Crafting With My Kid

Don't you feel discouraged

when you log into Pinterest and see 

these perfect crafts done by kids? 

Whose kids are they?

Did Mom actually do them?

For a while I had been waiting for Claire to be crafty.

Painting, colouring, cutting and pasting were all

things I had dreamed of doing with my kids before I had them.

I had visions of my fridge slathered in the most beautiful masterpieces.

My windows would be filled with sticky fingerprints and lots of decals

declaring whatever Hallmark holiday was up next.

My Bear was always to busy to sit down and craft.

I had made a couple of attempts in the past

but they were usually ditched half way through

for some princess dresses and a toy microphone.

About fall of last year Claire started showing interest in it.

Mostly the novelty of having access to scissors and tape.

One particular day she told me she was going to brush my hair

for me while I was nursing.

She took her seat on the back of the couch and began brushing my hair.

There was a slight pause and then...

SNIP.

A chunk of hair fluttered to the cushion beside me.

She.Cut.My.Hair.

Needless to say I am sure,

the scissors went away for a very long time.

Now they only make an appearance when she is completely supervised. 

Just before Christmas she became consumed with crafting.

Michaels and the dollar store have amazing little kits 

you can buy for reasonable prices.

I stock up on those and we can do one or two on a morning

while sister is napping.

She gets quite focused and serious about her art,

and doesn't appreciate having photos of it taken until its complete.

The dollar store can become quite addicting for kids stuff.

The other day I stocked up and my total came to $12. 

Hours of fun for $12? Count me in.

One of the purchases I had made was glow sticks.

We cracked a hand full, threw them in the tub and shut out the lights.

She thought she had reached kiddie nirvana.

All for a $1. 

For Christmas I found her some cookie cutters in letters and numbers.

She is just getting into 'homework' 

and has been loving practicing her letters and numbers through books and games.

So this evening we whipped up some sugar cookie dough

and cut out letters.

We made a letter for our family and friends and practiced the sounds along the way.

Hands on learning is my favourite kind,

and I think it is becoming Claire's too.

The cutters I purchased on zuilily.com

for I believe about $8.

They were a hit!

What are some of your favourite kid crafts?