Top 5 reasons to Craft with Kids: #3

Reason #3 in the Top 5 Reasons to Craft with Kids comes from Lisa of fubabee:


My mom used to work at home as a seamstress, and I have fond memories
of when I was 3, sitting next to her in the evenings while she sewed
pieces together. She used to give me the kraft paper between the
stacks of fabric and encourage me to doodle with my crayons (which
were safely stashed in a round, blue danish cookie tin). I can still
remember how I used to draw people back then.

When I was 6 years old, I sat in an art class in school drawing trees
that resembled circles and sticks. My art teacher came up and guided
me to look closely at how trees are shaped, and made a few strokes on
my paper. What seemed like a simple instruction of how to draw
branches forever changed my perception of how to draw. I don't
remember the name of my teacher, but I can remember the profound
impact it had on me as a child and how it gave me the confidence to go
out and draw everything I saw.

Recently I was at the office of this youth organization I used to
volunteer for. A little 6 year old girl was waiting for her
older brother to pick her up. She sat at the computer with a drawing
program opened. I watched her play around with the program, and sat next to her to give her a
tiny bit of instruction on how to color and add text in. From there she sat, totally immersed in the world of coloring her panda bear and typing in "I love panda bear" until her brother came to pick her up.

The importance of crafting with kids doesn't necessarily have to do with the craft itself. Rather, it teaches adults how to be patient and giving, and it teaches kids how to be confidet in their creativity and imagination.

-MaryAnne
wabisabibrooklyn.etsy.com
wabisabibrooklyn.com