The concept that kids crafts is, or should be beneficial for children is not a new one. Traditional educators have long touted the direction following and fine motor development skills that arts and crafts gives to children.

Fine motor skills maybe, but direction following, boring, copycat arts and crafts projects, doubtful. As a matter of fact, crafts like this does great damage to children’s self esteem and other skills.

Many of us already know why we as parents and educators like to give children arts and crafts.

We love to spend time with them and what better way than doing crafts together.
It gives the children an outlet for their creativity.
They are kept occupied.
It gives teachers a way to have children remember things they learned.
Its a way of cemmemorating different special days and holidays.

There is another way of crafts, however that makes it more educational. It is a method of doing arts and crafts with children that raises their confidence and self-esteem, gives them thinking and problem solving skills and skyrockets their creativity.

I call this, Educational arts and crafts.

There are a few very basic underlying concepts about educational arts and crafts.

It is vital for adults to learn what to expect from kids at different levels and ages they are at. 
As a result kids cannot be judged the old fashioned adult parameters. Teachers and directors with lots of know how, realize that kids development is not near an adults level. As a result they don’t expect adult results from kids.
Kids that do crafts by following an adult model are not gaining any benefits and are actually losing out in many ways.

Good arts and crafts project should therefor, address the following points.

1.The crafts projects are a great way for chidren’s self esteem to be lifted.
2.Art or crafts are great venues for kids to use their thinking and problem solving skills.
3.    Choices should be available which leads to initiative taking.
4.    Freedom to decide HOW to decorate helps develop a sense of autonomy and independence.
5.    Creativity skyrockets when children decide what to create.

In Educational Arts and Crafts the children incorporate all of the above skills while traditional, copycat, arts and undermines the same.

You may think that because arts and crafts has the word educational attached to it, that the kids are learning crafts while making the projects. This is not the case. It means that they are receiving skills of tremendous educational benefit.

Children who do lots of copying adults crafts, end up feeling poorly about themselves and even more about their artistic abilities. They are usually the children who grow into the adults who feel “they cannot draw a straight line”.

The get the direct feeling that there are no expectations or faith in their making their own creations. Therfor, they lose their confidence and indepence, because when you need only adult supervision, that is what happens.This all starts in the beiginning when giviing toddler crafts to young ones and continues on into the later years.

There are many win-win benefits of Educational Arts and Crafts and below are a few.

    Children feel great about themselves as they get to create their own projects.
Both child and adult are satisfied that there is a real project to show for their work.
Kids get to shore up their creative instincts.
    Thinking, problem solving skills and initiative are used.
    Self-esteem and initiative are encouraged which spills over into other areas.

So why not get started in giving the children crafts that they do on their own, that are educational and stop giving your kids crafts that copy other adults work.You can check out some educational arts and crafts for kids in an e book form that closely follows this method.

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