Educational professional Greg Gerkens most recently served as assistant principal at an Eastern Suffolk BOCES school program. In addition to his work with high school students in New York, Greg Gerkens enjoys spending quality time with his own young son. They are particularly fond of fishing and flying kites together.

Kites are fun for people of all ages. With a little help from an adult, even very young children can make their own working kite. Follow these instructions to make a kid-friendly custom kite that really flies. 

1. Assemble your materials. You will need thin plastic from a trash bag or similar, two light sticks or skewers, string, tape, a ruler, and decorations.

2. An adult should cut one stick to 24 inches, and the other to 20 inches. These measurements can be scaled as desired. Make a mark six inches away from the end of the longest stick. This is where the two sticks should be tied together to form a cross. 

3. Place the cross on your plastic sheet. Use a ruler to make a diamond shape around the cross, and then fold and tape the plastic securely to the wooden frame. 

4. Poke small holes at the top and bottom corners of the kite. Run a short length of string through the holes, tying firm knots to secure the string at each hole. Tie a much longer string to the middle of this shorter string. 

5. Decorate your kite as you see fit using markers, ribbons, or spare scraps of plastic.