How to be crafty and artsy.. when you’re really NOT.

Welcome back as we continue our 10 Days of Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Homeschooling!

Arts and crafts and projects – Oh my!! Craft projects are the kind of thing that either really excite people,.. or really scare them! Which one are you? Today Nicole from Fill My Cup offers up a ray of hope for the not-so-crafty crowd.

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Hope…
for the Creatively Challenged

When I first debated home schooling my children, I knew I had the background
to school them from 3rd grade on up. My fear, however, was the primary years.
I met many home school moms who told me, “oh, those are the easy years.”

Apparently they are not creatively challenged.

I know books. I know pencils and worksheets. I don’t know play dough, paint,
lacing boards and blocks. I wasn’t sure what to do with my preschooler! I did my
best with fingerpaints and sidewalk chalk…and taught her to read at three years
old. As I said, I am great with books, and now so is she.

She is now finishing up 1st grade and my son is in Preschool. I have to say, I am
doing much better. I have found ways to overcome my “disability.”

3 Tips for Craftiness Success:

1) I became best friends with my local library. The library is not just a great place
to find, yes, my favorite, books. It also offers a weekly story hour, complete with
snack and craft! My kids have come home with the cutest things that I would
have never come up with! There is also a giant library calendar on the wall that
lists special themed days or months, minor holidays, authors birthdays, and gives
librarians (and me!) suggestions for themes for story hours and bulletin boards. I
use this as my ground work to coming up with ideas to do with my kids.

2) I research. Thankfully for all of us who have a weak spot in home schooling,
we live in the age of technology. I can find whatever I need at the click of my
fingers! I take the ideas from the library calendar and I search out ideas for crafts
or activities related to those themes. There are also many websites devoted
to children’s crafts and activities and when I find ones I like, I bookmark them!
When I accidentally stumble across a really cute idea, I make note of it for later. I
tried children’s art books, but not all of the ideas were right for me or my kids. It is
much easier to find the ideas that will work perfectly for us.

3) I found a home school co-op. I first began attending the co-op because my
daughter was feeling left out when all of her friends went to kindergarten. I
wanted her to realize she was not this alien child whose mom wouldn’t let her
go to school, but rather one of many who stayed home for a different type of
education. What I found was a great resource for her to get the things I lacked.
There was an art class. There was a group games class (duck-duck-goose and
red rover types!). It is a great opportunity for her to interact with other kids and
learn from adults who actually are creative.

My advice to any parent with a “ craft disability” would be to use your resources!
There are so many of them out there! It has taken me some brain power and
investigative work, and yes, precious time, but I have found ways to give my kids
what they need to develop and learn as they should! Realize, too, that it is ok to not
be perfect and to need help in certain areas! It will turn your terrible, horrible, very
bad home schooling into something beautiful!

Nicole Anderson is the wife (and ministry partner) of a youth pastor and is a homeschooling mom of two energetic kids – a girl and a boy. Read more at www.psalm23five.blogspot.com – Or find her on Twitter and Facebook!