Iveyrock

My kiddos, hard at work

I’m not sure what Micah’s project represents, but I love the serious look on his face.

Ian’s “Serious Book About the Circus”. He worked very intently on this. He was very clear that it is a serious book, not a story. He dictated the text to me, including “Fish jumping out of fish tanks, touching the ceiling, and diving back down,” and “People painting lion’s faces, to make lions look fiercer.”

Chava says hers is “Not a circus.”

This past weekend we tried out a new family activity – Letter-boxing. It’s essentially a treasure hunt, where you follow clues to find a box hidden in a public area. The box contains a book, and a rubber stamp. You use your own personal stamp to stamp the log book, and use the stamp from the box to stamp your own log book. Then you put everything back exactly the way you found it.

Ray made our family stamp. Ian decided that we should have a coyote as our family symbol. I would have written that off as completely impossible, but Ray went to work. He printed a picture, traced it onto the stamp, and cut the stamp. I am extremely impressed with the results.

Micah recently got to try out play dough for the first time. He was completely thrilled to be doing with the big kids were doing.

Of course, the first thing he did was put it in his mouth.

We spent a little time demonstrating how it doesn’t, in fact, go in mouths. This is him shaking his head “No”.

Then he got down to business. As with everything else he does, he watched the older two closely, and then went to work.

Some of the things I’ve been working on recently…

finished, for Chava

For Micah

in progress, for Micah

(modified from this pattern, at With a Tangled Skein)

I’m also working on a bit of Christmas crocheting for the kids… the jury is still out on whether that will be done in time.

We’ve been experimenting a bit with glitter recently. The kids love it, of course.

It’s worked well for us to put some of the glitter into jar lids (one per kid, not one per color). That way they can just pinch some out and sprinkle, rather than shaking a whole bunch out at once.

I’ve just been cutting shapes out of old cereal boxes for them. I’m sure we’ll get more complex eventually, but mostly it’s hearts and bookmarks right now.

Our new set-up in the kitchen has been working exactly like I hoped it would. In fact, it’s almost working a little too well. The kids are so independent and creative with their work, they aren’t needing me nearly as much. Which is good, because I am often running interference, so Micah doesn’t grab their projects. But I am missing the time to sit with them and watch their creative process.

This past week, however, Micah got his very own booster chair, which should allow him to join in the fun from a safe distance. I am excited, and hoping I can find a few more moments to sit down with all of the kids and get back into the flow of things.

In the meantime, here are some of the things I have managed to take pictures of.

(Ian requested that I put this “very cool picture” up “where you put pictures on the computer for people to see.” He tells me that it is the sky and space.)

Chava’s letter for the neighbor girl. The yellow squiggles are apparently wings.

These are really interesting to me, because Ian drew them both in the same day – and there’s an obvious progression in the drawings.

(they are both portraits of Micah)

We have been sick, and it’s been rainy – we’ve been looking for low-key, home-bound things to do.

Water and dish soap. We started inside…

…but Micah was not content watching from mommy’s arms. So we moved the whole deal outside.

Micah quickly discovered that eggbeaters are fun, but arms work even better – if you splash hard enough.

I had so much fun watching my kids.

Ian spent his time deciding on the best way to make bubbles, and the best use of the bubbles once they were made.

Chava carefully decorated her arms.

And my Micah – oh, my Micah.

I will admit that it ended in a bubble fight. No pictures of that – I was busy running.

This was fun. The kids are obsessed with touching the flour when we bake, so I’ve been meaning to let them have some to play with.

There was basically no clean up, since we were outside.

And this was the first time Micah really got to participate.

I thought I’d take a moment to share what I’m working on, since I’ve been putting up the kids’ projects.

I want to make more soakers, but that is on hold until I get a pair of shorts made for Ian. It has been a crazy, long process. Currently I think I am on the right track… but I’ve thought that before. No pictures of those until I’m done, I don’t want to jinx myself.

My other project is this rag rug, crocheted from old tee-shirts. I thought I was done, but when I put it in the space, I realized it needs to be bigger. Which means another trip to Goodwill.

I have mentioned several times that art projects are a priority to me. I thought about writing out why they are such a high priority, and then decided that it was pretty self-explanatory. I don’t think anyone is going to argue that art is not good for children.

But as I was looking at our new kitchen set-up, I started thinking again about why this is a priority; so much so that I am willing to rearrange my kitchen to facilitate it. I really don’t intend for my children to grow up to be artists, and I am not really doing it as an “educational” thing (although I am always fascinated to see how much they do learn). Since this blog is a place to unclutter my brain, I decided to go ahead and talk about this after all.

So then, why projects are so important to me.

The first, and most obvious reason, is that we enjoy them. The kids love to create, and I love to watch them. Or better yet, jump right in and work on my own projects alongside them. Our art supply stash and time spent on creating things has grown as I’ve seen my children continue to choose to spend their time this way. I want our days to flow as smoothly as possible, so as they show me it’s a priority for them, I think about ways to facilitate.

Another reason is that while I don’t do it to “teach” them anything – we are not doing crafts or themes, and I am not involved in their work most of the time – I do want to expose them to things. I want them to know that they can use so many different supplies to get different results. I want them to discover how to make choices and plan their creations. I want them to see that they can be creative, and they are only limited by their own minds (and mommy’s tolerance for mess…)

I also want them to learn that they can express themselves through creating. That they can communicate their feelings and ideas to others, or even just for themselves. It can be empowering, and it can be cathartic. Today was very hectic day, and Ian was getting overwhelmed. He got out the paints, and I watched him visibly relax and refocus. The process of putting his ideas onto the paper, as well as the concentration to control the brush the way he wanted, was exactly what he needed in that moment.

Along those lines, these kinds of projects fill very real, physical needs for my kids. They need sensory play, and squishing paint or playdough gives them that.

And finally, to be quite blunt, it’s a way to pass the time. We started doing more art projects when I was pregnant with Micah, and the older two needed something to do. We don’t watch TV (unless someone is sick), and we don’t have very many scheduled activities. I plan our lives that way on purpose, and in turn we find ways to fill up our time.