Today I bought the kids some $1.47 foam craft kits at the store. The kits include precut foam pieces in various colors and shapes. If you glue it all together, it makes a dog or a cat, etc. I thought it would be good for some craft fun.
When I got home I asked Pookie and Geetle if they wanted to do an art project. I have never seen two kids run so fast for the kitchen table. I got out the glue. They literally bounced in their chairs.
We carefully spread out the pieces and used the package label as a guide in creating our cat and dog. Pookie worked hard at using the correct amount of glue. He made his Dog look just like the one on the package. Geetle wanted to do hers diferently and made up her own design for the cat’s spots. When we were done, Geetle suggested we glue them to popsicle sticks to make puppets; so we did.
BAGD and I were surprised at how much they loved this project. It allowed Geetle to show her creativity and make her cat just the way she wanted it to be. It allowed Pookie to practice his motor skills and copying a template. Geetle excels at this type of project because she likes to follow directions and make things that are pretty. She has really good art skills and turns the project into a full experience (adding puppet sticks or talking about what the cat’s name might be, or planning who she will show the cat to tomorrow and how it can sleep in the drawer under her bed.) Its all very cute to watch.
Pookie likes to do art projects, but he sometimes gets distracted by the opportunity to color sort the markers or loses interest before the project is done. Also, he has a hard time with projects that are too free-form. He likes some boundaries. This project has a definite goal. There are just enough pieces to make a dog. If you do it right it will look like the one on the package. He likes that; it does not overwhelm him. Sometimes, Pookie just phones it in. He goes through the motions to make us happy but clearly is not enjoying the games we ask him to play with us. But in this case, I believe he truly had fun.
I think I will get some more of these kits.
