Growing up, I just assumed making crafts on a regular basis was normal. We had a closet under our staircase that my mother stocked full of art supplies and objects like coke bottle tops, egg cartons, ribbons, etc. This closet was dubbed "The Art Closet." Little did I know that most closets under staircases simply held brooms and winter coats. It took me years to realize that not all houses had Art Closets. Almost as long as it took me to stop picturing Robin Hood as a jolly red fox during AP European History in the tenth grade. I’m pretty sure I failed the Middle Ages unit because of that.
During the late 70's and early 80's, it was becoming more normal for mothers in the South to work outside the home in fields other than teaching and nursing. My mother, then, wouldn't be classified as "normal." My mother spent four years at the Loveliest Village and got her degree in Child Development in the late 70's. The best thing I suppose you can do with a Child Development degree is raise children. Especially if you were a little girl who grew up in a small town in Alabama in the 60's. The 60's in Alabama was no Woodstock. It was basically a continuation of the 50's Leave it to Beaver era. They weren't burning their bras or the flag. The only thing girls were burning was pot roast in Home Ec class. She had a June Cleaver of a mom who made every meal from scratch and sewed nearly every piece of clothing they owned. She also married her high school sweetheart at age 20. Roots run deep in rural Alabama. So my mother taught me the same things that her mother had learned from her grandmother. Very little social change regarding gender roles had occurred in her opinion, so I assume this is why my mother chose not to work outside the home.
As the world started to change, I'm sure my mom caught some flack from other mothers for not working outside the home. But my mom never judged them for choosing to work. Well, okay, maybe she made a few comments. That's only because other mothers would just assume that my mother had time to "watch" their children for them. Since my mother "had the time" to come up with all of those creative ideas, they felt like she didn't mind letting their children join in the fun. And most of the time, my mother didn't mind at all. She's one of those people who loves all children. Everyone knew that the Heard house on Magnolia Crest was where art projects were born.
Really, looking back, what 8-year-old kid wouldn't want to be in a house where he was allowed to make a mess and have fun? Most of the children who lived around me were not allowed to make any sort of mess in their houses. (Visions of "Todd, why is the carpet all wet?" "I don't know Margo!" are floating around in my brain right now as I remember the yuppie 80's parents who would not let their children have fun in the house) My mother had rules, but she also understood that children learn best by making messes.
It's really a lifestyle choice. You can still be a working mom and create a fun learning environment for your children. The fact that these moms worked corporate jobs had very little to do with them not taking time to do creative things with their children. Instilling creativity in your children is a conscious choice. Don't pawn your children off on someone else. Take the initiative and build your own creative memories with your children. Anyway, here I am rambling on a tangent as usual, but the point is: my mother made a choice to maintain a traditional home for her own children, not everyone else's children. She made a conscious choice to prioritize creativity. Anyone can create a creative environment for their children. You don't have to be an artist, or a stay-at-home mom for that matter, to foster creativity in your children.
Looking back, I didn't realize how much of a time warp I lived in. While other moms were doing the corporate 8 to 5 and hauling their kids to and from daycare, my mother was busy pouring her heart and soul into running a household and raising a family with traditional, sterotypical Southern values. Every waking hour was devoted to family. Visions of Ralphie's mom (A Christmas Story) are flooding into my brain right now as I remember my childhood. The only thing wrong with this picture is that my dad still does not know how to boil water. Actually, I'm not sure if my brother knows how to boil water either. I will have to ask his wife. I know for a fact that he has no ability to put dishes in the dishwasher because I had to live with him for a year in Auburn. I hope I cured him of that by putting all the dirty dishes down in his bed sheets. (I'm not as nice as my mother). But really, in spite of the absence of male elbow grease in household chores, I have to give my mother major kudos for choosing to be a stay-at-home mom, because I didn't realize how hard it was for her to defy the social pressures of the "Me Decade" to do this.
Really, looking back, what 8-year-old kid wouldn't want to be in a house where he was allowed to make a mess and have fun? Most of the children who lived around me were not allowed to make any sort of mess in their houses. (Visions of "Todd, why is the carpet all wet?" "I don't know Margo!" are floating around in my brain right now as I remember the yuppie 80's parents who would not let their children have fun in the house) My mother had rules, but she also understood that children learn best by making messes.
It's really a lifestyle choice. You can still be a working mom and create a fun learning environment for your children. The fact that these moms worked corporate jobs had very little to do with them not taking time to do creative things with their children. Instilling creativity in your children is a conscious choice. Don't pawn your children off on someone else. Take the initiative and build your own creative memories with your children. Anyway, here I am rambling on a tangent as usual, but the point is: my mother made a choice to maintain a traditional home for her own children, not everyone else's children. She made a conscious choice to prioritize creativity. Anyone can create a creative environment for their children. You don't have to be an artist, or a stay-at-home mom for that matter, to foster creativity in your children.
Looking back, I didn't realize how much of a time warp I lived in. While other moms were doing the corporate 8 to 5 and hauling their kids to and from daycare, my mother was busy pouring her heart and soul into running a household and raising a family with traditional, sterotypical Southern values. Every waking hour was devoted to family. Visions of Ralphie's mom (A Christmas Story) are flooding into my brain right now as I remember my childhood. The only thing wrong with this picture is that my dad still does not know how to boil water. Actually, I'm not sure if my brother knows how to boil water either. I will have to ask his wife. I know for a fact that he has no ability to put dishes in the dishwasher because I had to live with him for a year in Auburn. I hope I cured him of that by putting all the dirty dishes down in his bed sheets. (I'm not as nice as my mother). But really, in spite of the absence of male elbow grease in household chores, I have to give my mother major kudos for choosing to be a stay-at-home mom, because I didn't realize how hard it was for her to defy the social pressures of the "Me Decade" to do this.
Quite simply put, my mother made childhood magical with the Art Closet. Use of the imagination was a requirement from a very young age. Our art projects ranged from magnets to tree forts. My brother and I would search for pine cones, moss, rocks, and objects from the natural world to aid in our creations. My mother encouraged us to look at everyday objects in a different way and try to imagine all the possibilities for them. On rainy days, my brother and I would pull out the contents of the closet and pile it onto the long butcher block table in the kitchen. We would work for hours gluing, glittering, cutting, and creating anything our hearts desired. We made Christmas presents for our grandparents and it was always expected to make our own cards. Just yesterday my grandmother texted me and told me that the Christmas ornament I cross-stitched for her when I was 10 was still her favorite. Creating art projects to give as gifts was a way of life for us. Even my dad would join in when the use of power tools was required. I remember making bird houses, train displays, and all kinds of other woodcrafts. These are the memories I will treasure and the same kinds of memories I want to make with my own kids.
The fact is today, most mothers are not stay-at-home moms who have the time or the desire to make time-consuming, messy crafts with their kids. The clean up alone is enough to make a working mom run for the hills. Plus, kids today would rather download apps onto their iPhones and play virtual reality games on the Wii. Is it even possible to hold a child's attention with construction paper and glitter anymore? Yes! And it's so important to expose them to simple crafts like these. As a teacher, I've realized that public schools today discount the value of imagination. This is partly due to the rapid expansion of technology. It still boggles my mind when I give a kid a sheet of construction paper, glue, buttons, and glitter, and they ask me, "What am I supposed to do with this?" When I say, "Whatever you want to do with it. Use your imagination." in response, they look at me like I've just backed my SUV over their new puppy.
It dawned on me in my second year of teaching that children without the background in creative projects must be taught how to be creative. You have to guide them through the creative process a few times before they get the hang of it. Can we teach older children how to be creative? Yes, we certainly can. And we should. Research indicates that America is behind Asia in science and mathematics. Teaching children how to find creative solutions by using their imaginations (without being aided by Google or technology) is one way that we can improve in this area.
That random Robin Hood comment I made actually has a point: we always remember our first encounter with something. It sets the tone for the rest of our experiences. The children who asked "What am I supposed to make with this?" probably never were given the opportunity to create something without boundaries. So instead of giving a 3-year-old a piece of paper and telling him to draw a brown dog with a yellow tail, we should give him the paper and let him make whatever he wants. Let his creativity blossom, even if you can't tell what the heck he's making.
Using the imagination should start at a very young age, but even high school age students can benefit from a lesson in creativity. This blog will be devoted to helping busy moms, teachers, and anyone who wants to tap into his or her creative juices. Some of us have personalities that are more inclined to be creative, yes. But I believe inside every human being is the ability to create beautiful things.
Even if you feel that you do not have a creative bone in your body, try the old Art Closet idea. If you have kids, I think you will find that this is an excellent bag of tricks to have on hand, especially when the Wii and the Dora the Explorer DVD's start to get old. You don't even have to use a whole closet. A basket tucked away under the bed would work fine. You can start your own well-stocked Art Closet for less than $20.
Here are some items that will make your Art Closet a treasure trove of creative possibilities:
Multi-colored construction paper
Patterned craft paper (scrapbook paper)
Elmer's glue
Pipe cleaners
White paper plates
Markers
Crayons
Chalk
Craft Paint
Glitter
Popcicle sticks
Cotton balls
Ribbons
Random buttons
Scissors (pinking shears are always fun to add)
Egg carton (to pour the paint in)
The most important thing you can teach your children about art projects is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If your child wants to paint a turtle orange, let him. This is where creativity is born. Don't hold your child to unreal standards. For heaven sakes, don't make him use a ruler to draw a straight line. It should not be focused on symmetry and perfectly straight lines. Many an architect and engineer started out as a finger painter (my brother started out painting the refrigerator with yogurt and he is now a systems engineer). Symmetry and straight lines will come later. It's the creative process that's most important, and it should be focused on fun. Also, craft projects are the perfect time to teach your child how to clean up messes. Mothers, don't do this task by yourself. I will post specific projects in future blogs.
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