So, today I did something that I hardly ever do.
And the I remembered why I hardly ever do it.
It’s because it ends in tears, fights, mess and inevitably me yelling at the kids.
Which is all fun and games until. Remember that I’m trying to be a better parent and not yell at my kids.
But it’s trying to be a better parent that got me into this mess in the first place.
Trying to reduce my stress by reducing the whinging by reducing the boredom of The Toddler Gods of Awful.
It’s too cold to play on our front porch and there’s only so many hours of ABC4kids I can stand before going batty (and let’s face it, the mid morning program leaves something to be desired – its all downhill in between the morning and afternoon playschool screenings if you ask me).
So what is left to do on a rainy old day?
The evil, seedy and dark underworld otherwise known as craft.
Yes, I am going to say it.
I hate doing craft with my kids.
It’s impractical, messy and frustrating and with three kids 3 and under I feel it’s just asking for trouble.
But every now and the I am lured back into offering craft activities for my kids on the promise of 20 minutes of peace and quiet, sitting down at the table with them while I drink my coffee and tweet or Facebook.
It never ends that way and I don’t know why I expect it to be any different every. Single. Time.
Today I decided I’d aim nice and low. Coloring-in books and crayons.
I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
I scraped the weetbix and last night’s dinner off the table, set three places with four crayons and a coloring book each, then called them to the kitchen gates for chair placement.
Two minutes in I narrowly avoided World War Toddler by finding another orange crayon so that both Fraser and Roo had orange.
Five minutes in I intervened when Oscar decided he needed to rip all the pages out of Roo’s brand new Brave coloring book.
7 minutes in all the crayons that were not currently being eaten were on the ground, Oscar had scooted his high chair to the security gate and Fraser was screaming “TOAST!” at me through mouthfuls of orange crayon.
Roo was wandering around the kitchen making that tired, ear-splitting wailing sound kids make when they are either exhausted, want something you’ve said no to (a second hot chocolate for the morning) or both.
And that was just coloring in.
Is it any wonder paints, glueing and pipe cleaners aren’t on high rotation?
I think I’m just going to find some DVDs of Mister Maker.
Not to copy the cool craft ideas. No. I want them to play for my children and hopefully give them the illusion of having been given the opportunity to craft throughout their early childhood.
Are you a crafty mum? How do you deal with craft time with so many small children? Tell me I’m not the only one who hates craft time? Also, are your kids as obsessed with Mister Maker as mine? I think he’s pushing some kind of craft crack for kids…
–
Hey, don’t forget to check out my new Woolbabe Merino Duvet Weight Sleeping Bag (RRP $129) Giveaway!!
I craft outside….
Failing that spread out a disposable table cloth or tarp on the floor, mix up some water colour paints, butchers paper and then dump them in the bath with they are done, clothes and all….
Everything is sensory… so if all the materials are edible thats a good start.. found that out the hard way… home made playdough, with mixing colours on a tarp is good, food dye comes off skin eventually…
Good luck!
Hannah recently posted..Niggles
Craft – wth 3 under 3?
xx
I imagine there would be humanitarian sanctions prohibiting that.
Mum on the Run recently posted..The Things We Do…
We craft. Sometimes outside, but the kids have their own craft table, which is next to my desk. Mostly, I don’t worry about the mess or how they choose to art. Although, the past 24 hours have been craft disaster. A glitter bomb exploded last night (in the form of a 20 month old boy and a 3.5 year old girl) and this afternoon there was spillage of my (expensive) ink for art journaling. Not to mention the nail polish which was everywhere. Oh, and also, the back firing of my trusting the girls with their kiddy scissors the other day….
Becky from BeckyandJames.com recently posted..Wordless Wednesday: Mudgee Field Days
my son loves his craft time but i supervise him to keep the house clean n mess free….
Haha! I don’t mind a craft session but I do need to be organised and it really annoys me when I set something up and it all goes wrong in the first five minutes. Not sure how I’d feel with attempting it with three under three though! x
Anna @ green tea n toast recently posted..How to organise a birthday party in {roughly} a day
I usually keep it to painting on Riley’s easel or play dough. Occasionally I’ll allow him the glue stick and pictures to stick on paper. At this stage I’m not keen to do other stuff and he does go to childcare 4 days a week so lots of art n craft done there.
Riley enjoys Mister Maker too and being a childcare educator I love some of the things he does. A great resource for me.
Sometimes, I also hate doing craft with my son… I don’t have enough time for my job and for playing games at the same time. But the little boy cannot understand it, unfortunately…
Natalie recently posted..Gesundes Leben, gesundes Essen!
My fave toddler ‘craft’ is stickers… they LOVE them. Reusable ones so they come off everything. Give the kids a sheet each and whatever item / paper you want them to stick on (87% of them will end on the kid’s arms / forheads).
I hate doing craft! Magnadoodle is the extent in this house, I let daycare take care of DD be burning craft urges.
Doing craft with the children is so much fun! I always enjoy it because it keeps me creative as well, sometimes I get some new ideas and inspiration for some DIY projects.
Aletta recently posted..Why do dental implants cost so much?
Hmm yeah… Craft… I have all the intentions in the world and yet no matter how organized I am it ends in tears… Every single time. The kids then end up crying too
We love watching mister maker although now Alexis wants to do the things she sees I’m not so keen on it. Same with playschool.
Sometimes I wonder why I’m a stay at home mum. Oh yes, because daycare costs more than I could earn…
The mother experIment recently posted..Don’t ruin your friendship over this
I don’t want to have crayons inside my house most especially my daughter is still so young.
Wayne Lowry recently posted..Male Enhancement Supplements: A Guide to Discover the Best