For the whole of the UK, summer is almost completely over and school is going to start back up. For many parents, this is a relief while their children are far more likely to be mourning the death of summer, freedom and no studying. Even some parents will be in the sad camp, especially those with children going off to school for the first time. The teachers are likely a mixed bag. Some will be refreshed from a well-deserved summer while others will still be burned out from the previous year. For everyone dealing with school starting back up, sky lanterns are a perfect pairing for these last, precious, days before school resumes.

Sky Lanterns and Teachers

Incorporating sky lanterns into a lesson plan near the beginning of the school year is a great way to get students engaged and help ease the transition into the new school year. Used as a successful first week incentive, the teacher will be able to keep their classroom under control and have something to capture the student’s imagination at the end of the first week.

On top of simple incentive, floating paper lanterns can be worked into lesson plans as part of the curriculum for many different subjects. Most obvious of these would be science classes. For students studying basic physical science or thermodynamics, paper lanterns work on some very sound scientific principals and applying principals always has more of an impact than simply discussing them in a classroom. For younger students, simply discussing the principal of hot air rising then launching paper lanterns is perfect. For older students, having a spot thermometer can yield readings of the temperature of the lit fuel cell or measure the temperature inside the lantern to find out exactly how many degrees different the internal air must be for the lantern to take flight.

Finally, teachers can use paper lanterns as part of history lanterns as they are based off of and nearly identical to the Chinese lanterns used for the past 2000 years in China. From cultural lessons about Chinese New Year to discussions about the Chinese’ battle strategies during their many, many wars; sky lanterns played a part and can play a part in the lessons as well.

Sky Lanterns and Parents

For parents, a launch of sky lanterns prior to school starting would actually be a traditional use of the Chinese lanterns. One of the primary uses of them to this day is to write messages of good fortune on the lantern prior to launch. Nightskylanterns.co.uk not only sells a wide assortment of paper lanterns for this purpose, but also the proper markers to do so with. For parents, their well wishes for their children, whether five or twenty, as they go back to school can travel up to the heavens as prayers to be answered, at least in the Chinese tradition. The positive energy and beauty of sky lanterns is enough, especially when the children are present to watch and assist all the while knowing their parents want the best for them.

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