NotSoObvious Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 and I'm trying to homeschool the two most creative kids on the planet! Help! My girls would LOVE to do art projects, building, drawing, etc. all day long. The retain so much information when I tie in something hands-on (of course). The problem is that I suck at it! Big time! I even bought Meet the Masters and we've done two lessons. I bought Drawing with Children and we've done two lessons. We use the Activity Guide for SOTW and I haven't done many projects this year because either we don't have the materials, or I'm just wanting to move on! I realize this is MY problem that I need to fix in order to give my girls a better education. I'm very inspired when I see other's websites and ideas for different subjects. I get most of my holiday ideas this way. Pinterest overwhelms me- I need more direction! They are fine with being creative on their own, but they LOVE when I introduce something new or do a project with them or connect it to our learning in some way. Will you please share your fabulous resources, planning tricks, tools, inspirations, motivations, or just a general kick in the butt?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) But here's the thing: God gave you those children on purpose, even though He knew they would be creative and you are not. I don't believe that was an accident. You absolutely are the best teacher in the world for those children; there's something about what you perceive as a lack of creativity that your children need. Maybe one of the reasons that you have not accomplished as much creatively as you think you "should" is that you think you need to be creative all the time. Maybe you don't. Maybe you can schedule in *one* creative project a week, without guilt :). Creative people often are not very, um, directed in their lives. Maybe that's what your job is: to help keep your creative children focussed, learn to be diligent, stuff like that. Whaddaya think? Edited December 30, 2011 by Ellie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 I am like you. I find that lapbooks are a great way to satisfy my artsy kids, and yet they are doable for uncreative, nonartsy me. All you need is a printer, file folders (to make the covers), glue or glue sticks, scissors, pencils, crayons, cardstock paper, and packing tape (for taping the cardstock as pages inside the file folders). I usually buy the premade lapbooks that various companies sell so that my uncreative self doesn't have to come up with all of the ideas. The HOAC ones come with everything you need including a research guide to read for the information. The free lapbooks on homeschoolshare.com usually have book recommendations which are generally at the library. I always have one lapbook going. We do one or two activities at a time, and we collect them in a ziplook bag for each child. When we are done with the acitivites, the kids glue them into the file folders. We alternate doing a history lapbook with one that the kids choose. I am also a Drawing with Children dropout as well as an Artistic Pursuits dropout. Not that those programs aren't wonderful, but I just couldn't get them going. However, recently I discovered Mark Kistler's online drawing class. This is GREAT. All I do is get out paper and pencils and sit the kids in front of the laptop for Mark's 8-minute drawing lessons. This kids like this, and after the lesson they usually sit at the table for a long time continuing to work on their drawings. Homeschool buyers coop currently has a special offer for three years at $39.60 instead of the usual $99. You have to act fast since it expires 12/31/11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 But here's the thing: Creative people often are not very, um, directed in their lives. Maybe that's what your job is: to help keep your creative children focussed, learn to be diligent, stuff like that. Whaddaya think? Thank you for this! And one per week is very doable. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 I am like you. I find that lapbooks are a great way to satisfy my artsy kids, and yet they are doable for uncreative, nonartsy me. All you need is a printer, file folders (to make the covers), glue or glue sticks, scissors, pencils, crayons, cardstock paper, and packing tape (for taping the cardstock as pages inside the file folders). I usually buy the premade lapbooks that various companies sell so that my uncreative self doesn't have to come up with all of the ideas. The HOAC ones come with everything you need including a research guide to read for the information. The free lapbooks on homeschoolshare.com usually have book recommendations which are generally at the library. I always have one lapbook going. We do one or two activities at a time, and we collect them in a ziplook bag for each child. When we are done with the acitivites, the kids glue them into the file folders. We alternate doing a history lapbook with one that the kids choose. I am also a Drawing with Children dropout as well as an Artistic Pursuits dropout. Not that those programs aren't wonderful, but I just couldn't get them going. However, recently I discovered Mark Kistler's online drawing class. This is GREAT. All I do is get out paper and pencils and sit the kids in front of the laptop for Mark's 8-minute drawing lessons. This kids like this, and after the lesson they usually sit at the table for a long time continuing to work on their drawings. Homeschool buyers coop currently has a special offer for three years at $39.60 instead of the usual $99. You have to act fast since it expires 12/31/11. Thank you! We tried one lapbook, but I think I tried to get through it too fast and was left feeling like it took up too much time. I love the Ziplock idea. I think I need to do a few more to get the hang of it. I like things that they can keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Thank you! We tried one lapbook, but I think I tried to get through it too fast and was left feeling like it took up too much time. I love the Ziplock idea. I think I need to do a few more to get the hang of it. I like things that they can keep. One of the best things about lapbooks is that they are projects the kids can keep. They fold up neatly, and many can be stored on a shelf or in a drawer. Many of the other bulky art projects my kids have done have ended up in the recycling can because I don't have anywhere to store them. :tongue_smilie: You can spend as little as 10-15 minutes per day on lapbooking if you do just one activity per day. The key is to print out the entire lapbook ahead of time. It also helps to paperclip together individual activities so that you can just pull out the next one for the kids to do. I also have a large box which contain all of the lapbook supplies that is easy to pull out. At the end of the day, I pull out my big box of supplies and my folder of the preprinted activities. I give the kids one or two to do, and they can work on them as long or as little as they like depending on how creative they want to be. Another idea that is easy is you are interested-- Have the kids find a picture they want to copy (as in an animal book). Hand them white paper for the background and a stack of construction paper with many different colors, scissors, and glue. The kids cut out pieces of the construction paper and glue the pieces to the white paper to make the picture. My kids have made frogs, parrots, and penguins like this, and they turn out so well that I have framed them. What is nice about this is that you don't have to do anything--the kids can do all of it. Even kids who can't draw very well can make great pictures this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Sounds like me and science experiments. I'm actually great with the crafty stuff, but absolutely inept and unmotivated on science experiments. Even when I get it together and conduct an experiment it goes wrong anyway (sigh). My solution was to hire a teenager. If you've got money in the budget it may be a wise choice for you. The teen I hired was GREAT at both conducting the experiments as well as explaining the science. In an hour and a half he'd get several done, and done WELL. Can you hire an older kid to do several crafts at once with your kids? Or trade with another mom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtrmlnlabs Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Same here, well, my kids aren't that creative either but they love to do things that way and are hands on learners and I'm clueless. The most recent gem I've found is to search pinterest for whatever I am wanting to do. There are so many great ideas on there. I even just browse the education section to get me started! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 For SOTW, I do a chapter a week. I decide on one or two projects per month. That is all I can handle along with science projects. I make a list of all the projects I want to do and make a list of all the materials needed. Then, I take a week in August to gather all the materials I will need. I also do all the photocopying etc. I do the same for science, btw. I put the materials and copies etc into ziplock bags. I pull it out on the day we need it. I never have to worry if I have the materials I will need and my kids get to do all the projects they like. I am not telling you that you should do SOTW activities, only offering an example of how to feed that spark in your kids. You don't have to be creative yourself. You just need to do a bit of planning and organizing so you can pull out what you need when you need it. A little planning can go a long way to making yourself look a lot more accomplished than you actually are. At least that's my experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 You might try focusing on one artistic skill for a six week time period for art instruction. Then you could just choose a "How-to" book if you wanted to and work through it. The problem for me with Artistic Pursuits was that it was too eclectic. You might draw for one lesson, and be painting or working with oil pastels the next. It was fun--but not very instructive. We actually got more out of art when we would stay focused on one skill for a while. One problem that some young artists face is the tendency to move too quickly from one thing to another. It's very easy to draw part of a picture, decide that it isn't so good, and then to go on to another without ever stopping to decide what is wrong with it. This generates piles of fire starters (and I don't mind that at this time of year!) but in the long run can be a problem because the artist 1) becomes frustrated because it isn't perfect or 2) the artist persists in drawing what they percieve and not what they really see. Stopping to reflect on a drawing, or better yet taking several days to complete one seems to help with both problems. The perfectionist learns that a masterpeice is not completed in a day, or even in a week (this is also a good time to remind the perfectionist of just how long some artists worked on their drawings or paintings or sculptures) and the persistant left-brained artist (or the one in a hurry) discovers that it takes time and practice to really learn how to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bokons Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 But here's the thing: God gave you those children on purpose, even though He knew they would be creative and you are not. I don't believe that was an accident. You absolutely are the best teacher in the world for those children; there's something about what you perceive as a lack of creativity that your children need. Maybe one of the reasons that you have accomplished as much creatively as you think you "should" is that you think you need to be creative all the time. Maybe you don't. Maybe you can schedule in *one* creative project a week, without guilt :). Creative people often are not very, um, directed in their lives. Maybe that's what your job is: to help keep your creative children focussed, learn to be diligent, stuff like that. Whaddaya think? Ellie, what you have written is so nice! It's very encouraging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 I can be creative . . . when I feel like it. Lately, it is not much! The girls are extremely creative and begging me to do projects all the time. Like you said, sometimes I just want to move on. Are you doing SOTW? I think the idea of choosing 1 every week or 1 every 2 weeks to start (gotta ease into it, right?), writing down which ones you want and in which chapters they are in and getting the appropriate materials is a motivator. If I have materials all set up for me and ready to go, I barely have to help! Have a plastic bin and plan for a semester, about 2 to 3 months. Have it all ready and let them have at it. I have found that if I have too many choices, it just bogs me down. I went hog wild last summer and found tons of activities to go with the ancients, and now I barely do any of them. I have a feeling of failure now. So I think just planning a few a month or 4 a month is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 But here's the thing: God gave you those children on purpose, even though He knew they would be creative and you are not. I don't believe that was an accident. You absolutely are the best teacher in the world for those children; there's something about what you perceive as a lack of creativity that your children need. Maybe one of the reasons that you have not accomplished as much creatively as you think you "should" is that you think you need to be creative all the time. Maybe you don't. Maybe you can schedule in *one* creative project a week, without guilt :). Creative people often are not very, um, directed in their lives. Maybe that's what your job is: to help keep your creative children focussed, learn to be diligent, stuff like that. Whaddaya think? Love this post :D... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 Wonderful ideas, everyone! Thanks! We love SOTW, so maybe I'll start there and plan a few projects a month. I think*plan* is the key word!! I just need to be prepared so I'll feel like I *can* do those projects. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 But here's the thing: God gave you those children on purpose, even though He knew they would be creative and you are not. I don't believe that was an accident. You absolutely are the best teacher in the world for those children; there's something about what you perceive as a lack of creativity that your children need. Maybe one of the reasons that you have not accomplished as much creatively as you think you "should" is that you think you need to be creative all the time. Maybe you don't. Maybe you can schedule in *one* creative project a week, without guilt :). Creative people often are not very, um, directed in their lives. Maybe that's what your job is: to help keep your creative children focussed, learn to be diligent, stuff like that. Whaddaya think? Where's the "you rock" smilie?? Because...you do! I love your view point on this:001_smile:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Oak Meadow comes to mind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papillon Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 I like the way you think, Ellie! Thank you so much for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer2911mom Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I don't know if you'd consider Heart of Dakota, but I am very much not a creative person and I found their hands-on the most doable of anything I've looked at. It uses things found around the house and usually has options so you at least have one of those things at your house. We actually got all the projects done last year in LHFHG. We are trying SL Core K this year and are failing miserably at the hands-on. If it's not scheduled, I don't feel like we "have" to do it and it gets pushed to the back burner. I also don't preread and all the sudden find out we need something we don't have in order to do the activity. The HOD activities were just so easy to get done for someone like me who doesn't want to spend time planning projects and collecting supplies for them. I just recently got the SOTW activity guide and the "buffet" already overwhelms me. HOD already has the activity picked and doesn't require extra shopping. It made it very easy to get the projects done, and my dd really enjoyed them. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 We had to force ourselves to finish one Artistic Pursuits book over the course of two years. I totally get it. In the end the only arts and crafts that get done around here are the Waldorf type ones. I've collected quite a few of the books, and buy from a few neat companies: http://www.achildsdream.com/ http://www.waldorfsupplies.com/ I've now got all the supplies in a basket (except the felting needles) and I just take it down once in a while for them. We learn a few new projects a year. We also hit lots of museums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I am like that. I try to offer generic "art" several times a week--do you guys want to do some art?? Then I let them pick what they do. I also read here about having a stack of magazines and bringing them out for cutting and gluing activities, and I can handle that, too. The Drama uses MFW K and they have some fun little activities. I do better if the book tells me to do it, lol. I also plan art for our off/light weeks--when we have school off, I use the spare time to actually plan arts and crafts. We did a lot over the holiday break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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