Crafts...unto the Lord?

I have determined that I need to do more crafts and art with our children.  After all, my degree was in art (although, a degree in how to be a mom and homemaker would have been very helpful!).  I love art projects.  Not that I'm very good at art, I just like figuring out how to make things.  Some of those things stick, and others, I never do again.

So, doing projects with the children should be a piece of cake for ME, right?  WRONG!  Its a whole different ball game to teach youngsters how to do a project, than to do one myself.  First, I have to already know exactly how to do it.  When I do my own projects (I mean, when I used to do my own projects) I can figure things out as I go.  If I have to pause for too long of a moment, the boys are off playing with trucks and stuffed animals.  Secondly, I have to be okay with things turning out absolutely wrong-and treat it as a success. Not easy.  Thirdly, I am not great at doing two things at once.  Trying to listen too, help and answer more than one person at a time is kind of stressful.  Lastly, can you say, "mess" ?  That is an understatement.  The preparation before AND clean up after an art project with children is...time consuming.  It brings flashbacks of preparing to teach classes all day.  Getting a difficult project ready for 2 classes of 20 first graders each, or 30 third graders took some major out-of-class time.  Then, they would swoop out of the room, leaving behind a destruction zone.

Have I convinced you to jump into some art adventures with your children, yet?  I didn't think so.  Now, I will attempt to do that.  With all my negative thoughts I have on the matter, I still think it is important and I am pushing myself to do it.  The benefits are many.

Children learn how to write, read, and do math when they have more understanding of creating art.  I've seen children's motor skills begin to flourish after simple instructions in drawing.  Cutting strengthens their hands to write and do other skills.  They begin to want to write words to explain their pictures.  They start to realize that drawing (or what we would call writing) letters is as easy as learning to draw a shape.  They want to draw a picture with three pigs?  Then they have to learn to count to three.  They have to fold a paper twice?  Then they have to learn to count to two.  Its also turns out to be a great help in our schooling.  When I have an assignment for our 7yo, it often includes a drawing or a diagram.  Its his way of relaying information until he can express it more completely with words only.  He could actually give up the pictures and just right essays, now.  But then what fun would that be for a 7yo?

That's the educational part, now for the mental part... When the children learn a new craft or drawing technique (not that I've done very many with them, like I said, I've neglected this area) they take the new knowledge and run with it!  The creative lobe in their brains (I majored in art, not anatomy) bursts with new ideas that stem from that one little thing I taught them.

I can't resist talking about the spiritual part.  But, this one is for me.  God gave me interest in art and creating things.  I have taken that desire and made it into a selfish pleasure.  Oh, come one! You probably think I am putting too much into this.  Well, we'll just have to disagree because it is very clear to me how selfish I can be in most areas of life.  I feel a nudge from Him to put aside those "issues" I have with doing messy projects with our children- and to not only do it, but to do it unto Him.  Too spiritual?  Is there such thing as too spiritual?  What areas are you keeping to yourself, that you won't let God take or use because you want it your way?  It may seem minor, but its there nonetheless.   

I hope you've been able to bear with me as I rambled.  Now, here are some results of our recent craft time together.  Some of these were too difficult for them to do all alone, so we worked together!
Origami flowers from books we have:

Kanzashi paper towel flowers:

I found this idea at Filth Wizardry.  I did a search for Kanzashi rounded petals to find detailed instructions and used Filth Wizardry's pointers for doing it with paper towels.  If your child knows anything about sewing, she can make them with fabric, like they are "supposed" to be done.



Kusudama flower:

These are very easy to make!  I have not been able to stop making them..that's another post.

So, my boys and I have actually had a great time working on these flowers.  But boys plus flowers equals bordom, eventually.  However, they did learn some skills, we got to give them to a friend as a gift, AND (just as I suspected) it sparked an interest in their brains to want to learn more on their own...We have paper animals and cups and airplanes all over.  (Picture to some)  I'm so glad we're doing more crafts!