Projects – Creating with Young Kids
My children are all very young, and I’m sure as they grow our projects will change, or maybe even phase out completely. I can’t speak to how it will look in a couple of years. But I can share some ways that I have worked through creating art with very young children.
When Ian was very small, he was my only baby. I could let him use messy stuff more freely, since I was right there to oversee, all the time. He was allowed to finger paint in the playroom, or color in the den. On the other hand, because he was my only, I didn’t have a lot of art supplies, and I was much more cautious in what I let him use.
Then Chava came along, almost from birth wanting to do everything her older brother was doing. The practical result of this was that her early childhood has been the opposite; more parameters on when and how we do projects, and much more freedom to use supplies. (Micah doesn’t do projects yet, but I suspect his turn is coming soon.)
So far, creating with small kids has been a mix of structure, creativity, and flexibility.
Our current guidelines are that projects are done in the kitchen, or outside. I have a schedule for doing chores, so I don’t need to stress about mess as much. If I don’t get every last hole-punch swept up, I know that I will be doing a more thorough sweeping later. If we don’t get every bit of crayon wiped off the table, it will get wiped again after we eat lunch. This also allows the kids to help more with clean-up, without me hovering and micro-managing.
There is a certain amount of creative thinking in allowing toddlers to use art supplies. Chava wanted to do exactly what Ian was doing, before I was comfortable letting her use scissors or glue. Instead, she was allowed to do something along side him that had a similar result. For example, she was allowed to use stickers while he used glue. For a long time, she would bite the tops off of markers. So Ian got to use markers, and Chava got to use crayons.
I also work to find ways that the kids can use the supplies they want in a way that I am ok with. They are allowed to use as much glue as they want, but it took me forever to figure out that a little bowl of glue with Q-tips works far better than handing a two-year-old a full bottle of glue.
Flexibility comes in at just about every point in the process. Allowing little kids to explore the materials for themselves, rather than getting stressed about using them a certain way. Giving them materials before I think they are ready, and finding out that they can handle them just fine. Letting go of my expectations of the end result. Knowing that allowing really young kids to use art supplies means a little less time doing my own thing, and a little more time actively monitoring. Knowing that eating a little crayon won’t hurt a toddler, or the crayon. Worrying less about the water on the table, and allowing them to find out what happens when they dip their crayons in. And then draw with the crayons. And then draw with just water…
