Effing Crafting

[MamaDuckling]

So, realizing my 2 and 4yr olds are becoming a bit hooked on TV after nursery (and from 6am) this winter, I decided to encourage some other activities. Went and bought some colored card, Pom poms, stickers etc. I had hardly envisaged hours of happy amusement, but what I got was three minutes of whining, mess, and disgruntled children. I sat with them, made it fun, but 2yr old is sobbing, and 4yr old is fed up already "I'm giving up mummy" (no set task here I hasten to add 😂). Mummy shouting 😞

Is it worth persevering with this kind of stuff? I know they play happily with this kind of thing at nursery. Am I doing it wrong? Does there need to be a task (e.g. Let's make caterpillars)?

Help!

I hate crafting. DS does plenty at Nursery!

Was there so much choice as to be overwhelming? Do they enjoy just drawing/painting?

I find it easier to do specific tasks. Once they’ve got the idea then they can be creative and start doing their own or following instructions by themselves.
Buy a book of craft ideas for kids or just search the internet. Pinterest is fab for this kind of stuff.
Start off with easy ones like toilet roll crafts.
Definitely persevere. Creativity is so important and I think many schools are becoming quite structured and don’t have much time for creative subjects.
Good luck!

Put on mister maker. Watch ahead, plan to do the project he does fast forwarded... turn to kids and say, Hey... why don’t we try that!

Tv off, start crafting. They will be much more enthusiastic to copy something they’ve seen.

Find a Messy Church group. Crafting once a month, Sunday afternoon and they clean up after you.

When my eldest was preschool age, I used to try and make specific things which would inevitably fail and/or take approx. 3 minutes to do and much longer to clean up.

She wasn't arsed what she made, she just liked gluing and sticking. Eventually I just gave her a catalogue or a leaflet and she cut bits out and stuck them down on a piece of paper or a box from the recycling. The 'pictures' and stuff weren't of anything specific, but she had a whale of a time doing it.

I read somewhere once that it's less about the end product, and more about the process of doing it and that made me feel better about the um... abstract art!

Sometimes I don't force the issue but just sit down and start doing something ... pretty soon the 4 years rocks up and joins in without me making him do it.

Some days I can't be arse tho

Our tin of crap stuff to stick has been refilled recently with sweet wrappers and chocolate coin foils, which will give us literally minutes of fun

Waxi doodles are get fun and they are mess free , would recommend - like pipe cleaners but waxy and make into all shapes

I think I need some more simple, mess free options, thanks.

Used to have an aqua doodle but DS showed no interest in that either. It's either all out role play. Loud, charging about, or it's lazing front of tv. Makes me anxious that DS in particular isn't learning how to concentrate in any meaningful way. See lots of friends kids colouring etc and DS has zero interest!

Do anything which may be messy in the garden.

Cover the ground/ table with a groundsheet and tip the left-over scraps away at the end. Residual marks on the ground from chalks, powder paint, play dough etc. all wash away.

Take a washing up bowl of warm, soapy water and a towel out so hands are clean before coming back in and touching things.

Inside, do non-messy crafts only. Work on trays to contain eveything and minimise dropped items.

Take photos of what you make so no need to keep the tat for longer than a day.

My ds hated colouring in but loved making these www.handimania.com/diy/toilet-paper-roll-race-cars.html

I also have a DS who isn't really into colouring/crafts and the very sight of glitter brings me out in a cold sweat (a relative got him some for Christmas grr).

However I did attempt a few things over Xmas.
The only time he has asked to make something was when he saw Mister Maker doing it - luckily it was something simple which I had the stuff for. The Cbeebies presenters also often show simple crafts in between programmes.
I do think they need a specific project at that age - hobbycraft or supermarkets are good for cheap craft kits - they would have a picture on the front so they could see what they're going to make.
Also maybe try to tailor to their interests? Eg DS is into cars/vehicles so we made a carpark with straws for speed bumps. We have also drawn roundabouts for his cars and also traffic lights. And accept that unless you make it for them they will look like a toddler has made them, not like the picture on Pinterest....

My Dd2 isn't very engaged with doing specific craft activities. She's much better if I just give her some crayons and a colouring book, or set the paints up for her and give her blank paper and she can just make as much mess as she wants, or gluing random pieces of paper to a larger sheet of paper. She plays for much longer doing these activities than making a snowman out of a plate and using pipe cleaners, poms poms and goggly eyes

Carrying on..... I've just drawn captain America for my 4yo to colour in..... he's proceeded to scribble over the entire thing - knowing exactly that he's quite capable of staying in the lines (well, a bit). He literally scribbled the entire thing blue. Then got down from the table and asked to watch tv.

I don't get it

Mine wouldn’t have been interested in that either. My dd loves arts and crafts and would spend all day doing it if she could but she would never colour in. Today she is making a toilet roll bunny which is very simple.
Have you tried paints?
Give them a paint palette each and let them paint what they want - paper, toilet rolls, a box, a card for a family member.
Put Mister Maker on tv as others have suggested and see if that inspires them.

Just had lots of success with cutting and sticking random bits from catalogues/magazines!