This blog entry was originally posted last summer, but crafting is so important, we just had to share it again!
5 Reasons to Try New Crafts with Your Kids!
1. Learn Something New: We all get stuck in patters and routines. As as we grow these patterns can become restrictive. Sally is good at drawing, so you keep giving her crayons and pencils, and she gets even better, that's great! But, what if she happens to be a gifted sculptor, or inventor? Crafting with your kids allows them to explore a new idea or process in a fun, low stress environment. Who knows what new skill or passion they may discover? This goes for parents too!
2. Understanding a Subject in a New Way: Math is not just math, and chemistry is not just chemistry. Music opens up new gateways to think about fractions. Paper Mâché offers a new opportunity to see how chemistry works in a creative way. Learning is an wholly immersive endeavor, and each subject is intrinsically linked to the next. Art is proven to increase appreciation and understanding in math and science. So, what are you waiting for? Get crafting today!
3.Exercising Creativity - cultivating the imagination - neurological benefits: To kick a ball in the direction you want it to go in, at the speed it needs to go, to get there in the time given takes practice. It takes time to develop the muscles and coordination needed to execute that skill. The same goes for creativity. If you don't exercise your imagination, it won't work when you need it to. Crafting gives kids an open-ended way to run imaginary laps around the playground of their imagination. Not to mention crafting fosters development of fine motor skills and creation of neural pathways in the brain. You really can't go wrong.
4.Cultural & Historical - learning about the world we live in through crafting: Did you know that 30-40% of the population in Mongolia still lives in a structure called a Ger? Did you know that you can build your own mini version? Well now you do, and now you know a little bit more about this amazing world we live in, and the people that call her home. Crafting can help kids to learn about and appreciate this beautiful and diverse world we live in, opening up new pathways to understanding and connection.
5. Connecting with your kids: This one is a no brainer. When you sit down to work on any craft with your kids you are setting aside a chunk of time where that is all you are doing. No screens, no sports practice to run off to, no house chore to be done, or a meal to cook. Just you and your kiddo, creating and imagining together. To say the bonding opportunities are huge would be an understatement.
Free DIY Felting Activity!:
{Click image below}
Happy Crafting!
xox
~i.c
