KristenR Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Anyone ever suffer pangs of guilt when they see all the fun and fabulously messy arts and crafts people are doing with their kids. I don't even have a jar of glitter anywhere in my house. :glare: We do art and crafts but I don't know-- maybe it's lame by other standards. How important are messy activities? Am I depriving my children of fun engaging activities? Should I just go ahead and order some finger paints or something? Maybe one of you can share a link to your favorite messy {yet containable} activity? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Yes, I do know what you mean, I suffer terrible guilt. And I have several tubs of glitter, dozens of different paints, crayons, pastels, charcoals, drawers full of beautiful paper of different colours and qualities, clay, fimo ... We just never seem to find the time :sad:. The mess doesn't really bother me. I throw an old shower curtain over our large kitchen table and afterwards the floor is swept and mopped pretty quickly. It's just the time. I hoping that when DS11 has moved on to school in September I'll be able to do more of that kind of thing. I don't know how essential it is to children's development, or even just to their memories of childhood, but I do think it's pretty important. DS7 seems to be quite dyslexic and really thrives when doing practical, hands on stuff, so for him at least, I'd say I should really be doing more. Maybe we should start an arts and crafts support thread :001_smile:. Cassy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I struggle with this and we do have loads of supplies - however I also find I need something that is quick and easy to do and does not require too much thought. We always all enjoy it when it does happen. I think I need to let go of the product and spend more time on the activity - when we did a "water week" we all enjoyed it and did not create one piece of work that could be hung up anywhere and yet it was constantly messy (and easy to clean up) and my DD learnt a lot and had a lot of fun. Playing with mud outside to build a mountain and river has also been a lot of fun but also resulted in no real artwork (since the mountain is now just a lump in the back garden). I am now trying to move the shaving cream - that started off only in the shower - onto some paper and have added some food colouring so that we can actually have art work afterwards. I just need to schedule these things more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmaNZ Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I always think that what you fear in your mind is no where near as bad as the reality. With that in my head, I force myself to do things with them weekly or fortnightly. Once you get going fairly regularly, I'm sure you will relax a bit more about the odd spot of glue or paint here or there. I did anyway. Put a big plastic cloth on the table and one on the floor. Do it when your littlest is napping. Your 5 and 3 year olds will probably manage surprisingly well. Things seem to go better here if we are focused on a specific task rather than just finger painting for the sake of it. Have a look at deepspacesparkle blog for great ideas. Really messy stuff I admit we wait for a nice day and do it outside. You need to do glitter in a tray to catch all the bits! I do think it is important that we make time for arts and crafts, but I don't think you should beat yourself up over it if you find it too stressful. I love CAssy's idea of a support thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 For fine arts, I focus on decent art supplies in mediums artists actually use: watercolor and oil paints, oil and chalk pastels, clay, etc. I don't put foam cutouts and glitter in this category so feel no guilt in skipping them. We mainly use watercolors, drawing pencils,and oil pastels because of the age of my kids. We look at real objects or paintings to copy. I find that essential. We spend time on practical arts as well. We follow Elizabeth Foss' Alphabeth Path and make a felt saint doll weekly. I have my 4 and 5 year old do the sewing themselves as much has possible. We also work on bigger handsewing projects daily as well. We're workung on a large felt doll that has pre-punched holes for the stitching. I can't believe how well the kids are doing with it. And when we are done, we'll have a usable toy, not junk to eventually throw away. Plus sewing is not messy! Bonus. It does take a tremendous amount of patience, but I think the investment is worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 My kids always got extremely dirty - but never doing crafts. We are not crafts people. The supplies mainly sat in the closet; they used the finger paints maybe twice. They got their fill of messy, squishy, dirty activities outdoors. Mud puddles are a great substitute for finger paints, and wet sand is great for sculpting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 We follow Elizabeth Foss' Alphabeth Path and make a felt saint doll weekly. Do you use patterns for the dolls or just wing it? I'd love to get started on something similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Do you use patterns for the dolls or just wing it? I'd love to get started on something similar. Here is the link to the Alphabet Path. I think the 8th bullet point down has links to the felt doll tutorial. It just gives you the basic method. Then we just use a saint book/card to decide what colors and ideas we are going to incorporate for each doll. I have my girls stitch on the basic robe. Sometimes we stitch/tie on other items -aprons, shawls, etc. - and then we hot glue on hair and veils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rbsmrter Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I feel the same way you do. I often feel guilty that I don't let them do messy art more often. Luckily they do attend an art class once a week, but I always feel like I could do more. The other day we did homemade puffy paint (snow paint, shaving cream paint, it goes by lots of names). I ended up putting them in reusable plastic ketchup bottles from the Dollar Store. It was the perfect way for them to use the paint without making a complete mess. I think it's supposed to be more of a winter craft, but I added food coloring to the paint and it stayed pretty colorful once it dried. I will admit it wasn't the most artistic project, but they had a lot of fun doing it and it was very easy for to setup and clean up. Art Projects for Kids is a great website. There are some great projects that would line up well with an artist study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Here is the link to the Alphabet Path. I think the 8th bullet point down has links to the felt doll tutorial. It just gives you the basic method. Then we just use a saint book/card to decide what colors and ideas we are going to incorporate for each doll. I have my girls stitch on the basic robe. Sometimes we stitch/tie on other items -aprons, shawls, etc. - and then we hot glue on hair and veils. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Has anyone else (besides me) been on this forum long enough to remember the "No Fun Moms Club" (early 2000ish)??? To be a member you had to be a mom who didn't do all the fun things we read about others doing :) We live with guilt and regret, but we just never seem to get around to the fun stuff. That's why I joined a co-op - so my kids could do paper mache and all that neat stuff with a "fun mom". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Hikers Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Anyone ever suffer pangs of guilt when they see all the fun and fabulously messy arts and crafts people are doing with their kids. I don't even have a jar of glitter anywhere in my house. :glare: We do art and crafts but I don't know-- maybe it's lame by other standards. How important are messy activities? Am I depriving my children of fun engaging activities? Should I just go ahead and order some finger paints or something? Maybe one of you can share a link to your favorite messy {yet containable} activity? :bigear: My mother was like you. We did not own play-doh even because we might get it on something. We never had any crafts or materials. We did have crayons, but they were highly regulated by her. I have done the opposite with my kids. I let them make projects and explore. I think it is good for them. The book Preschool Art is awesome. Or any of the Williamson Kids Can books. Get one and try some fun things. I also like Janice VanCleeve books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) Messy play at my house is a necessity with an SPD child. If I don't provide the materials - they devise their own :001_huh: (said after spending 30 minutes last night cleaning up a packet of scatterred spaghetti). Yes it does take a toll on your house - we have an old dining room table I have never replaced and it is stained terribly. I have tile grout that is coloured green with crayons. I should own stock in the Magic Eraser company :D However that is nothing compared to trying to get Desitin cream out of the carpet and washed off windows if I don't provide art materials :001_huh: Art and messy play provide my kids with so much joy, peace and relaxation that I just can't ban it. You wouldn't believe the amount of glue, stickers, paint, crayons, playdough etc I remove and clean from walls and floors daily - I literally leave the vacumme out all day because I got sick off hauling it in and out of the closet three times a day :lol: However -it's very worth it - to see my kids creativity blossom. My kids literally spend all their waking hours engaged in some sort of creative mess -they spend hours a day cutting and gluing and colouring - I set up an art table and cupboard and they are free to help themselves - my kids are never bored. My number 1 stipulation when buying art supplies is "washable and non-toxic" because my 5 yo is still not above having a taste of the glue :lol: and my 4yo is still sometimes overcome by the desire to colour on the nice clean canvas AHEM... wall.:glare: My blog is named "3 Messy Kids" for a reason :D Edited March 31, 2012 by sewingmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. A Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 My kids always got extremely dirty - but never doing crafts. We are not crafts people. The supplies mainly sat in the closet; they used the finger paints maybe twice.They got their fill of messy, squishy, dirty activities outdoors. Mud puddles are a great substitute for finger paints, and wet sand is great for sculpting. Funny you should mention this- I was just thinking today about whether my kids are deprived because they've never made mud pies or played in the dirt. :lol: I think I'm a bit afraid of the mess, but if I'm only afraid then I'd have to say that DH is absolutely terrified - and that is a bigger obstacle to me than my own fear. I guess I need to find ways to allow them to be messy while he's not around to freak out. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 My son will inevitably be the kid at the playground sitting in a puddle. At home, most of the messy craft play gets done outside, in summer, in their underwear. Everything washes off skin easier than out of fabric! We also tend to go straight from paint to the bath, which just extends the fun as far as they are concerned. :) For inside, we have pencils, playdough when I make it, and glue sticks instead of PVA. Scissors are still heavily regulated and for "school" time only. :glare: Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmaNZ Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 They got their fill of messy, squishy, dirty activities outdoors. Mud puddles are a great substitute for finger paints, and wet sand is great for sculpting. :iagree:This is great too At home, most of the messy craft play gets done outside, in summer, in their underwear. Everything washes off skin easier than out of fabric! Rosie This is so much easier when it's nice and hot outside most of the year though Rosie. I'm glad you're making the most of it. FTR: I own no play dough because it is the absolute worst thing to get out of everywhere. The last rental home we left I had to paint most of the lounge before we left because there was absolutely no way the play dough was coming off the walls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I don't like messy. My house is messy generally; I don't need crafts to add to it. Painting with a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old is a dangerous idea alone, but when there is a baby to watch too . . . it's more than I can bear. My solution? Family. We visit my in-laws most Sundays. Grandma LOVES doing arts and crafts. And extra hands makes it feasible. My family lives further away, but when we visit my sister, they get to do great stuff! She is a preschool teacher and always has great ideas (and a higher tolerance for messes than I do). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 This is so much easier when it's nice and hot outside most of the year though Rosie. I'm glad you're making the most of it. It must be very nice, but it's not my reality! Our weather is probably much like your North Island. (Which I assume is better than South Island but not good enough. :p) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 My kids get plenty messy outside. They play in the creek and surrounding woods. They've found racoon bones, a deer skull, a hummingbird nest, snakeskins, and an assortment of other finds that I accept with a sickly grin. I'm trying to add a Saturday morning art time. My kids and I are early risers so we do artwork after breakfast while dh sleeps in. I'm not exhausted from a full day of teaching and the kids aren't itching to play outside. I don't do anything in particular. One week we draw butterflies (my ds drew a mechanical butterfly); the next week we'll draw scary animals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Thank you everyone for the great ideas and motivation. I am checking out the links and blogs you mentioned. I'm determined to get messy here within the next week sometime. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I do feel guilty and occasionally give it a try, only to find that my kids don't like the mess any more than I do. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) I'm not into it and I don't feel in the least guilty. If it's important for some kind of development then my kids will be under-developed. In the summer we go to the beach three or more times a week and they can play in the sand, and in the summer at home they can play in the dirt in the yard. Otherwise, forget it. I'm not doing messy crafts. If they want to learn to knit, I'm all over that. I'm not afraid of the mess, I don't care about clean up, I'm just not that into crafts and I think they are boring and over-rated. The kids have crayons, they have clay, they have playdough, they have glitter, glue, paints, and all kinds of stuff. It's all there if they want it. Just don't ask me to come up with some cutesy activity or crafty plan to use it. They are perfectly welcome to use their imaginative little brains to come up with ideas of their own if they want to. Most of the time they aren't interested either. Edited March 31, 2012 by Rainefox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Scissors are still heavily regulated and for "school" time only. :glare: :lol: I understand the sentiment - after a few games of "hairdresser" one which resulted in having to shave a head right before family pictures (luckily it was a boy :001_huh:) our scissors are locked away as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 We don't do crafts but we do a lot of art and creations. I don't personally like cutesy crafts as I feel they are too restrictive on the child's own creativity and imagination. I mean how much thinking is required to follow a set of instructions to create something that looks just like someone else's thing? I'm all about creating one of a kind things. We do formal art during school time (line, shape, color, shading, perspective, etc), which is pretty restrictive as you are learning but they choose their own subject\model to practice those skills. The most fun my dc have though is when school is over and they are making creations. I'm not a fan of glitter, but we have every other kind of supply you could think of, and a nice collection of recycled materials; boxes, canisters, tubes, paper, lids, styrofoam, cardboard, bottles...sometimes it looks like a recycling center in my garage. Oh, and the adhesive of choice for these things they build...lots and lots of duct tape! I try to keep the messes contained but, as others have mentioned, a big table cloth on the floor and one on the table make for easy cleanup. Oh, and for little ones the bathtub is an excellent place for painting with washable poster paints. Today, in fact, my 3yo painted herself blue from top to bottom...she looked like a smurf! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 As far as I am concerned, they can enjoy messy play outside. Water, mud, dust. Sliding down hills, climbing trees, building forts. When they come in, I will give them a bath. For art, we do tidy water-color crayons, pencil drawings, and oil pastels. Blame it on the new carpet! But I have NO guilt. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 My kids always got extremely dirty - but never doing crafts. We are not crafts people. The supplies mainly sat in the closet; they used the finger paints maybe twice.They got their fill of messy, squishy, dirty activities outdoors. Mud puddles are a great substitute for finger paints, and wet sand is great for sculpting. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyeska Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 The 'messiest' art projects we have ever done included chalk pastels. :) I do not allow glitter in my house. Or finger paints. Or poster board paints. or tiny little stickers that end up everywhere. watercolor paints are a stretch for me and even then, they only use 1/4 cup of water because we have had cups tip over before. yuck. The kids have never complained and they do plenty of messy crafts in sunday school classes, vbs once a year, Christmas parties etc...and they always end up in the trash within a week anyway because they fall apart. I don't want to clean up huge messes (by my 7 y.o. ds--13 y.o. cleans up after herself) only to end up throwing the project out in a week because it gets squished or stepped on or... No guilt involved. :) It is what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I don't even have a jar of glitter anywhere in my house. I think this is wise! We had some of the ultra fine glitter which DD10 loved. I loved the artwork that she produced with it. I did NOT like the glitter that got everywhere when DD3 got ahold of it! It took days to clean it up and many hair washings to get it off her scalp. :glare:She was quite sparkly! :D I use a large waterproof (felt-backed) tablecloth reserved only for crafts. We still don't do a lot of messy crafts inside, but this helps me be a lot more relaxed about tempera paints, glue, etc. Just no glitter! I am perfectly fine with playing in the rain, mud puddles, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGin Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 BTDT :) I am NOT an artsy-craftsy gal. Don't get me wrong, I love to view art, just not DO it. When we did SOTW, we did maybe 2 of the hands on projects and btw I refused to even consider mummifying a chicken - unuh, no way, not.happening. Ok, it wasn't art, but still. What I did do for my kiddos starting when they were small was to have a lot of supplies for not-too-messy art in a place they could access at will. I also stocked the messy stuff, paint, glitter, etc, and allowed them to do free art with that at least once a month or so. I made homemade play dough and once or twice we finger painted with pudding, but other than that, it was pretty much markers, stick glue, scissors, scraps of stuff, crayons etc, on a daily basis. I didn't mind the mess, everything is usually cleanable including the kids. I just didn't do outcome based projects as a rule because it's not in me to either think of them in the first place or to enjoy producing them. Happily for me, my children were fine with this, and came up with many neat and nifty projects of their own as they got older. Hey, it worked for us, and I don't think it damaged them any. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plath Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 We do all kinds of crafts and art, messy or otherwise. We often take the art supplies outside, too for easier clean up. Maybe that's an option for glitter or other "messy" art or crafts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I definitely allow my kids to have their messy moments, they are just much fewer and further between than I (and they) would like. One of them would love to do some kind of art project every day. I have no problem with playdough, crayons, markers and glue and we have done our share of painting with water based paints. We painted the other day with some new paints I had bought and now I know that kind does not wash out of clothes.:tongue_smilie: (Too bad for the brand new shirt my son was wearing that day). My sons have never used glitter in my house. They have used glitter glue and I recently bought some glitter but it is hidden away until I find the right project and get up the courage to break it out. That stuff seems like it would be very hard to clean up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I haven't read the other responses but one thing I like to do is look at art projects at the Crafty Crow, pick one and set the kids up at the dining table with a large plastic sheet to protect the table. This week we are working with acrylic paint - painting Catholic saint peg dolls, still life, and rock painting. We listen to books on tape or music while we work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 FTR: I own no play dough because it is the absolute worst thing to get out of everywhere. The last rental home we left I had to paint most of the lounge before we left because there was absolutely no way the play dough was coming off the walls! Y'know, there's a trick with the playdough. If you made edible stuff, they don't smear it on the walls. (Equal parts peanut butter and milk powder or cornflour.) Just saying... ;) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Yes, I think it's important for kids to do messy things. And I just make an effort not to let the mess bother me. We made ooblek (google it) and my kitchen was corn starchy for a couple days despite cleaning the counter off repeatedly. Who cares? It's not corn starchy now. I teach art at our co-op and my space is always the messiest. Paint, markers, paper scraps, scissors, tape, pastels, sequins, odds and ends, all over the place. (But no glitter, the church we are in made it very clear we were not to bring glitter into the building.) Make the kids help you clean up after the mess. Make them do the bulk of the cleaning then go behind them and make sure it's done right. :) I think the act of exploring with their hands, and creating something out of other things is a vital experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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