This can be devastating for a mother such as myself who is surrounded by mothers who are unbelievably talented and motivated to create, design and organize creative moments for their children. These moms see a box of rubber bands and can imagine five or six things they can help their children create. Ugh. Not me. I'm terribly not creative!
I say it's devastating, because I feel like less of a mom... like I'm not equipping my child with creative outlets. In spite of my efforts to focus on what I am gifted at as a mother (another post, another day), this lack of creativity gets me down. Our idea of creative is Legos or free-play...running through a field or finding awesome branches. I don't have sensory tubs, or light tables or a really cool craft room full of pom-poms and stickers. Sigh...
I'm constantly on the outlook for creative teaching elements that don't include a ton of supplies or set up. I find myself using laminated worksheets (which was spurred on by Aimee's gift to us months ago) with white board crayons (those are amazing!) or board puzzles or books. How can a mom teach her child to be creative when she herself is not a creative person!?
Any suggestions out there?
 |
| My extent of creativity... finger paints! |
Right there with you. My kid just brought the lamest Valentine cards ever to class.
ReplyDeleteI have guilt about this, although in a slightly different way, because I AM creative and I sew a lot and I love to cook, but I have to overcome some huge mental inertia to involve my kids in these things. They feel like "me" time and I don't do these things with them nearly enough.
ReplyDeleteI think that creative moments will get easier as Lucas gets older. He will probably be more interested in creating things and will have stronger motor skills so you're not as worried about a crazy mess. For now, I say go with what you've got. I have lots of craft supplies because I love doing all that stuff. If you have finger paints, maybe Lucas can paint egg cartons, paper towel/toilet paper rolls, or cardboard boxes. You can add a little glitter or salt to the paint to add some texture. A batch of easy homemade playdough and some uncooked pasta to stick in it can lead to lots of creativity too. The bottom line, though, is that you are no less of a good mom if you don't orchestrate lots of crafty moments for Lucas!
ReplyDelete