of time and energy. I couldn't disagree more! I think crafts are an
integral and important part of growing and learning. There are so many
things you learn from crafting.
One of the most important things children learn from crafting is a sense of
accomplishment. They learn to see a project through to the end and to take
pride in their work. Have you ever seen the look of sheer delight in a child's
face when they have finished a craft project? If not you are missing a true delight!
Ever seen the joy in their faces when they present you with one of
their masterpieces? There is a very important sense
of pride and accomplishment that comes with doing crafts.
In addition, of course, children develop their fine motor skills from
crafting. Cutting with scissors, molding clay, gluing and pasting,
picking up craft pieces, etc... all help to develop very necessary fine motor skills.
Crafts help children learn to follow directions. Now this is extremely important ;
there are times when it is very good to give children directions
and ask them to follow them to finish a project, but it is just as important
to allow children to follow their own creativity and just let them craft
away. Don't be afraid to sometimes let them go off on their own and do their
own thing. If you have a child who wants to do it their own way ask yourself,
"What is my goal with this project?" If the goal is to teach them to
follow directions, then by all means direct them that they are to follow
directions. But if the goal is to teach creativity, then allow them
to freely create. There is a very valid place for both of these. I prefer
a LOT of free crafting, but there is a place for some structured crafting.
My grandmother used to buy craft kits and put them together, but she
would always change things on her projects. I remember her telling me,
"I don't want mine to look like everyone else's." Even though it was from a kit,
it still had her own creative touch that made it unique.
PLEASE don't try to overstructure crafting, you will
squelch another very important thing kids learn from crafting; problem solving!
Kids do not just learn creativity from crafting, they also learn critical
thinking skills as well. They learn about shapes, measurements, problem
solving, organization, reasoning and many more important skills too numerous
to try to list. Allow me to give you just one example of how crafting
can relate to real life skills. A few years ago we had to put in a new
kitchen floor, which was a do it yourself project in our home.
Now, I had never laid a floor before or even seen one put in, but because of
my years of crafting experience I new exactly how to measure and install the
flooring. I just drew on my years of experience in crafting and the
problem solving I had learned from it.
Children also need to experience lots of different textures for part of
their brain development. Crafting is a great way to accomplish this!
This page is still under construction. Please be patient,
the origninal article I wrote disappeared into cyberspace
never to be found again. :-( Of course I did not have a copy
of it so I am working on a new one. Please check back soon.
You can use this table of contents to help you navigate this site.
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Colleen Cato
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