For a long time I have wondered how to get my children to love arts and crafts as much as I do.  The simple fact is, not all kids will love it, while others will thrive being creative.  You know what, that’s OK!  We just need to hone in on what makes our kids tick and run with it.

I have 2 kids, 1 boy and 1 girl. My son was sort of interested in painting and that was about it. My daughter on the other hand, loves anything to do with art and craft and making things.

With my son, I just followed his lead. We would get all the craft supplies out and we would just go for it! One word of advice – always have a plastic sheet on the floor, you never know where this will take you! We made cards for his teachers, painted plaster cups and saucers for Christmas gifts and he helped me make decorations for his birthday party.  He felt a sense of achievement and pride when giving the gifts out and I was so happy that he was a little interested in creating!

My daughter was a different kettle of fish entirely. She loves everything to do with craft, she loves shopping for supplies to using each and every item that we have purchased, sometimes all in one project!  So I found that letting her go and having a “free for all” approach, usually ended up with a very messy work area (or living room in our case) and with supplies all over the place (not to mention glitter, there was ALOT of glitter!). These days we are more focused and she will come to me and ask to do a particular project or I might suggest one for her.

Either way, getting your child into a creative frame of mind is a great thing and I believe it prepares them, in part,  for school by being open to new ideas and also being imaginative all by themselves. 

At the end of the day, the best way to get your children interested in crafting is to be encouraging, open to their way of doing things and by celebrating their creations!