A very wise friend of mine once told me it was 'process not product' when it came to children being creative. That comment often pops into my head when the children are doing something crafty... I must admit that I find it VERY difficult not to interfere when they are making something and have to stop myself from jumping in and showing them how to do it 'properly'.
I recently decided it would be fun to try out the blow painting monsters from this site. I didn't add enough water to the paint which made it incredibly difficult (and frustrating) to blow the paint in various directions to make it look like anything resembling the photos from the site. The kids quickly moved on and had much more fun playing with the syringes that I'd given them to suck up the paint mixture. They used the syringes to paint with as well as the straws to make patterns. They started talking about the different animals they'd created, the crocodile that was coming out of the water, etc. It really reminded of my friend's passing comment a couple of years ago, that it was about process and not product. They had such a lovely time simply creating something using the tools they had and their imagination.
I then decided we should try out some toilet roll painting which Teeny loved!
Big brother was very keen to have a go too and made me giggle when he chose these colours:
I told him I was amused by his choice of colours and he then proceeded to create this:
"Look Mummy, the French flag!"
I just love it! France is definitely making its mark on my wee boy :-)
I, of course, had to have a go at doing the monster blow painting 'properly'. Couldn't help myself and it was SO much fun!
Those are wise words, Gillian. I'm definitely guilty of wanting projects with the kids to be perfect, so I'll try to remember this in the future!
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