Do you love to do crafts activities with your kids? Then learn the RIGHT way to do them

The concept that kids crafts is, or should be beneficial for children is not a new one. Traditional educators have long touted the direction following and fine motor development skills that arts and crafts gives to children.

The truth is though, that doing copycat arts and crafts with kids is not the best way to teach direction following. As a matter of fact, crafts like this does great damage to children’s self esteem and other skills.

Many of us already know why we as parents and educators like to give children arts and crafts.

Crafting with our children is an ideal way to spend special time with them.
It gives the children an outlet for their creativity.
It keeps them engaged.
It gives teachers a way to have children remember things they learned.
Helps the kids connect with different holidays.

There is much better way of doing art and crafts, however that lifts it out of the mundane. It is a method of doing arts and crafts with children that raises their confidence and self-esteem, gives them thinking and problem solving skills and skyrockets their creativity.

I call this, Educational arts and crafts.

There are a few very basic underlying concepts about educational arts and crafts.

It is important for the adult to understand where children are at developmentally. 
As a result it is a different set of standards that we need to judge chldren, not the adults. Most good educators know that kids grow at different rates and would not expect a young child’s output to be anywhere near an adults.
Adults that give kids projects that are replicas of an adults ideas are not only not benefitting them, but can be causing harm in many ways.

Good arts and crafts project should therefor, address the following points.

1.The art projects should be allowing the kids self esteem to be bolstered.
2.Arts and crafts is a great opportunity for kids to figure out various problems that crop up.
3.    Choices should be available which leads to initiative taking.
4.    Freedom to decide HOW to decorate helps develop a sense of autonomy and independence.
5.    Creativity skyrockets when children decide what to create.

In Educational Arts and Crafts the children incorporate all of the above skills while traditional, copycat, arts and undermines the same.

Arts and crafts that is educational does not in any way, shape or form indicate that the kids are learning facts at the same time. It means that they are receiving skills of tremendous educational benefit.

Children who do lots of copying adults crafts, end up feeling poorly about themselves and even more about their artistic abilities. They are usually the children who grow into the adults who feel “they cannot draw a straight line”.

They feel that there is no faith in them from the adults to make art on their own. So they lose their initiative and self confidence also because how can one have initiative if one always has to wait for exact directions.This all starts in the beiginning when giviing toddler crafts to young ones and continues on into the later years.

We have enumeratee below some of the amazing benefits that are all part and parcel of educational arts and crafts.

    Children feel great about themselves as they get to create their own projects.
The project has a finished look to it which makes both parent and child happy.
Creativity is greatly increased in the children.
    Thinking, problem solving skills and initiative are used.
    Self-esteem and initiative are encouraged which spills over into other areas.

So why not get started in giving the children crafts that they do on their own, that are educational and stop giving your kids crafts that copy other adults work.You can check out some educational arts and crafts for kids in an e book form that closely follows this method.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites