Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Can we do crafts?


My preschool son asks me this question as we drive home from his school. Every day, after lunch, we figure out what to do with the rest of our day. Of course, there are many things I need to do: dishes, laundry, take pictures for Etsy, and on and on. But I've chosen to be with my kids for a reason and part of that is getting the chance to do arts and crafts together in the afternoon. One of his favorite things to do is to decorate for the holidays. Since it's Thanksgiving, he has chosen to make a turkey to hang in the window. He cut out pieces for the body, head, neck, legs and arms (I told him, they have wings). He added hands and feet. He wanted to add the red thing under the neck (I told him it's called a "wattle") and a beak. At school, they do a lot of crafts, but this matters so much to me because it is self-motivated. He loves having a part of decorating the house and loves learning about holidays. He wants to learn to sew and I've asked his grandmother (my mom) if she could show him a thing or two. He told me yesterday as we were driving, that when he was a grown-up, he would sew a Christmas stocking for me.
Can we do crafts? Absolutely.

3 comments:

T.Allen said...

Oh I wish! Today I taught Chinua Achebe and long division. I'd have given just about anything to make a turkey with a wattle, arms, legs even sneakers!

Thanks for a refreshing trip down memory lane! Have a happy Thanksgiving with your wee one.

Jennifer said...

Thanks, T. Allen-Mercado! I made it through long division once. I'm not sure that I can do it again!

Ruth said...

Thanks for the reminder, I do stay home with my kids for a reason, but it often feels like I just hired myself as a full-time maid and (second-rate) chef.
One of my new years resolutions is going to be: find more time to do fun projects with the kiddos!