Crafting With Your Child-Influence and Insight
August 05, 2009 | By
This article is a follow up to The Crux of Crafting-Teach a Child, Reach a Child.
You'd be hard pressed to find a parent who doesn't have a box set aside or a drawer filling up with pictures and projects their children have done over the years; there's nothing like going to pick up your child from child care or a sitter and watching them beam with pride at the picture they drew of you in which you're taller than the house, trees and even the sun. The importance that they place on you when they draw that picture is ironic because in truth, it's no accident. You hold that much influence over the first ten years of your child's life as tightly as you hold onto that picture.
In the previous article, I emphasized the difference between a product-driven and process-driven activity in an effort to refocus on the journey your child takes to complete a project rather than the end result. The path your child takes while playing and creating is paved with stepping stones of insight into who they are. Understanding your child on this level is one of the most beneficial gifts you can ever give him. Why? Because once you have this information, you can communicate it to the people who have influence over his day-to-day life in a way that he, as a child, cannot.
For example, consider what you can learn about your preschooler who has an undying and vocal affection for dinosaurs (that's typically expressed in every store you walk into by screaming, "I WANT THAT!" at the top of his lungs) when you take him to the library and help him find some books about dinosaurs, check them out, take them home, and propose that you sit down and think of a way to make some dinosaurs from some egg carton parts, toilet paper tubes, etc.. Does he engage with you and want to tackle the project? Does he want your help or want to do it by himself? Does he need guidance every step of the way or is he already bored with your approach and taking his finished dinosaur to his pile of blocks in the family room and starting to play? Is he proud of what he can do all by himself or easily frustrated and read
y to give up?
By giving your child an opportunity to create anything they want out of open-ended craft materials like construction paper, fabric scraps, glue, safety scissors, paint, stickers, popsicle sticks, pom poms, cardstock, etc. instead of materials to complete a pre-ordained project, you gain valuable insight into their imagination and often into how they're feeling, how they perceive things, and what's important to them. Children take the things they find in their daily lives and adapt them to represent the things they see in the adult world; you see this when children play dress-up, and sometimes it comes out in interesting and amusing ways.
Years ago, when I teaching preschool, I had a little boy in my class who absolutely had to have a particular story book from our book center with him when it was time to nap; his name was Will. No other book would do. Will never wanted me to read the book which was why most children carried a book around; he just wanted to have it with him. I don't even remember the name of the book; I just remember looking up from my table one day because he was whispering to the little girl who slept next to him. He had the back cover of the book open which showed the map of a neighborhood. Will pointed to a particular street on the map and told her in a very serious voice (and a very southern acccent), "This right here is where that really good ice cream place is, but they have a terrible parking problem." When his father came to pick him up that day, I showed him the book and told him about his son's comment, and his father laughed and said, "He's right. They do have a terrible parking problem. I complain about it every time we go!" The parking problem issue was a big deal to Will, and it was something we talked about at lunch the next day. He told the entire class about it and then proceeded to give them all directions to the ice cream shop as well. They were all then convinced that we were leaving for a field trip as soon as our macaroni and cheese was done. We didn't, but Will did go to the Art center later that day and make his o
wn map to the ice cream shop, and when I saw him on the playground later, he was 'driving' to the ice cream shop with three little girls in tow. (He was a cutie pie.)
So by giving your child plenty of access to materials and to you, you let them know that you value their ability to express themselves and communicate through crafting and play. You can watch as they experience new textures, work with scissors and crayons and brushes, and see if they can follow basic directions and/or plan things out step by step. These simple things are windows into how comfortable your child is with his own abilities, his willingness to ask questions and accept guidance and even how he learns. When your child enters elementary school, you may be blessed with a teacher who has a sense of each child's strengths and adapts accordingly or you may find yourself in a more traditional classroom where children are expected to adapt to everyone else. If you already know how best to inspire and motivate your child, then you can advocate for him. The time you spent cutting and watching and gluing and talking and painting will pay off in spades.
Top picture is pea pod play set from Green Man Shop, middle is Deluxe BYO Woolly Tiny Kit by Kelbot, bottom is Dear Deer Tree, reusable wall decals by StickyTiki.
Lori is the owner of a quirky jewelry asylum called Risky Beads and the founder of Handmade Highway.
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