Storing Her Creations without Clutter

School is starting soon. I wish I was the organized person who used the end of the school year to organize things, but really, it is the start of a new school year that kicks me in to panic mode and makes me start organizing. I feel a need to get it under control before the papers starting pouring in weekly again. 

I've been writing about creativity, why it is important for kids, how to nurture it in kids, and today, what to do with their creations. Almost every creation is special--either because of the memory of when or how it was created, or because it represents a stage in their creativity. I say almost because sometimes my girls spend 2 minutes doodling and scribbling on a paper. They put little thought into it and even less effort. And my girls, even though it brought tears, have learned that anything done with minimal effort isn't very valuable. I sound like the Tiger Mom, but really, we don't do our kids favors if we praise everything they do. 

So all those creations? From 3 until ...... What is a sentimental mom, who fears being a pack rat, to do? My mom, bless her heart, saved much of my elementary art work in a box. She passed it on to me. Very sweet. But it wasn't even that interesting to look at. I doubt there time or technology to do much more than store art in a box when I was growing up. But now? There are options. And what about the creations that don't fit in a box? Once-in-lifetime-Lego models completed or forts that show off a budding engineer brain?

Here's my idea. I am hoping it is more fun than a box of old art. I take pictures. Of all quality (see paragraph 2) creations. I store the photos with date labels in folders on an online photo site (I use Snapfish but there are many others). And when the girls finish elementary school I plan to take all those pictures and put them in a photo book. I don't scrapbook, but I love the simple photo books you can make online. I make one each year to document what we did that year, and sometimes there are 500 pictures but the spine of that photo book? Not even 1/2 inch wide. Beautiful memories. Beautiful space saver.

Top: photo books and my attempt to show you how skinny they are. Bottom: One of Bird's preschool art projects and one of her 4th grade art projects that will eventually go in her elementary art book.

Bug's art gallery. It is in a stairwell so it is hard to photograph. 

I do have galleries on the wall full of the girls' most recent, hangable art. But when it is full, I take down the pictures and (don't gasp) throw them away. 

Art clothesline. Image from Cozi, see link below

One friend uses the clothesline method. She picks two of her favorites creations and lets her son pick two favorites. And when new work comes along that trumps old work in terms of favorites, the pictures switch. I love her method because when you, as the parent, save only the art you love, it increases the value. And when the kids decide what to save, it teaches them to make special places for prized accomplishments and that saving all our work does not add value to our lives. (Thanks to Simple Mom for sharing this philosophy).

If you need more ideas for your princesses creations, check out these sites:

• 14 ideas from Parent magazine
• 12 ideas from Cozi (Family Life. Simplified) (I love the Dynamic Art Frames, but need to save up for them.)

So what do you do with your kids' creations?  

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6 ways to foster creativity in your kids

This post is part 3 of 4 in the creativity and kids series. Click here to start at the beginning. 

Creativity is a divine gift for humans. It is a coping and survival skill. It can grow and flourish or shrink and barely survive. As a mom, I want to encourage creativity, foster it and make it grow in my girls. Creativity is not limited to crayons, markers, glue and scissors though when kids are young art supplies are certainly a way we encourage creativity. Creativity is not an end product. It is a process. So today, I share 6 ways we foster creativity in our house.
Disclaimer: If you are overwhelmed by the craft world, you need to know that my creativity isn't of the artsy sort. I create mostly with words. I don't like to sew, cook, scrapbook, and do DIY projects. But I value the entire creative world, admire the wide-range of skills creative people have, and want to develop these skills in my girls. 

6 Ways to Nurture Creativity

• Accept that fostering this gift will result in messes. Be okay with that. Love the messes as part of the process. Still, teach your kids where the best places to make a mess might be in your house and then to clean up the mess when they done (accept that some creative projects will require a mess to remain for weeks). 

• Provide access to materials. Since my girls where little, the craft shelf has been within their reach. Certain materials were kept up high, like liquid glue. But pipe cleaners, crayons, paper, glue sticks, wiggly eyes, popsicle sticks, sparkling buttons all have been within reach. As they've gotten older, we've added stamping supplies, painting supplies, scrap booking papers, felt, needles and thread, scissors with funky edges, and more. The house rule is that the girls have to ask before they create (in case we are about to leave or have company). When they were younger, I used to stress about how much paper they would waste on drawings they spent 2 minutes on. I've stopped worrying, because it isn't worth it, but we have a drawer of scratch paper now. 

• As they get older, teach them the importance of a plan. When kids hit mid-elementary, some of them will hit a road block. Creative projects can cause frustration because a finished project doesn't match the image in their head or they will waste endless time and supplies starting over again and again seeking perfection. Teach them to use that scratch paper to make blue prints for projects. Even God gave plans for the furnishings in the temple. Turning creative ideas into reality rarely happens with out a plan and practice. This step is teaching them to love the creative process.

• Don't buy plastic stuff. Really. Who needs doll house furniture that looks pretty but collects dust? I have proud memories of my cheap press board dollhouse. My parents let me paint it and use old floor and wall paper samples to decorate the inside. I used cardboard and fabric scraps to make the furniture, and I was proud to show that thing off for many years. My girls recently are into horses. They thought they needed a horse stable. Toys R Us sells a cool plastic stable for a bunch of money or I have could spent hours looking for a used one and then proudly posted my good deal on Facebook. But my girls? They created a popsicle stick ranch. It took hours of non-fighting time.
• Let them fail. When your girl starts sewing a Tinker Bell costume with the felt you keep around and uses a stitch that you know won't withstand her clumsy fairy flights you can suggest she use the right stitch. But when she insists that her way is going to work, drop it. Let her try.  Failure builds character. And there is no need to rub it in with an "I told you so." But a kind,"Would you like me to help you stitch that so that it stays together?" might end the failure tears  and help you two bond. When a failure makes them want to quit, step in and help them see their project through to the end. 
 

 
• Help them develop their own skills without making them love yours. If your daughter frowns at craft time at VBS (which you planned) or groans about art class at school, her creativity isn't best nurtured through shopping at JoAnn's. But if she loves Legos and building blocks, take her to some of the kids' building classes at Lowes. If your daughter loves to sew and your only sewing skill is attaching buttons, sign her up for a class or ask a friend who quilts to meet with her once a week for a few months to complete a quilting project. 

So friends, how do you nurture your child's creativity?

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Why creativity is important

Sweat dripped from my hair as I listened. The American college students were planning their lesson for their Chinese friends. The topic was American literature  in a one-hour lesson.  Whew.  They picked a classic short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.

Do you remember it? (spoiler alert: you can read the story here first if want..it’s a 15 minute commitment) It’s literary genius hidden in horror. A perfect small town, the excitement of a yearly summer ritual, everyone gathering, anxious, kids gathering rocks, townspeople chatting, while they wait to see who will get picked. Tessie wins the yearly lottery. Someone hands little Davy a rock. Tessie cries out about the unfairness and the story ends with “And then were upon her.”

My husband and I were assistant directors to these eighteen students from America who came to hot central China to make friends with another 18 Chinese college students. We lived in Chinese dorms and ate Chinese food and stuffed down the rice when nothing else agreed with our stomachs. Daily we taught English and culture lessons and prayed to communicate God’s love.

These Chinese students were walking history books. They knew the names, dates and accomplishments of every ruler of China since before Christ. They were loyal. Decisions were made not on personal likes but on how they would reflect on family and their country. We marveled at their real tears of joy when Bejing was awarded the 2008 summer Olympics. They reassured us that the Tiananmen square massacre never happened.

The Chinese students, gathered in groups with American students to discuss the story. They couldn’t. They could recite the facts of the story. But they couldn’t imagine what characters might be thinking, what reason there might be for such a lottery since it wasn’t stated.Really. This story should evoke strong emotions. But such opinions were too risky. 

Other American cultural lessons bombed too. Anytime we asked them to draw, or act, they stared--unsure of the meaning of our request. They were English majors trying to learn from us the intricacies of our language. Yet, when we performed skits they laughed from their bellies. I remember being impressed with their knowledge but sad that memorization was king. There is freedom in creative expression they did not know. A dozen of the Chinese students became Christians over time and these statements no longer describe them. Christ's truth releases freedom from more than sin!

I believe humans are born with creativity of some kind (we are made in God’s image and God is creative. Consider the varied  landscapes of the world. Read the descriptions of the temple and its furnishings in the Old Testament.) But we need to be taught to use our creativity. Parents and teachers need to nurture it. The Chinese students were taught to use the incredible brain God gave them to memorize facts and retain them. The American students couldn’t give the dates of the Civil War, but they could create new ideas quickly. Surely a balance is best, but not being able to create feels criminal.

There is a creativity test that has been in use since the 1970s. It is called the Torrance Test. It meaures divergent thinking  (the essence of creativity?). For example it might show a picture of a toothbrush and ask test takers to list all the ways it can be used. Test takers get points for originality.

Researchers, studying thirty years of using this test,  say that since the 1990s kids are less able to create new and original ideas. Experts blame media, couch potatoes, and No Child Left Behind’s emphasis on test taking. The head researcher claims creativity is innate and cannot be lost, but it has to be nurtured.

I don't foster my kids creativity because I want them to score well on a creative test or be the world's most original thinker. Helping them create is a kind of nourishment.  

Teaching creativity and allowing kids to create gives them coping skills. It gives them an outlet for emotions and teaches them to love a process even if the end result isn’t perfect. Hopefully it teaches kids to create until they find the solution or the expression or the medium that they love and can use best. And then they create for Christ’s glory without stopping to wonder what others think. Creating is risking and overcoming fear.

Perhaps my words are too much of me. Probably academic research is more convincing, so I will end with an excerpt from research compilation from the National 4H Council and the University of Arizona,

Creative thinking allows both young people and adults to “avoid boredom, resolve personal conflict, cope with increasing consumer choice, accept complexity and ambiguity, make independent judgments, use leisure time constructively, and adjust to the rapid development of new knowledge” (Strom, 2000, p. 59).Furthermore, for societies to prosper in the midst of rapid scientific and technological advancement, people need to be inventive and flexible (Cropley, 1992). Therefore, it is important for adolescents to be creative thinkers in order to keep up with today's accelerating social and technological developments (Fryer, 1996).

If you missed the first post that inspired the creativity series, click here. Come back next week for the last two posts (How to Nurture Creativity, and What to Do With Their Creations) in this series, they are less about the whys and more about the practical hows of creativity.

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Image credits: freedigitalphotos.net

Creativity and your Princess

A bright, needlepoint of Degas's dancers lived with my grandma. She stitched it. I wish I knew when. There has to be over a hundred colors in the needlepoint. From ten feet away, it looks like a painting. Wherever grandma lived, the farmhouse, a few apartments, her cottage, the needlepoint followed. And whenever I visited, the needlepoint  mesmerized me. The threads and the colors mixed and created warmth and home.

The needlepoint lives here now that grandma passed away. It's my treasure that sometimes makes me cry, the thing I wanted most from her home. Upon its reveal,  my daughter, who doesn't remember the trip four years ago to grandma's home inhaled audibly, "Mom, it looks like a Degas." 

A few weeks later, passing a mural on the side of restroom in the picturesque town of Saugatuck, Michigan, I pointed and asked if the girls knew whose work the mural was imitating. Both girls, with only a pause to try and get the pronunciation correct, said, "George Seurat. You can tell by all the dots." My oldest, again pausing for pronunciation added that he died young of diphtheria. (Mrs. Price, their art teacher would be so proud).

And so I've been thinking. About art. Famous artists. Famous-to-me artists. And creativity in general. How do we nurture this in our kids and why is it so important to me? 

The creativity of the world overwhelms me. It is so clear that God is an artist and that part of how we are made in his image is this desire to create.  The ways we create are varied and almost uncategorizable. Bug's dear mentor can create and recreate most any project she wants from reupholstering to paintings. My husband can fix, with common objects, most anything in our house (finding time is another issue). I create with words. My grandma created original and reproductions with thread and yarn (and food in the kitchen). My mother designed buildings

So I introduce you to a four part series on creativity and ways and whys to nurture the creativity in your princesses. Here is some of what you can expect: 

• Why I Nurture an Appreciation for Creativity
• 6 Ways to Nurture Creativity
•  Celebrating the work they create (without cluttering your house)

I hope you will share your thoughts too. I love your ideas and feedback. Don't miss a post. If you haven't already, sign up to get new posts by email, or follow me on Facebook or with an RSS Feed.

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