children and craft supplies

[athomeontheprairie]

Help me think through this.

 

We have lots of craft supplies. Many are free access to the kids. These include:

Construction paper

Coloring books

Markers

(Cheap) colored pencils

Crayons

Stickers

Yarn

Pom poms

Eyes

Perler beads

Pipe cleaners

(Hard) water color paints

 

Other supplies we have, that are out of reach (meant for the older kids):

Printer paper (white, colored, heavy and thin)

Prismacolor pencils

Oil and chalk pastels

Scissors

Glue

Glitter

Clay

Tempra and liquid water color paints

 

 

The littles can use the "special" supplies, but not freely. They need to be supervised.

 

Here's the question:

I watch two extra children. The little girl is 5 and into everything. She is constantly climbing on the counters to get glue or scissors or glitter or pastels or...

She is using sheets and sheets of stickers. (Seriously hundreds of stickers a day)

She wants to cut paper. But not the "Cheap" paper. It must be the fresh clean printer paper.

 

90% of everything ends up in the trash. Which I'm okay with-it's a process (I want you to learn to use different supplies, to cut, ect).

 

BUT she is going through SO.MUCH.STUFF.

 

Are my expectations unreasonable (use the coloring books, not the good paper. Not use 100 stickers. not climb up the counters to get the other supplies)? Do I just need to get over it? (I might feel differently of this was my kid, hence the question)

[Junie]

I would put up the supplies that you don't want her to use and only get them out for your own children when she isn't there.

 

Or, maybe you could charge her parents and extra $5-10/week for craft supplies.

 

 

[happi duck]

Your rules make sense.

 

I'd put the stickers in the "needs permission" category and dole them out. You can cut the sheets into more manageable amounts so she can still be given a sheet of stickers, kwim?

Edited December 11, 2015 by happi duck

[Cinder]

I don't think you're being unreasonable. I would also pack away the supplies and just bring out a limited supply at certain times. I would not allow her to climb the counters; if the supplies aren't there then hopefully she'll stop doing that.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

A couple ideas:  

 

- If she is brand new to your home, it could just be she has never had access to craft stuff at home and is going to go crazy for a week or two, then it will die down as the "new" wears off.  

 

- If this is not the case, put the stuff away and tell her each day she gets: 2 sheets of new paper and ten stickers, plus unlimited use of scrap papers and markers/pencils or whatever you are comfortable with.  

 

- Or, as other PP suggested, explain the situation to the parents and see if they want to pay extra for free-acness to the stickers and paper.  

[Carol in Cal.]

I think you should hide the supplies that she may not use, but let her 'waste' the other stuff to her little heart's content.

Kids who are way into crafts when they are young are getting rapid feedback from seeing their experimentation and how it works out. That's really valuable experience.  If you don't want her to use the stuff, don't tempt her with it. 

 

It's the same principle as telling your kids to put away toys they don't want to share before a friend arrives. 

[vonbon]

Not a long-mulled-over response here, but my 2 cents: 

 

I think it's good to set limits.  Kids are going to encounter limits...forever!  Adults have limits so it's not something that only going to be experienced in your home.  No one has unlimited resources.  "It's OK to say, "In our house, we don't climb on the counters.  You need to ask for help if something is out of reach."  

 

I also think kids crave limits.  They want to know the boundaries.  Surely they will try to break them, bend them, test them, but eventually, they want to know what you're made of and if you, as the adult in charge, will keep boundaries.  It doesn't have to be a battle and can provide a lot of security for them.  Some children/people are impulsive and/or have no concept of boundaries in regards to other people or things like supplies.  It's OK for you to teach that in your home.  

 

What about creating some sort of system that she can use when she is there?  A cart or bin with supplies for the day = a limit.  When the supplies are all used up, it's time to go do something else--play outside, dress up, etc.  

 

Like, "Today you can choose _______ (painting, cutting, stamping, stickers--choose one or two.)  You said you want to encourage the creative process, but people can get overwhelmed with too many options and just end up wasting.  I rotate our toys in bins in the garage.  One bin for a few weeks.  When my kids see toys that have been put away for 2 months, it's like seeing old friends and they are much more creative and get more mileage out of the toys than if they had access to all of them all the time.  They value them more and treat them better than when we had them all out.  Idea well-written about in Simplicity Parenting.

 

We have traveled in parts of Europe where we had to pay for each trip to the public restroom.  Yes, charged for the use of public facilities.  With our "purchase", we received "one spare square" of TP.  You can bet we thought twice about how much we normally used and realized that resources were finite.  If you pay a dollar, you start thinking about how much the water, soap, and facilities upkeep cost for that business/home/district.  I have stayed in many homes in certain countries and noticed how very little they use in the way of paper products, packaging, and just all around resources (water, trash, recyclable systems.)  It puts Americans to shame!  I think it's good to teach stewardship and valuing a special set of stickers for the day vs. 100.  That's just my view.  

 

I would have a really hard time setting limits and being the authority figure for others' children in my home.  I think it's awesome that you are providing care with so much creativity and thought.

[athomeontheprairie]

I think you should hide the supplies that she may not use, but let her 'waste' the other stuff to her little heart's content.

Kids who are way into crafts when they are young are getting rapid feedback from seeing their experimentation and how it works out. That's really valuable experience. If you don't want her to use the stuff, don't tempt her with it.

 

It's the same principle as telling your kids to put away toys they don't want to share before a friend arrives.

Yeah, I really don't have a problem with kids "wasting supplies". I thought I made that clear in my original post. I agree that the experience is everything. and I want her, and my kids, to be able to try out their ideas. (But at the same time, we are talking about a LOT of supplies. There has to be a way to learn about going through so much)

 

But everything IS put away. Things I don't really want her in are in shut cabinets above the counter. (With one exception, but even those items are in another room).

Everything else is in a designated area.

 

How would you limit stickers (or are you suggesting is okay to go through 100's a day? ) when they are in a closed cabinet (that she, and everyone else) had access too? Or paper?

 

Put EVERYTHING up? And only leave out a small amount? Refill it reach night? Or each week?

 

 

(I feel as though I am attacking your response, and this is not my intent. Just asking for you to clarify-I need another set of eyes :-) I appreciate your thoughts.)

Edited December 11, 2015 by athomeontheprairie

[Guest]

Just tell her no and take it away if she gets it without permission.

[tm919]

I don't think your expectations are unreasonable. The stickers might just be a binge, but the climbing on counters to get things that are intentionally out of reach would bother me. I wish I had a better solution! With my own kids, I just let things run out and they had to go without them until the next time someone gave them a gift (once, 8 months of waiting for color wonder after one daughter wasted her packet in 10 minutes!) but that doesn't help because it's not your own child. 

 

Maybe ask the parents what their strategy at home is on consumable art supplies, and go from there? Their answer, whether it's "We don't have them!" or "We're really strict with them!" should give you a good starting place.

[prairiewindmomma]

I keep a basket of things that my young children can use freely.  (The expensive good stuff is high up.)  Put reasonable amounts of stuff in the basket, rotate new bits into it from time to time, and train her that she may use things only from that basket. 

 

Also, you are a brave woman to own glitter.  

[fdrinca]

My solution to this problem was to source cheap supplies. I have two maker kids, one of whom works almost exclusively in stickers. We use lots and lots and lots of stickers. I get them at the dollar store or in cheap books at Michaels, and try to get computer paper when it's almost free at Staples. 

 

I remind myself of the fine motor skills and planning that DD2 practices when she uses sticker after sticker. It helps :) 

 

If you really don't want your charge to use the supplies, I'd say that you have to relocate them. 

[Carol in Cal.]

 

How would you limit stickers (or are you suggesting is okay to go through 100's a day? ) when they are in a closed cabinet (that she, and everyone else) had access too? Or paper?

 

Put EVERYTHING up? And only leave out a small amount? Refill it reach night? Or each week?

 

 

(I feel as though I am attacking your response, and this is not my intent. Just asking for you to clarify-I need another set of eyes :-) I appreciate your thoughts.)

I've seen kids (at parent coop preschool) use stickers at that rate, and they do get tired of it after a while.

 

My feeling is that if you have a cabinet that you're fine with her accessing, anything in it is fair game.  I would put everything away except what you are OK with her using, and in my world glitter would be outside, LOL. 

 

Probably at this point I would change cabinets, keep everything that she isn't allowed to access freely in a new one that she hasn't seen before, or in a part of the house that she doesn't access.  I would establish the rule that no one is to climb on cabinets.  I would get bins or shelves that they can access freely stocked with stuff.  And I would say that paper is reasonably cheap, even the good stuff so I personally wouldn't ration it, same with the other good things.  But I would probably limit the stickers, not so much because they are expensive, but because they are not all that creative.  I'd lean toward lavish supplies of other things from Discount School Supply, like varies colors and shapes of doilies and fake leaves and such.  The way I would limit the stickers is either not to bring them out onto the designated shelves, or just put out a generous but limited quantity, maybe just one day a week.

[HomeAgain]

I put out only the supplies I'm comfortable with them using.  I don't like piles of waste and trash every day.  It's not about how cheap it is, it's about how earth friendly it is.  This means that often in our art area, there are 2 sheets of stickers, 6 envelopes (and 3 reusable plastic ones), about 10 sheets of paper and several coloring books in addition to the markers, paints, crayons, hole punchers, etc.

 

5 is perfectly old enough to stress quality over quantity.  You start small with expecting them to work on something for just a few minutes and then up to ten, then 15, then 20.  Continue to encourage putting detail and working within that time block until it's over.  After I get them up to 20 minutes I start teaching more technique and different styles of art because they have the stamina to work on it.

[Junie]

I keep a basket of things that my young children can use freely.  (The expensive good stuff is high up.)  Put reasonable amounts of stuff in the basket, rotate new bits into it from time to time, and train her that she may use things only from that basket. 

 

Also, you are a brave woman to own glitter.  

 

:lol:

[myfunnybunch]

I would probably teach her no climbing on the counter first. That's a safety rule, separate from wanting to craft.

 

Then give her a bin of craft supplies daily with unlimited paper that you replenish when asked--no climbing!--, and whatever you think is a reasonable number of sticker sheets. Let her color and cut and glue to her heart's content. If she runs out of stickers, she can continue to craft with something else.

 

If possible, I'd also try to have some non-consumable crafts, like sticker play sets, plastic canvas and yarn, lacing cards, pattern blocks, beads and string..... Those are activities she might also enjoy, and will satisfy her desire to create if she starts getting bored with the paper crafts.

[knoxinsox]

My 6 year old enjoys "stickering" as she calls it.  I love that she is bold with her art and isn't saving stuff for another time to use.  And most of it gets trashed that evening.   On the other hand,  I don't let her or the neighbor kids use all the stickers they want, or sharpen the Prismacolor pencils.  Otherwise, they can use whatever is in the art cart.   I decluttered my scrapbooking items and just put a bit more in when it looks like the cart doesn't have anything interesting in it anymore.  

[happi duck]

Again, your house rules make sense and stickers could be moved to the "ask permission" department.

 

So the issue is keeping the little girl from climbing and getting onto the "ask permission" supplies...correct?

 

I would:

Go over the rules again.

Mark the off limits cabinets with a red circle, a stop sign or an "ask first" sign to remind her.

Work on a no climbing rule.

I might also physically block her climbing route to help break the habit.