Art is for Creativity.

A local mom set up a home school art gallery at the library. The kids were excited to participate. Even better? There weren't any stipulations about what kind of art to bring.

Next thing I knew, Bubs was working hard on this fabulous teepee. Personally, I never would have thought to make a 3-D teepee for an art show. Very creative.

And Welly made this picture with stamps, glitter, glue, tape, different papers, and colored pencils.

I couldn't have been more thrilled with their work.

I'm afraid that when many teachers/parents think of art projects for their kids to do, they come up with pre-arranged craft projects. You know? The Cut Here-Glue Here-Follow my directions exactly-kind of artwork.

Those projects are great for learning to obey and follow directions. There's certainly a place for that. But are they really artwork? They don't do much for creativity.

Maybe it's better to learn the following-directions-skills in math, PE or other activities than in art.

I like to allow their little minds to explore. It's good for their problem-solving and the development of their imagination...And in the end, they often come up with pieces that are much more wonderful and personal.

And, shh! But Y's art may have been the most beautiful of all. Even if it didn't last long enough to be part of the gallery.

Making Art out of Basic Shapes

A lot of the work we do is based on things I think Bubs should be learning or wants to learn. Welly is next. Wy-Wy enjoys tagging along for lessons and storytimes, but once in a while a lesson is more geared toward the littlest ones. That doesn't mean we can't all have fun, though. Who doesn't love acting like a toddler now and then?

You've probably already figured out what we did for this simple mini lesson. We just drew basic shapes and identified them. Then we used our shapes to make pictures.

I also had Bubs draw lines on the shapes, making them symmetrical (as seen in the top picture).

Fun, simple, easy...and like usual, the kids kept working on their projects while I read aloud to them for a while.

PS. We love our morning Read-Aloud time. It's something we never miss. Right now, we're working our way through Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter (Review here).

Freezer Paper Stencils

When I first got the book, The Creative Family by Amanda Soule, I was drawn to the Freezer Paper Stencil project. Well, that was about two years ago, and while we have used and enjoyed many of the other ideas in the book, we never got around to this one.

Until now.

And it was every bit as fun as I thought it would be.

1. With the shiny side of the Freezer Paper facing down, draw and cut out your shape.

2. Place it on your T-Shirt (or other fabric) where you want it and iron lightly to hold the stencil.

3. Paint with fabric paint. Follow directions on the bottle for drying times. We left ours alone for several hours before removing the stencils.

So fun! Bubs is wearing his again today, and Y is jealous that his isn't clean. I'm sure we'll revisit this fun (and simple) project!

PS. I triple heart The Creative Family. It's so much more than a book about craft projects. In fact, it made my 'Books With Impact' list.

Now, That's an Art Project.

Personally, I think most elementary art projects are completely uncreative. Well, I take that back. They require plenty of creativity on the part of the teacher, but not necessarily from the kids. Maybe things have changed, but when I was in school, our art projects consisted of specific directions to follow, i.e. 1. Cut on the dotted lines. 2. Glue part A on part C at the appointed place, etc.

Now, there's certainly a place for activities like these. I think it's good for kids to learn to follow directions. It's just not a creative activity. I'm aware that many creative art projects don't come out looking very nice. Often they're made of garbage. But creativity is very important to me, no matter what the outcome, and sometimes, you'll have a product that is just fabulous.

Anyway, climbing off my soapbox.

I took Bubs to the craft store (where we are regular customers) and let him pick some embroidery floss. Then at home, I dug out some scrap fabric (if you don't have any, check WalMart's scrap pieces) and helped him place it into an embroidery hoop.

Y wanted to sew, too, so I made him a lacing card in about 3 seconds. I was surprised how well he could do it.

Bubs chose to make a picture of where he went backpacking with his daddy this summer. I helped him tie knots in the back.

Then, we cut another piece of scrap fabric the same size and sewed them right sides together, leaving an opening a few inches long. We decided to fill it with rice and some cinnamon. (And yes, I'm aware that I really should have ironed it, but me and the iron don't get along very well.) Lastly, we sewed the end closed, and Wallah: a pillow that he sleeps with every night.

What great projects have you done with your kids?