Free Art for Preschoolers
I’ll admit that before Pumpkin Doodle was even born, I started counting the minutes until I could start doing cutesy craft projects with her. She was probably two years old when I first tried to make my dream a reality.
But reality was that no matter how much effort I put into the planning and preparation of thoughtful crafts that taught some important lesson, she simply lost interest very quickly, and one or both of us ended up frustrated. Every. single. time.
Sometimes, I would push the issue and “help” her finish the craft. Sometimes I would just give up and leave her on her own. But for two-and-a-half years now, this has been our arts and crafts experience, without fail.
A lot of times, I’ve questioned my own abilities. There are dozens of blogs dedicated to fun and educational (or inspirational!) craft projects and millions of children happily creating them across the globe, so why can’t I make them enjoyable for my own children?
I still don’t know the answer to that question, but I did have an epiphany a few months ago that changed the way we do crafts.
At this point, we pretty much just do free art. I give the girls a rotating variety of supplies – paints, glue, foam shapes, stickers, construction paper, notebooks, crayons, colored pencils, markers, chalk, and so on – and I let them do whatever it is they want to do. Of course, I’m willing to help cut the pieces when they want to make a puzzle or spell out a word when they want to make a sign with their letter stickers, but I’ve stopped directing.
That’s been working great for us, and I had a second epiphany earlier this week.
Pumpkin Doodle has been chomping at the bit to play with the jumbo popsicle craft sticks that my Dad and his wife got Monkey Doodle for her birthday. I finally pulled out the box and some glue to see what they could come up with. In the process, I looked through the little pamphlet that came with the box to see if there were any project ideas that I could give them (because the truth is I was wondering the whole time what in the world they were going to do with all of these popsicle sticks!), but I quickly determined that all of the ideas were too advanced.
Pumpkin Doodle, however, had other ideas. She spotted a popsicle-stick dinosaur and determined that she was going to make one of those. I stood by for what probably ended up being close to three hours (okay, I didn’t just stand there; I worked on the disaster that was my laundry, and I’m happy to say it’s all caught up now) and helped her problem solve along the way, but she did the project basically on her own.
No, her dinosaur doesn’t really look like the one in the instructions, but I think it’s pretty darn cute, and especially when you consider that it was conceived and built by a spunky four year old with minimal help and instruction.
And that’s when I realized that – at least for my girls – what they need is inspiration and the tools to make it happen, but what they don’t want is step-by-step instructions or a mommy who’s stressed out about making the project come out perfectly.
I’m going to experiment with this more in the weeks ahead, but I’m thinking that what I should be doing – when I want a craft or project that teaches or reinforces a lesson – is creating a sample on my own (and that one can look perfect to satisfy my inner perfectionist) and then allow them to recreate it – or not! – as they see fit.
Do you do directed arts and crafts in your home, or do you prefer free art? Have you found that it can be a struggle to do directed projects, or do your children thrive under that direction?
when i babysat, i did a project every day. to my chagrin, the little boy i watched always made something more “artsy” than my own daughter. since i’ve stopped babysitting, i let them do free art a lot more often. i still don’t get anything frame-worthy, but they are having a good time doing it. i’m with you on making my own thing that looks “right” and letting them do their own!
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That’s a darn good dinosaur, Miss Pumpkin Doodle!
Great idea, Mandi. I think we have a lot in common, because so many of your posts are identical to things that happen in our home. I guess that is what comes with having three girls under the age of 5.
I will be implementing more “free art” in my home now, rather than the structured art I prefer.
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I love that dinosaur! I really like seeing what kids can create by themselves. I was a pre-k teacher as you know and free art is the way to go! In all of my early childhood classes that was the emphasis. They drilled into our heads “it’s the process not the product” that really counts. Sometimes when you have a “model” for them to copy it can be frustrating because they want it to be just like yours. I am not sure this would be the case with your girls…just a thought. =)
The dinosaur is too cute! I understood this completely as my little one is going on three and we have had the same challenges and frustrations. I also remember being so anxious to make the cutesy crafts during mommy and me time but it never worked out. We are going to gather some supplies and let them do free art and see how that works. Great post!
I totally had similar experiences with my perfectionistic tendencies ruining the artsy fun for all of us. I was relieved to read your post today and realize that it’s not just me!
Thankfully, my oldest (now 7) took it upon himself to become a free artist quite a while ago. I gave up working hard on perfect projects for that boy long ago… But I always have the craft supplies around, and he loves making crazy stuff out of them. My 5 year old is very artistic and is happier to do directed projects (always has been!), he loves to see an example and work out his own way to create it himself. He also is happy to have my help. He just loves any art project in any form. But the 7yo really loves to build things… he loves popsicle sticks, bendy straws and pipe cleaners best of all. Oh, and those little brads are a real treat for them both, too. They come up with some pretty cool stuff. Recently my 7yo made his own paper wristwatch using some staples and brads along with computer paper. He also made a little belt to match. All just for fun when I was busy with the littler ones. It was pretty cute.
So all this to say… it morphs over the years, and each child is different. Undoubtedly as they grow the directed projects will become way more fun for you all. Also, the free art will always be enjoyed. Plus, I imagine at least one of your kids will have a personality that will work well for your craftiness. You might just have to wait for one of your younger kids to get there before your oldest does - at least that’s how it went for me!
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