I love doing crafts with my kids, especially in the winter. Cooped up inside the house, those long afternoons need to be filled with SOMETHING, and so help me God, that “something” is NOT going to be television.
It’s not that I don’t allow my kids to ever watch TV. On the contrary, they watch TV almost every day, but we limit their “screen time,” which includes television, video games and computer, to no more than two hours each day. The rest of the time, I expect them to play freely, using their ridiculously large collection of toys and their imagination. But I also love creating and crafting with my kids and make it a point to create something together at least once a week.
Here are a few tried and true tips for successful crafting with kids.
1. Relax! Crafting with kids does not need to be stressful or elaborate. On the contrary – you’ll find that with just a few basic supplies in the house you can create all kinds of fun stuff. Most kids don’t have high expectations when it comes to doing crafts – they simply enjoy the process. Adjust your own expectations accordingly.
2. Don’t be a perfectionist. Before you even start, you must promise me to let go of your perfectionism. If you’re like me, you are a perfectionist and you like the things you create to look nice. But when crafting with kids, things tend to get messy and disorderly and, well, not perfect. If you try to make things “perfect,” your project would turn from family fun into a nightmare!
3. Don’t mind the mess. This is always a good idea when spending time with kids, and it’s especially true when it comes to doing crafts with kids. Let’s face it – kids don’t share our standards of cleanliness and orderliness. There’s no use fighting it – expect them to respect a few basic rules (such as not setting the house on fire or drawing with permanent markers on the walls), but other than that, accept that when you have kids in your life, things are going to get messy.
4. The end result is not as important as the process. This is a big one. Us adults tend to place a lot of emphasis on the final product, but when you craft with your kids, the focus should definitely be on spending time together and having fun. The end result is not nearly as important as quality time spent together.
5. “Crafting” can mean many things. When you look for crafting projects, don’t limit yourself to things that can be done with scissors and glue. Baking, for example, is certainly a craft, and so is cooking. I love baking with my kids – it’s such a great project for a long weekend afternoon.
6. Allow your kids to pick the craft. Letting them be in charge will make this so much more fun for them. If you worry that they might pick a project that’s too hard or requires a special trip to the craft supplies store, give them a couple of options based on what you’re willing to do and let them decide between those options.
7. Let your kids work as independently as possible. Unless each of you makes their own creation, your job is essentially to supervise, not to create. You should be there and help when they need help, but try to avoid taking over and doing things for your kids that they can do by themselves.
Crafting with kids provides you with a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time together. There are many different projects you can do together. We are excited to announce that starting this week, this blog will feature a weekly craft project. We’re looking forward to inspiring and to being inspired!
Photo by terren
