Should we help?

When art & craft ideas "poof" into the right hemisphere of my grey matter, wondrous masterpieces fit for museums and galleries reel around and around, and then, thankfully, settle into practical and achievable little projects that I can convey to the kids. With the seed planted in their minds, I see the same process unfolding. My point is that the idea in my head is not the picture in their heads, and when we begin to create I need to respect their individuality of expression. And that means: holding back on the help!

Once we’re ready, steady, go, we chat about why we have chosen the materials that we have . . . . and they're off! Whizzing around the house or garden finding “better stuff!" Urrgh, all my careful preparation down the drain. 

Yip, the picture they have is different from mine.

The creativity flows and the fun begins, and often I want to jump in, take over and make it “perfect” but . . . 

important to me, is that the process of kids’ art, as I posted yesterday, should be about them believing that they can create something that they will be proud of. It’s about self-confidence and expression.  When we offer too much help, it sends the signal that we don’t believe that they can do it, and if “mum doesn’t believe I can do it, then I probably can’t do it.” And so, as the parent, I have failed the process by trying to control the product. It should be about them exploring what they can master and knowing that it’s great simply because  it’s theirs and because they had fun creating it all by themselves.  

As I see it, my role is to make practical suggestions, lend a pair of fingers when asked and do the tricky bits that may involve stabbing holes through card or super-gluing fingers to paper!

Something my 5 year old said to me not so long ago summed it up very succinctly, “God must have had so much fun when he made everything and he must have been very proud when he was finished.”

And, as I’ve seen in their eyes, when a child draws something like this . . .

 . . . they actually see this!

When we take-over and “help” them to draw this . . .

. . . well, that’s exactly what they see . . . and the magic of creation has been lost.