Do you remember this post? Ummi Saeed was right on point with her comment. I was reading this amazing mama's blog. After some reflection, I decided that instead of feeling intimidated and avoiding her inspiring blog, I should make use of that inspiration and actually do something about it.
I bought her book, the Creative Family. This book is great! Full of great ideas on creative activities with children. The ideas are simple, and could easily be implemented in our own house. I wish there were more photos though, photos could be so inspiring without much words. I mean, look at that front page photo, I am totally making those yummy linen pants for my kids!I've scanned through the book whenever I get the chance and I've decided to start with the part about making art with children.
We don't normally draw in our house. We live in a rented house with rented furnitures and we're afraid to get it dirty. So usually Adam's drawing and painting are limited to when we're at the children centres.
But not anymore. I'm making a change. I bought some wonderful non-toxic, natural, environmental friendly art supplies recently. According to the book, when drawing and making art with children, use the good stuff. Choose few high-quality materials instead of a lot of cheap materials that will soon break. I struggled with this idea since the good stuff cost a lot and there are a lot cheaper options. But I proceeded anyway with some of the art supplies that the author suggested. I am so glad I did because these tools work! The colours are vivid and the resulting artwork is beautiful..in the process I also realised that the children centres actually use the high quality, more expensive tools too! bagus betul government diorg ni sponsor...
Adam was thrilled! He went to work right away...I love watching him concentrate..
I also sat and worked next to him. I don't think I'm very talented, drawing-wise...but I'm taking hints from the book..just sit and let it flow. Adam will watch and learn and we can both be inspired by each other. After some time he came and sat on my lap and tried to draw on my paper. Me: Adam, I'm drawing this. Why don't you go and draw on your drawing book there?
Adam: No Mommy, Mommy ajar Adam...
OMG.....silly mommy... of course!
trylah jugak nak ajar Adam...hehe..though i think he's probably more creative than i am..children are inherently creative. There's a lot we can learn from them. I feel so privileged to be able to relive childhood through my children's eyes..
Of course as a hardcore train-lover, anything can be turned into trains..literally.It's just a small change, but it's a step forward. We have a lot more to learn. I need to learn to let go of my need to control for example thinking about the mess i have to clean up etc, and focus on just enjoying the moment and being creative with my child. Adam needs to learn to respect the tools and not try to destroy them. I'm planning a Family Drawing Time soon and to make it a regular session that everybody in the family can enjoy. My husband is actually a very talented artist, though he hasn't drawn in a while- he once drew a full sized portrait of me and it was beautiful. I think Adam can learn from him. And we can learn from Adam and his overflowing creativity.
I realised that if I can fit a little bit of creating in my my daily life, i can feel myself becoming calmer, more centred, less easily upset, more in tune with my children and just overall more happy. So now I'm making a point to make time for creating...I've taken out my knitting again (I stopped after giving birth to Mia), I'm sewing more, and now i'm even drawing! And it feels good...Also, in this beautiful summer weather, I'm also consciously making a point to enjoy the beauty of nature..it feels good..alhamdulillah...
12 comments:
My girls love drawing and we go once a week to the local scout hall for our arts and crafts session. 5 different arts and crafts activities for an hour. It's great and they absolutely love going. At home we have the usual crayons and colour pencils for indoors and for the garden we use giant chalks. For summer time when our arts and crafts session do not run I whip out the old finger paints.....lots of fun but terribly messy so it's more of a special treat. Takes forever to get paint of little fingers! :)
hi aida, ive started art and craft with rayyan as soon as dia dah start boleh hold things.. tp pastuh mama dia agak malas.. kadang2 je.. few weeks back, i started to make art and craft with rayyan almost everyday. kadang2 yg simple je pun. let them explore. mum says, tak payah tunjuk cemana nak lukis, kids will learn later by exploring sendiri. will share more kat blog kite nanti ok. but, its a good start..! bravoo.
ps: umah kite series in a mass ni sbb baru lepas melukis jugak
Try washable crayons/ markers etc made by Crayola. I let my son writes everywhere (probably not a good thing) but since they are washable what the heck!
aida yg warna warni mcm pemadam tu, pemadam ke? ke crayon yg mcm size pemadam kecik tu?
Aida, not just drawing but there are lots of activities you can do together with Adam..like playing play doh, making paper craft and etc. it works...our kids will stay focus and earn to be creative as well. Based on my experience, our kids ni start tuntuk tantrum sebab nak attention..so spending time or just giving them chance to explore this art craft actvt really help. my project with lil one this weekend is making play house!! so hari ni,i'll grab kotak kt opis ni and will start our project esok :)
the only creative activity i did with my son is drawing. nak try buat paper craft tp takut guna gunting and i think kalau pakai gam nnt messy. eheh..
usually i malas nak kemas balik, but he would be the one who, "mama jom mas ni" (mama, jom kemas ni)
perhaps you could share more tips form the book. :)
aida. pembetulan. bukan "dia agak malas" "dah agak malas" huhu mama dia yg malas. now mmg hari2 buat art. zuraihah, yeah. kids focus and loves art. harituh main playdoh. the father pandai. i pandai buat ular je heehe. my next project, buat robot and playhouse jugak.. ;p inspirasi baca from blog sarakids.
lepas Zaila baca entry Aida ni Zaila baru sedar betapa pentingnya untuk pupuk kreativiti pada anak-anak so i'm thinking of to create some space for my kids where they can draw & do many craft activities..tapi itulah, anak-anak Zaila ni suka sangat conteng merata so jadi macam malas pula nak kemas..hehehee
nampak gayanya Zaila kena rajinkan diri mengemaslah pasni;D
melina,
ooooh finger paints! great idea...
kak fathin,
tulah, kids can be creative spontaneously. our job is really prepare the tools and create the right environment. lps tu just sit back and watch the magic happens ;)
kb,
boleh wash off walls jugak ke? interesting!
kemar,
ha yg mcm pemadam tu crayon bricks...best...sesuai for small hands..
zuraihah,
i do those activities frequently with adam at the children centres. but kat rumah kurang... tu yg start nak buat ni..
tuty,
insyaAllah will share more. start sikit2 dulu..
zaila,
try ajar dia tulis kat paper je. so far Adam nak juga dgr and tak conteng rata2 ( well at least not yet..hehe)
aah, Crayola mmg boleh wash balik. my mum says, the best thing is to have an art corner. so everytime nak conteng dia akan conteng situ. i put kertas mahjong kat dinding. when dia nak draw, dia akan ckp "mama kis.." so mama will either pass kertas or give crayon/pencil/marker.
Yes crayola but you have to look for 'washable'. Memang washable, all you have to do is wipe with a damp cloth. My son writes everywhere, tv, floor, dinding etc you name it. And crayola non toxic too..
hi aida..actly i'm one of ur silent reader.. knew ur blog thru MBW.. ;)
aida..been searching that bricks crayon in malaysia..tapi tak jumpa laaa...tau tak kat mana ada jual..?? dah byk kedai arts dah masuk..mostly they sell pastels n art stuff for adult..bole mintak tolong u belikan tak..?? heheheh n thanks for sharing, aida...after i read soulemama punye blog..omg..best nyer...nak kena beli jugak buku die tuu...heheh
:) aimy
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