Today I am Thankful for Creative Kids

Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.  – Plato

Do have special memories of creating art as a child without someone telling you just what to make or how? I didn’t have many of those times, specially not in school. It felt like if I wasn’t being told what to do, I felt a bit lost. I have seen that in many people and heard it so often, specially when kids get out of school. I remember being so confused and asking myself who I was, and trying to find myself. Shouldn’t we be building ourselves as we are growing up? Too much time in childhood is taken up by people telling children what to do and what to think and not giving them tools and stepping back so the children can shape who they are and shape their world.

Fall is here and so too is the cold weather. In an effort to keep the kids happy and not feeling stuck in the house we spent some time day dreaming about fall and then I gave the kids bingo dabbers, scented markers, boxes, paper, scissors, glue, tissue paper, and more. I thought maybe they would cut out and glue leaves, or turn the boxes into fall trees. I tried not to push in any direction beyond the talk we had to give a bit of inspiration. I wasn’t sure what they would do but I was so excited when they showed me.

I had no idea they wanted a swing for the yard. It was clear that all the kids really understand the colors of the season, and told me all about why ever greens stay green and what colors certain trees change this time of year and why. Oh the creativity on some of those ideas! Thankfully Mr. Google was helpful in filling in some blanks for us.

Getting great photos of the art my little 4, 6, and 8 year old created was hard. There was so much light and sparkle and layers. They even hid forest creatures in the picture. While the dabbers soak right through most paper, they worked really well on card board. With so many boxes coming to the house this time of year the kids love getting them to play with and turn into things.

My children teach me things all the time and I hope I teach them that it is ok to do things their way, that they can fix what they feel are mistakes in so many cases, and that they are who they are. They don’t have to find themselves because they are not lost.