I’ve really been trying to up my Pinterest game lately. I’ve been working on my photography and making graphics which are appealing to the Pinterest crowd. And I’m really proud of the progress I’ve made.
But I made a decision when I posted my very first kids craft (even though I didn’t know it at the time): my kids crafts are never going to be “Pinterest Perfect”.
Nothing makes my preschool teacher brain and body more upset than walking through a classroom/hallway and seeing an entire display of art projects that look the same AND exactly like the object they were told to create. I refer to these types of projects as “teacher work” because more likely than not, the teacher had a heavy hand in the creation of the works. And I have to admit, when I search through Pinterest for craft ideas for my own kids, I get the same feeling when I see crafts for kids that have clearly been made by an adult.
There are many reasons that I dislike teacher/parent made projects so much.
1) I highly value process over product. It’s not about WHAT a child makes but HOW they make it. What skill did they learn/practice? What was their intention? (more on process vs. product)
2) Children are not adults. They do not have the skills, understandings and abilities of adults. Showing them an adult made product and expecting their project to be even remotely similar is just setting them up for frustration and/or failure. Pinterest Fails are funny, but not when it’s a child failing.
3) Art, especially in the youngest children, should be for the benefit of fostering the child’s skills AND creativity. Giving a child an expectation of what their project SHOULD look like takes away the child’s opportunity to create the world as they see and experience it.
So while my kids crafts on Pinterest may be Pinterest UnPerfect, I can guarantee you they are 100% kid made. They are the product of my children’s skills, creativity and abilities. Do I give them ideas? Sure. Do I give them set supplies to work with? Yes. Do I tell them HOW it should look? Never.
Case in point: our foam Easter Eggs.
I took Honeybun to the craft store and let her pick anything she wanted to cover her egg with. After wandering nearly the entire store, she finally decided that she wanted to do bows. We then decided to get some flowers and leaves for Sugarplum.
The girls then painstakingly decorated their eggs. Honeybun took the time to tie each bow herself (I helped tighten them for her) and the girls pushed each and every sequin pin into their foam eggs.
I made my version after theirs were done. Do they look the same? Absolutely not, but that’s because I’m an adult and they are children! I would never expect their work to look like mine and have to constantly remind Honeybun that she can’t do things like me because I’ve been practicing for years and years (the frustration of children trying to mimic adults mentioned above).
Doodle did stickers on his and had the best time selecting the next sticker, placing it on the egg, peeling some off, putting them on his shirt, putting them back on the egg, etc. I gave him stickers because stickers are appropriate for him developmental level, sequin pins are not!
Children need to be given the opportunity to have art experiences that are open ended, allowing them to bring their own ideas to reality and work within the skill sets they have at that time. Children should never be expected to produce a product that looks like an adults!
No need to worry about a Pinterest Fail when doing my kids crafts because they will always be Pinterest UnPerfect (you can thank me later!)
This post is part of my Arts in April series, this month’s Monthly Milestone.
I don’t do crafts with my kids to pin them, I do crafts with my kids to do crafts with my kids. If I want to make something pinterest worthy, I do it myself when they are at school.
Which is perfectly fine if you are making crafts for adults to complete, but if you are sharing crafts that kids are supposed to do, shouldn’t they look like kids did them? Of course, that’s just my opinion after years of working with young children and studying how they learn (both academically and on the job).
I use Pinterest sparingly… I find it makes me crazier than I already am! LOL. I love doing crafts that my kids want to do- sometimes they are pin-worthy, sometimes they are just silly, but most importantly- they’re fun for them!
That’s the most important thing, Chelley: Crafts should be fun for whoever is doing them!
We homeschool so we try to incorporate crafts in our schooling to make it fun. If it turns out good then I pin it!
We do lots of crafts as homeschoolers, too! I don’t pin everything my kids do but I do pin the projects that are unique or I think other people would enjoy doing with their children, picture perfect or not.
I appreciate the timing of your post because I am trying to get better about using Pinterest. I’m working on my photography a lot.
Photography has been my number 1 priority lately, as well!
What is hilarious is I create kid’s crafts on my site but they are actually done by me. BUT they look like a kid did them so I call them kid’s crafts. People definitely find them less intimidating.
Love this, there’s a reason I focus on kid’s crafts!
I’m not much of a creative person but, I have the ideas but, bringing them to life takes me a lot of time. We all have our fortes.
So true, Nancy!
I don’t mind all the pinterest perfect images. I know mine will never look like that, and neither will my child’s. We all have strengths and weaknesses and learning early on that it’s okay not to excel is an important lesson.
I agree, Emily.
I am an art teacher and know exactly what you are saying. Let kids explore, make mistakes,
So true, Lauren!