I suck at crafts.
Like so many other things, I wish I were better at them. I consider myself a creative person: I love drawing and graphic design and photography and writing. But give me a kid, some glitter glue and a pile of popsicle stick and I come up blank. I think a big part of my hesitation is knowing that whatever craft gets made usually ultimately ends up in the garbage (how many egg carton caterpillars does a mom need?) so it feels like a bit of a waste of time, energy and resources. (I know, they just revoked my nomination for Mother of the Year.)
The thing is, my kids LOVE being artistic. And so I let them have free reign when it comes to their art experiences. I don’t plan out craft ideas, but I let them go hog-wild with finger paints and glue and stickers and crayons and they have a blast. I don’t think they feel like they’re missing out on anything.
Do you do crafts with your kids? If so, where do you find your inspiration? Any cheap, easy and fun ideas I, a craft-challenged excuse of a mother, might be able to try out?
I hate the mess, too, and mostly bring home crafts from work or just let them do their own thing with crayons, paper, scissors, and glue. I call it being creative! but I also find great crafts and seasonal inspirations on kinderart.com
My son is almost three and we go to craft time at the library but we rarely do more than paint or color at home! As he gets older and if we get more space, we might be able to do more. I learned most of my crafts from searching online when I was a children’s librarian, but I’m not good at thinking of them on my own!
If by crafts you mean coloring in a Scooby Doo coloring book, then yes, yes we do crafts. 😉
I don’t – not really. In fact, I can’t think of the last time I actually did any of that… frankly, I hate the mess of it all, and we don’t have a good designated space. And you might as well shoot me if anything with glitter comes within 10 feet of my personal space… oy. I suppose it does show in the artwork my son brings home – he can barely draw anything recognizable, but it doesn’t seem to be the kids of stuff he loves, anyway.
And I’ve decided I’m not a bad parent for being this way – this is PRECISELY what school is for, I reckon. (Heh.)
We have a craft drawer (really a giant mess of crumpled papers, backless stickers, and dried up glue sticks) and the kids get free rein. Planned crafts are few and far between because I get a little OCD about it being ‘right.’ We also send big envelopes to various relatives and pass out bigger projects to our neighbors. Of course, there is still valuable art all over my kitchen counters. ARG!!
I think you’ve nailed it. When they feel the itch I put out good supplies and step back. Then step back in to pick up the pieces later (and wipe down the walls or whatever).
I get inspired at http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow because they source it from a bunch of blogs and sites and have a lot of pretty cool ideas, I like that things are organized by theme/season and age. I also like http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com for edible crafts you don’t have to keep (or throw out) HOWEVER letting them go at it actually has been shown to have more developmental benefits than planned crafts (although both have their place) I studied this a bunch when I taught preschool in England and letting them get messy and create themselves not only encourages their creativity but also helps them develop math skills (messy play works the math part of the brain more than the crafty part actually) physics/science, self expression, independent planning and leadership skills etc. It has also been used by many psychologists to help kids who are fussy eaters or overly anxious.
I admit that as much as I love crafts and consider myself somewhat crafty…with kids it is totally different. I hate the set up, the mess up, the clean up part. My kids also only have the attention span of a gnat, so for all the effort on my part to keep them busy for 15 min. isn’t always worth it.
If I felt so inclined though, I’d head over to http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/ as they have tons of simple ideas for crafts.
I usually stay away from paint until the weather is nice and I can strip them down and put them outside. Then I give them hunks of wood and they paint all over it!!
Paint with water books are awesome!!
I think kids have most fun when you just let them go at it. I think both of our kids are a little too young for elaborate planned out crafts. I rarely do planned things besides painting noodles for necklaces, caterpillars and butterflies made out of toilet paper rolls. The rest is coloring, painting on blank paper, water color pencil crayons or playdough!