it back up.
by Danielle Burrows, P7
KITE PICTURE Drawn by Mauricea Ollivierre, P6

In Bermuda we fly kites on Good Friday. They are made of wood and tissue paper. Sometimes I go on my roof and fly my kite. Sometimes we have a kite contest. We see who can make the best and most beautiful kite. We also eat hot cross buns, it's a Bermudian tradition. To make a Bermuda kite you get some wood about 1cm thick and 1cm wide. Then you get some tissue paper , different colors if you want. You will also need some glue, nails, tacks, string, and a knife. First you would nail the wood into a kite shape. Now cut grooves in the edges of the wood. Next put string in all the grooves, lining the outside of the kite. Then cut out four triangles from the tissue paper. Now glue the tissue paper onto the kite. Next rip up some sheets and tack them to the bottom of the kite. Now go fly it. by Landis Petty, P7

KITE PICTURE Bermuda kites are made out of wood, you take one piece of wood it's supposed to be thin. First you take one piece of wood and put it in the centre, then you take the the second piece of wood and put it like a cross, take string and tie it around, then take the third piece of wood and tie it to the other pieces. If you want you can take one piece of string any color put lines in the six corners and put the string through it and make sure you have it tight. You take some paper, the colored paper . Take red, blue , and yellow. You can use any type of glue, except wood glue. You put the glue on. You put the rest of the colors on and take the string on the end of the wood. That is how you make a kite.
by Makeda Dickinson, P7 KITE PICTURE

The Bermuda kite flying hobby is one of the most fun sports ever. You get to design your own kite and pick out all the colors. People spend hours sometimes glueing their tissue paper on to the wooden frame. When you glue your paper on your kite you usually cut out the shape or pattern of one patch to glue on first. You then have to glue the paper on the frame. Some people put streamers or hummers on their kites to make them hum when they are flying. There are over 1000 different patterns and colors on kites. Including Multi colored - plain white. Some people like taking their homemade kites to beaches where there are hardly any telephone wires. But, others just fly their kites anywhere. The annual kite flying day is Good Friday.
by Lacey Jennings, P7

On Good Friday you fly kites. Kites come in all shapes and sizes and colors. The Traditional Bermuda Kites are made from wood. They are hexagonal, square or a pentagon shape. They have tissue paper put on to them to make the beautiful colors. Most of them have white tails, but they can also have colored tails. The other types of kites can range from triangle to circle to box. They are also in varieties of colors. Some have people, things, places, words or cartoon characters. Kite flying has to be done in some wind. It can be strong or medium or even a small bit of wind. by Rolisa Furbert, P7

KITE Bermuda has a day called Good Friday when every one in Bermuda flies a kite. Kite flying in Bermuda is a lot of fun, but you have to make sure that you are not near a telephone wire, or a lot of trees because your kite could get stuck and it may cause !!DANGER!! Bermudians make a lot of kites with tissue paper. Some people put them in an Exhibition to see if they can win a prize.
Kite flying is very popular in Bermuda. Some kids in my school bring kites and fly them at all breaks. We bring kites the day before Good Friday and fly them from1:00pm to 3:30pm it is a lot of fun. Some kites are homemade and some are bought at the store. Some kites are very strong and handsome, but people can`t hold them and they fly away. That can be very dangerous. by Sarah Brackstone, P7
 

 

 

Credits:
March 1996, St. George's Preparatory School, Bermuda
Page created by Primary 7 students with pictures drawn by Nikki Stuart, Mauricea Ollivierre and Natalie Sannemalm of Primary 6 and kites coloured by Amber Simpson, Renae Black and Tara Cassidy of Primary 5