Learn 4 ways to turn holiday crafts with kids into a real learning experience.
When it comes to activities that adults do with kids, crafts is probably at the very top.
Homeschoolers, stay at home moms, early childhood teachers, grandparents
feel that since children usually love pasting and cutting, then crafts is a great way to spend time with each other. This is often done around holiday tiem
As a time filling activity, crafts is one of the best, as children love to mess and glue and color and can do so for long periods of time.
It’s when adults expectations of what young children can actually create in crafts collides with reality, that problems arise. They then feel that the only way children can create crafts is by copying an adults model. I call this “copycat crafts”.
If you are a real traditional sort and have no problem with creating robots out of your children then go right ahead and keep doing these kinds of crafts. There are books and websites that are full of them
and I am sure there will be no difficulty finding tons of crafts online for kids to copy.
First listen, however, to a short explanation of the detriments of copycat crafts. You can also go download a free report that will help you with all kid crafts by explaining to you in detail the pros and cons of copycat crafts and educational crafts.
Robots just follow directions without thinking. So that is what happens to children who don’t think when making projects, but just follow directions. Copycat crafts is detrimental to your children and I would like to explain why that is.
Art should NOT just be to commemorate holidays. It should be an enriching experience for children and they should be gaining all sorts of wonderful skills from it.
Doing crafts the correct way gives children an opportunity to use their brains by solving problems, learning greater independence and developing a greater self esteem.
Fine motor coordination is best honed by doing lots of tradtional arts and crafts is what many will tell you. what they don’t realize though is there are not too many other benefits.
I have a great post for you that gives a great example of creativity in art by showing you how children can make a crafts activity of flowers using both methods.
Why is it then that adults tend to only get busy with crafts around holiday time.
So where do we go from here?
If you like the idea of adding more creativity to kids crafts you can check out Educational arts and crafts which will give you lots of crafts for kids to do that are truly educational.
If you want to try doing educational crafts on your own, however, and not copycat crafts then there 4 points to keep in mind when choosing a crafts for your children.
1. Does this activity allow for any problem solving?
2.Will making this project allow for any thinking skills?
3. Where’s the creativity here?
4.Would a child feel a sense of accomplishment after doing this craft?
If you keep these thoughts in mind when choosing crafts then not only will you be commemorating the holidays and spending quality time with your children but they also will be gaining vital skills
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